Magazines are dead. TV is dead. Hollywood is dead.
Feed Me’s most discerning readers give their hottest takes on the state of media.
Good morning everyone.
Today’s newsletter includes: Feed Me’s most discerning readers on the state of media, more details on that new multi-level retail store in the West Village, and another possible Moon Juice rebrand.
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Earlier this summer, I wrote about how media is turning into sports. We’ve begun observing the industry with an excitement and dedication to players that I can only compare to professional sports (or the Bravo universe). And as the summer continued, I shook hands and sat at bars with new friends — bankers and lawyers and cosmetic developers and gardeners and teachers and vaguely unemployed rich people who all wanted to discuss the same thing: the state of media.
Last week, I asked a small group of media execs, legacy journalists, and my most engaged paid readers to send me their thoughts on the state of the industry. Below are some of their responses.
“Legacy media feels like one big faux front and Substack feels incredibly insular - like one big (fun) circle jerk. There are so many stars at legacy media institutions that are getting cock-blocked from reaching their full potential in multiple ways - whether that’s forcing them to write quick bloggy pieces about celebrities no one cares about (essentially taking time away from them doing bigger ventures) or keeping them from pursuing external opportunities, whether that’s brand deals or freelance opportunities. It’s like they don’t get that no one cares what these celebrities are doing and it’s like they don’t get if you let your writer become a star, they’ll make the institution look like a star. Everyone in legacy media is doing like 5 jobs, even the ones at places that seem to be/are thriving.
Also, it feels like legacy media is a sham in a way. Maybe writing is a sham, actually. Like is anyone reading anymore like they used to? I love writing, I love reading, but I worry that someday soon those will be activities that only a certain faction of people have access to. I feel like we’re living in the last era of Big Media - where writers can just be writers and people actually tune in. Soon, if not already, all writers are going to have to be creators in some capacity. Maybe that’s okay, I don’t know.
I feel worried, but I also know I will be okay if that makes sense. I just want the rest of the industry to be okay - I want smart writers to get paid to write smart, fun things. And right now it seems like writers on Substack are doing that, but Substack is pretty insular and I worry about the lack of checks and balances here. It’s super fun getting to have your own project, but it also rocks having someone you trust, like an editor, check you or bring in a new perspective. God I wish I came up during Graydon Carter’s era of media.”
“It's easier than ever for writers and editors to fabricate the strength of a cultural influence (a person, a brand, an aesthetic...) because publications have disbanded their standards departments and dismissed their fact-checking editors to save costs. Meanwhile, most authoritative data trackers (Dash Hudson, Keywords Everywhere, Semrush, etc.) are so expensive that only big corporations can afford them. Google Trends is free but incomplete; TikTok metrics don't always reveal themselves without paid tracking. And most writers aren't taught data analysis to begin with — again, because we've hollowed out editorial departments, and therefore reduced mentorship opportunities!”
“Magazines are dead. TV is dead. Hollywood is dead. TBPN is more important than CNBC. Emily Sundberg is more important than Vanity Fair. Nick Fuentes is more important than Fox News. And X is unfortunately the center of the universe.”
“Non-engineers in media are being pretty dumb about AI. It's either:
AI is killing creativity and pumping out infinite content slop.
Let’s launch an AI initiative, but staff it with the same legacy media biz dev people who have zero feel or vision for what these tools can actually do.
That's happening while people with more of a technical background are spinning up entire products in hours without writing a single line of code. If you run an independent media business, you should be blocking off a full day a week just to mess with these tools. Build yourself an executive assistant to run your email and calendar. Hook up a knowledge hub using ChatGPT/Claude/Granola to organize your ideas, collaborate on data analysis and help with business planning. Eliminate repetitive tasks with Lovable-powered products. These are $100K/year roles you can automate in a week for a fraction of the cost.
There's so much opportunity for the smartest, most creative minds in media to eliminate the drag that keeps them from doing the work only they can do. This instinct too often is to hire a COO, a CTO, a Chief of Staff, or a small army of ops staff. But if you develop your prompt engineering skills and commit time to investing in these tools, you can replace huge chunks of that infrastructure and stay small, fast, and creative.
Media organizations are even more allergic to this way of thinking. Just look at a masthead — Semafor is a good example — and tell me how many of those big jobs are truly driving growth and revenue in a way AI tools couldn’t already replace.
If you need a push, this Dan Shipper episode with Lenny Rachitsky should be required listening for anyone in media. It's inspiring to hear Dan describe how the editorial arm of a business can grow by adopting AI at the same rate of the engineering arm. The future winners in media are going to be independents running 7–8 figure businesses with agile teams fueled by subscriptions, brand partnerships, and killer AI-driven operations.
We’re already at the point where the right setup will let you spend a majority of your time on the creative stuff — voice, reporting, taste, big ideas — and have the rest humming in the background. The people who lean in now are going to lap everyone else.”
