I honestly haven’t seen another platform that does discovery better than Substack. The algorithm does a great job surfacing thoughtful writers and connecting you with genuinely like-minded people.
I agree. Plus, I love that there is room for people of all beliefs, persuasions and interests. As a conservative, I enjoy reading the posts from the conservative thinkers and activists I follow.
People are leaving because of increasing fascist content on Substack. Serious, honorable activists told me this. Will learn more. Important to be thorough in how to build direct control. Scary times. Who knows when next take over will happen. I am new here but had FB ruined for me.
There are still plenty of liberals here as well. There’s room for all of us. It just depends on what you want to read. You don’t have to subscribe to the creator you don’t agree with.
Kristi Noem told MAGAs to flood Substack like they ruined Facebook. Report every one of them so they're removed. We have a right not to tolerate bigotry, racism, hate and downright lies.
I haven't personally seen much politics on my Substack feed (Thank goodness!), but censorship is far worse than the original problem. Someone always has to decide what is acceptable and what is not and that's centralized control that can be turned against any vewpoint and completely eliminate freedom of speech.
I'm a big fan of censorship, but only when it's me censoring the content I interact with - not what others can see and do.
If enough people filter something out, that will disincentivize it from continuing. That's the way to regulate content without anybody using force to impose their will upon others.
So true. I am discerning, however, and I do read responses with alternative views to the writers I follow. I don't subscribe to a 'head-in-the sand' attitude!
Thanks Mary! I agree that abusive language and propaganda should be called out for what it is. Also the 'baiting' we encounter on forums like Substack.
Thank you - please read my response to Mary Bee. As a teacher and minister I use my brain constantly; Substack is part of my brain 'switch off' relaxation so I prefer to be selective. My choice, that's all.
Now I've been using substack for 4 years and it occurs to me that by pushing back against white supremacy standing up for people in the land of the bombs etc etc that you know just I'm invisible so I don't know what it is about your you know physical appeal to others or what topics are covering that are safe but I have not figured out how to experience this equality that you're experiencing on substack where you get to be seen you get to be heard and I am invisible . I have multiple substacks the main substack that I'm using is not the one that I'm talking you from o right now
Power supremecy, not white. You speak from a race which took its slave trade out of its own continent and wrecked the overwhelming majority there, forever. Pay reparations.
My ancestors came from Norway and never had slaves. They lived under a feudal system where the eldest son inherited the parent's land and the younger son had to work for the older one.
Easy, because you really just need focus. Focus only on what you are truly interested in, and intentionally train your algorithm by replying to posts and notes that genuinely resonate with you. Over time, your feed will naturally start showing more of what you care about.
The hard part is the noise. There is so much of it. A lot of people do sub for sub. But I always remind myself that life never gives anything for free. When you purely do sub for sub, it asks for your attention, focus, and energy, and eventually that will drain you.
There is one more small trick I use to find like minded people worth replying to. My rule of thumb is simple. If a note or post does not make you want to reply within three seconds, let it go. Only reply to posts and notes where you feel a real impulse to share your thoughts.
I hope this is useful. Let me know if you have any more questions.
It sounds like a lot of fun and very niche. I actually studied global journalism for my graduate degree, even though I ended up becoming a developer. 🤠
But you have to discover. TikTok before didn’t make you discover. It just delivered things. I’ve posted a dozen thing here so far, crickets. How do you “get” discovered here?
You’d need a lot of money to subscribe to all the people you’d like to listen to. It’s impossible do as a pensioner I’m going to delete the Substack app as I can’t afford to listen to the people I like do it’s just futile having it. I’ll delete any other apps as well that follow this form as again I couldn’t afford it and eventually as there’s only so much money people will spend on these things it will be like sharing the misery for all the Substack reporters.
I appreciate your thoughts as I am reluctant to '❤️' a post if unable to offer a comment because I'm not a paid subscriber. However, I still read a lot of Substack for alternative views and considerations because they develop my understanding and widen my view.
Agreed. I subscribe to a few, and wish I could afford to many more. But I am the perfect demographic: Recently retired, politically engaged, and financially constrained. The Substack model is elegant in its simplicity. But unaffordable to many. I actually get more commentators and authors for my NYT, Guardian, and Project Syndicate subscriptions than from the 1x1 Substack subscription model. Substack needs an alternative magazine model for multiple authors at one subscription.
I subscribe to the most interesting ones to me, which financially I can only afford a few. The ones I most want to join the conversations with. I only follow the rest. I spend way too many hours on Substack, but it reminds me of my school days, intellectually chewing on a wide range of subjects. I love Substack, and all the variety of content. In the present political times, I feel it is the best source of conductivity between ideas that I find rational and intelligently presented!
Have you seen Medium? I just came across it. So readers subscribe to Medium and have access to EVERYTHING writers have posted on the Medium platform. Writers get paid by the number of readers and their reactions to the posts. Writers generally pay $5/month to have their pieces listed.
I just went over to the Play Store and looked at the reviews about Medium. From the complaints I read, you get to read 5 free articles every month. Then you have to wait for the next month to roll around before you can read another 5. I decided it wasn't worth pursuing.
This is the free market. What you're describing is big tech subsidizing the connectivity cost. This is not a reason to subscribe to less, it is a reason to let content creators know what they're worth (maybe less than what they ask!), but I think you'll be surprised. Content creators like to create content - they want it accessible, and for a nominal cost.
So true. The 'murkan hustle is cast in concrete with the capitalist model of self-destruction. Suicide by thousands of cuts, not complete until every last dime is ingested into the parasitic stomach of capitalism. Smile broadly on UTube, hustle your hot ass n tits, do the cosmetic n fashion hustle, use a bunch of stupid words that have zero meaning but sound complex, i.e., gaslighting n Newspeak, and spend most of your life masturbating.
I see your POV. But most authors offer different ways of subscribing including a free tier. Yes, you won't get all articles for that but that's ok. You wouldn't get the newspaper and the book for free either. It's the decision of the author how much content they give away for free and how to price the others. The app is just the plattform as it were printers, newsstand and bookshop in the offline version. Deleting the app because you can't decide who to select and read is like going into a book store and saying "You have too many great books, but instead of making a decision and read one this month and another one next month, I punish you for your good variety by buying none" 😅
I am on Social Security and, like you, I can't afford to pay in order to read many writers postings. I pay a subscription to just one person. Others I've had to let go entirely because they adopted the "Cliff hanger" approach to roping in more subscribers.
They let you read the first few paragraphs of their articles and then you hit a wall telling you that this article is only for paid subscribers. They then ask you to sign up in order to continue reading and to make comments.
Nope. Can't do it. It's financially untenable. So I stick to the free-to-read writers. There's thousands of great writers who don't financially censor readers.
Yes, writers deserve to be paid for their work.
I just don't like getting netted in with all the other fish and then being tossed aside later on cuz my page or comments, etc., are no longer necessary to the writer's continuing survival on Substack.
They are now up and rolling while I discovered that I was just their free "mouthpiece", their free advertising for "X" amount of months until they finally grew big enough and outgrew their need for people like me.
That's ok. As I said, there are tons of great free-to-read writers on Substack. If my being a free reader helps give them some free advertising , fine. I no longer expect to be kept on anyone's webpage indefinitely.
True, but Maggie, why dont you try my Free TV letter? Ik Ik, it's bad, but there are some decent good free things u can just subscribe to without really feeling the need to pay.
If you watch TV Shows, I bring out Weekly TV Updates in packaged format to be read under a minute or 2. For a change, I watch cinema. I have a small community of other likeminded peeps.
Substack is a ponzi scheme, ultimately not much different than Tik Tok, simply a more mature user base. Views and traffic are directed to writers with the most monetary reach, aka, culturally orthodox/mainstream. Substack will disappear writers within the algorithm just as quickly as TikTok and YouTube. I sang the praises of Substack for about three years until it became apparent that the platform is another digital ghetto. Just a little more sophisticated.
I’m getting nickeled and dimed to death with $ subscriptions with no control over the payment timing. I hear what you’re saying but consumers are drowning in $ subscriptions and donation requests. It’s very guilt provoking.
I just find the revenue model is great for substack company but not for many creators. I would like to subscribe to many more 10 to 20 awesome creators but it becomes financially prohibitive. I never subscribed to more than 5 magazines and newspapers but I read multiple authors in each one.
Me too. I wish I could support something like npr or a more general platform which includes a lot of good content that I trust without having to support and pay for lots of individual content creators
Not even, do not speak to which you do not know. NPR, viewer supported, no government support at all. Go make out with elon, swap lies as you swap spit.
NPR has never had 80% of it's budget paid for by Government. Are you confusing it with PBS? Ever since the Bush era only about 1.5% of the budget has been from the Federal Government, and since Trump, Zero. Most NPR stations were linked with State Universities and had and still have a highly educated audience. Their audience, who are also their financial supporters have no interest in listening to the brainless garbage that Fox News Network or vapid commercial talk radio broadcasts. Most of NPR Listeners have too much mental integrity to tolerate mental midgets like like a James Comer or a Jim Jordan. They also have enough history education to have, like me, recognized that the Conservative Republican Party has morphed into a dangerous Fascist Party following the same footsteps of Nazi Germany and with Trump, A fascist, cleptocracy! Fascist networks like Fox News Network not only lie, but use propaganda methods of State Sponsored TV like in Putin's Russia. It has been brainwashing it's viewers for years. They are pervayors of Trump's Narcissisic Personality Disordered Fantasy World, not reality. Now, go back to your world of X hate, and leave us alone! We are operating with two different sets of information you and I.
That's the issue we are dealing with- Christian fanatics control the narrative to millions (literally) via Sunday services, Bible study & church mtgs. 'Outsiders' are viewed as heretics when we point out misinformation or outright lies.
Similar for the Kirk/ Jones / Fuentes crowds.. we are defying their little man-gods.
Who fronts them the massive $$$ to create their platforms & national/ world presence?
Most dropped out of college but assert superior knowledge.. targeting even less informed people who just want bias validation.
Perhaps the murder of Mr Pretti is a wakeup call for a large % of them? Typically, they're pro gun rights and support open carry.. yet the regime they voted for states he was violent because he legally carried a firearm.
In 2025, Congress approved a rescissions bill (backed by President Trump) that clawed back approximately $1.1 billion in previously allocated federal funding for CPB, covering FY 2026 and 2027. This effectively ended federal support for public broadcasting.  CBP in part funds NPR.
• CPB announced in August 2025 that it would wind down operations, with most staff positions ending by September 30, 2025. 
• On January 5, 2026, CPB’s board voted to formally dissolve the organization after nearly 60 years, citing the loss of funding as making continued operations impossible and risking political interference.
NPR is surviving because of public funding. The fact that a portion of their budget used to be federal dollars, they remained independent. PBS, NPR are still one of the best places to go for facts. We know what used to be, PBS and NPR said we aren't capitulating. They aren't and never have been "state TV" that's why monies was snatched, they present facts. NPR, PBS exist because of us, not the federal government.
David, you stated it had no government funding at all. That simply wasn’t true. I also don’t agree that it is 100% factual. It is very left leaning. C-SPAN is factual.
Actually, corporate sponsorships are the main source of NPR's revenue (35-40%). Next are member station fees (30-35%), which come from universities, nonprofits, community broadcasters (which get *their* revenue from listeners, corporations, and government grants-however indirectly). Next are "philanthropic" foundations (15-20%). And, despite Trump's rhetoric, federal $ still goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, under which NPR and PBS reside. Lastly, listener donations make up 10-12%. In short, "public" in name, but corporate in nature.
They took the federal dollars away, that is fact. Corporations, public, philanthropic, public and viewers like me, public. We, us and me, support NPR and PBS, all public.
As a Substaker since 2021, I couldn't agree more. This platform is so much better than the other ones that hide our posts, turning social media into plain old media. Thanks for providing this space.
It's truly time to be face to actual face with people. Knowing someone firsthand, leads to a personal investment, and thereby empathy (if they're not fully brainwashed that is).
Furthermore, McKenzie’s point about ownership & control needs 2 B repeated & emphasized. Like Google, Facebook has metastasized as it has grown. Tic Tock was purpose built by the Chinese Communist Party. Their purpose is to own, influence, (mis)direct, control & censor the creativity of writers, artists & contributors. They also want as much personal information as they can harvest to further achieve those goals. These are not benign sites for creatives to share their work. They are massive cultural & political control systems aimed at enriching their owners & controlling the flow of culture & information. Another emerging goal is to damp down dissent.
And then there is Amazon. Beware Tech Bros bearing gifts.
The irony is that the US govt is now deploying multiple software programs to do the same thing- on US/us. Israeli Mossad Spyware had been purchased by NSA - but restricted to use on foreign soil & on foreigners.
Palintir & similar are Big Brother - & those perv 'family membesr' are Donald Trump & Stephen Miller.
At this time I am not able to support financially. I would love to be able to do so. Living on a fixed income has become more difficult due to rising costs but no increase in income. Please continue to allow us to have at least some access to the creators. Thanks!
I find it ironic that this was sent four short days after the "Introducing the Substack TV app" post. With moves like this, on a long enough time horizon, Substack will succumb to short form video.
Heed your own advice, Hamish: "Platforms shouldn’t own people; people should own platforms." Fight the need to hit every OKR and KPI dictated by VCs.
Economy booming, egg prices, gas prices, inflation WAY DOWN! Safer country without criminal illegals! No Chinese spy balloons patrolling overhead! The world respects the U.S. again!
Hey “Abby”, what is wrong with Making America Great? I am a citizen and couldn't stand to watch Biden destroy us! That's why Trump WON IN A LANDSLIDE! The MAJORITY OF AMERICA LOVES TRUMP! LEAVE IF U DON'T LIKE IT!!!!
Hey "Shawn", having a pedophile in charge, constantly spewing hatred and lies isn't making America great; it's making America GARBAGE.
I find it hilarious that my freedom of speech triggers you so much that all you can do is lie and scream for me to leave. How about all you worthless MAGAts leave? Now THAT would make America great!
Your sense of sarcasm is great! You are spewing the Trump lines and are smart enough to know how phony they are. Thank you Shawn for providing a laugh for me today!
That's right. You didn't try to steal the last election because you won it. No need to steal it. But the world remembers January, 6th, five years ago. Maduro and Trump have a lot in common. Both are thugs who should be in jail. Like Brazil did with Bolsonaro. Learn something.
Um, January 6th was an inside job! Nancy Pelosi admitted she failed the American people by NOT calling for the National Guard! Hundreds and hundreds of Biden feds were in attendance on Jan. 6th! Ballot fraud? Like in Georgia? Where Trump WON EASILY in 2020 now that they exposed the cheating! Minnesota/Somali FRAUD of taxpayer money! You're ok with that? Trump has the RESPECT OF THE WORLD!!!
So, if everything is so nice, why $ go so low against gold, silver etc? Is it something to do to $ 38 Trillion of debt or excessive printing, and what will be end to it?
The issue I have with many substacks is the cost point for subscription. I don't have a huge amount of disposable income, and coule throw $1 or $2 at someone I follow. Asking for $12-$15 a month per sub, and I can't justify even one.
In 2009, Chris Anderson (then Editor in Chief of Wired magazine) published Free:The Future of a Radical Price. The central premise is the marginal cost of an additional customer is essentially zero in digital technologies, meaning vendors are able to access vast numbers of customers relativity cheapely and allowing freemium business models. It feels like the digital economy has evolved from this, with more content locked behind paywalls so high they block a sizable chunk of potential new customers.
I would love to see Substack provide a tipping model where I could give a low amount, but still be able to contribute to supporting the writer.
That's fair and thanks for taking the time to check. This is a new account, though I've used substack from an email subscriber PoV for a couple of years, I've not engaged fully with the platform due to that barrier of monthly sub costs.
If I think of the classic demand/supply curve a lower price point enables a higher number of customers. The missing datum to this graph that I don't have for Substack is the elasticity of demand to price and the point at which revenue is maximized. Maybe that work has been done and the amount is between $5 and $15 per month, though you'd assume different substacks would have different price elasticity.
Either way, I can afford $15 USD (which is $25 in my local currency) to contribute to writers. At $6 per month (your pricepoint), I would only be able to support two writers. Instead I choose to support none, as there's no single one that I would say is more valuable than the others to warrant that single writer my support. If I could contribute $1, I would support $15 easily enough.
Only problem for some is paying to subscribe to individual people is too expensive along with everything else one has to pay for. All that paying adds up. But this is how it is.
“When a platform is built on direct relationships backed by subscriptions, it must serve creators. When its business depends on creators thriving from direct audience support, it must do everything it can to protect and nurture those relationships.”
I honestly haven’t seen another platform that does discovery better than Substack. The algorithm does a great job surfacing thoughtful writers and connecting you with genuinely like-minded people.
I agree. Plus, I love that there is room for people of all beliefs, persuasions and interests. As a conservative, I enjoy reading the posts from the conservative thinkers and activists I follow.
People are leaving because of increasing fascist content on Substack. Serious, honorable activists told me this. Will learn more. Important to be thorough in how to build direct control. Scary times. Who knows when next take over will happen. I am new here but had FB ruined for me.
There are still plenty of liberals here as well. There’s room for all of us. It just depends on what you want to read. You don’t have to subscribe to the creator you don’t agree with.
Kristi Noem told MAGAs to flood Substack like they ruined Facebook. Report every one of them so they're removed. We have a right not to tolerate bigotry, racism, hate and downright lies.
I haven't personally seen much politics on my Substack feed (Thank goodness!), but censorship is far worse than the original problem. Someone always has to decide what is acceptable and what is not and that's centralized control that can be turned against any vewpoint and completely eliminate freedom of speech.
I'm a big fan of censorship, but only when it's me censoring the content I interact with - not what others can see and do.
If enough people filter something out, that will disincentivize it from continuing. That's the way to regulate content without anybody using force to impose their will upon others.
I agree, yet Substack has allowed fascists groups to earn subscription $$ since the platform's inception.
What fascist groups?
That's why you need to report and explain why.
I manage that by deleting interest so my feed is selective 🙂
That doesn't get rid of MAGAs. Reporting does with a reason.
So true. I am discerning, however, and I do read responses with alternative views to the writers I follow. I don't subscribe to a 'head-in-the sand' attitude!
I'm reporting abusive language toward others and obvious MAGA oropaganda, not views different than mine.
Thanks Mary! I agree that abusive language and propaganda should be called out for what it is. Also the 'baiting' we encounter on forums like Substack.
Same here
You also have a brain. Use it. Your alternative news is a major station. You will learn nothing !
Listen and use your brain and heart to learn and decide.
Thank you - please read my response to Mary Bee. As a teacher and minister I use my brain constantly; Substack is part of my brain 'switch off' relaxation so I prefer to be selective. My choice, that's all.
Yes, we have a right to posts we read and a right to report or ignore. Substack relies on us to expose the untruths.
Now I've been using substack for 4 years and it occurs to me that by pushing back against white supremacy standing up for people in the land of the bombs etc etc that you know just I'm invisible so I don't know what it is about your you know physical appeal to others or what topics are covering that are safe but I have not figured out how to experience this equality that you're experiencing on substack where you get to be seen you get to be heard and I am invisible . I have multiple substacks the main substack that I'm using is not the one that I'm talking you from o right now
Chat GPT needs an English 101 class.
You're crazy.
Power supremecy, not white. You speak from a race which took its slave trade out of its own continent and wrecked the overwhelming majority there, forever. Pay reparations.
My ancestors came from Norway and never had slaves. They lived under a feudal system where the eldest son inherited the parent's land and the younger son had to work for the older one.
Lol this is just chatgpt copy paste are you kidding
I wish the algorhtym worked in my favor. Is there anything I can do to make it work better for my Substack?
Hey Jordan, thank you for asking.
It is both easy and hard.
Easy, because you really just need focus. Focus only on what you are truly interested in, and intentionally train your algorithm by replying to posts and notes that genuinely resonate with you. Over time, your feed will naturally start showing more of what you care about.
The hard part is the noise. There is so much of it. A lot of people do sub for sub. But I always remind myself that life never gives anything for free. When you purely do sub for sub, it asks for your attention, focus, and energy, and eventually that will drain you.
There is one more small trick I use to find like minded people worth replying to. My rule of thumb is simple. If a note or post does not make you want to reply within three seconds, let it go. Only reply to posts and notes where you feel a real impulse to share your thoughts.
I hope this is useful. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks! This helped.
I read that it takes at least a year for your Substack to make a real impact. If that is true, that puts me at May 2026.
So, I will keep doing what I have been doing: unique music journalism.
If you have the time, check it out.
It sounds like a lot of fun and very niche. I actually studied global journalism for my graduate degree, even though I ended up becoming a developer. 🤠
But you have to discover. TikTok before didn’t make you discover. It just delivered things. I’ve posted a dozen thing here so far, crickets. How do you “get” discovered here?
This is a reply I gave to someone else who asked a similar question. This is how I approach it.
https://post.substack.com/p/direct-relationships-are-the-way/comment/205986058?r=4b54s&utm_medium=ios
Stop slop, TikTok, and censorship. Substack is the way to freedom. Go direct with a better information diet.
You’d need a lot of money to subscribe to all the people you’d like to listen to. It’s impossible do as a pensioner I’m going to delete the Substack app as I can’t afford to listen to the people I like do it’s just futile having it. I’ll delete any other apps as well that follow this form as again I couldn’t afford it and eventually as there’s only so much money people will spend on these things it will be like sharing the misery for all the Substack reporters.
I appreciate your thoughts as I am reluctant to '❤️' a post if unable to offer a comment because I'm not a paid subscriber. However, I still read a lot of Substack for alternative views and considerations because they develop my understanding and widen my view.
Agreed. I subscribe to a few, and wish I could afford to many more. But I am the perfect demographic: Recently retired, politically engaged, and financially constrained. The Substack model is elegant in its simplicity. But unaffordable to many. I actually get more commentators and authors for my NYT, Guardian, and Project Syndicate subscriptions than from the 1x1 Substack subscription model. Substack needs an alternative magazine model for multiple authors at one subscription.
I subscribe to the most interesting ones to me, which financially I can only afford a few. The ones I most want to join the conversations with. I only follow the rest. I spend way too many hours on Substack, but it reminds me of my school days, intellectually chewing on a wide range of subjects. I love Substack, and all the variety of content. In the present political times, I feel it is the best source of conductivity between ideas that I find rational and intelligently presented!
I am in your situation, with the added complexity of being a new writer. It's very difficult to get readers, and my blog posts are free.
Have you seen Medium? I just came across it. So readers subscribe to Medium and have access to EVERYTHING writers have posted on the Medium platform. Writers get paid by the number of readers and their reactions to the posts. Writers generally pay $5/month to have their pieces listed.
I just went over to the Play Store and looked at the reviews about Medium. From the complaints I read, you get to read 5 free articles every month. Then you have to wait for the next month to roll around before you can read another 5. I decided it wasn't worth pursuing.
This is the free market. What you're describing is big tech subsidizing the connectivity cost. This is not a reason to subscribe to less, it is a reason to let content creators know what they're worth (maybe less than what they ask!), but I think you'll be surprised. Content creators like to create content - they want it accessible, and for a nominal cost.
Not such a free market of ideas. $50-$75-$100 per subscription rapidly stacks above nominal.
So true. The 'murkan hustle is cast in concrete with the capitalist model of self-destruction. Suicide by thousands of cuts, not complete until every last dime is ingested into the parasitic stomach of capitalism. Smile broadly on UTube, hustle your hot ass n tits, do the cosmetic n fashion hustle, use a bunch of stupid words that have zero meaning but sound complex, i.e., gaslighting n Newspeak, and spend most of your life masturbating.
I see your POV. But most authors offer different ways of subscribing including a free tier. Yes, you won't get all articles for that but that's ok. You wouldn't get the newspaper and the book for free either. It's the decision of the author how much content they give away for free and how to price the others. The app is just the plattform as it were printers, newsstand and bookshop in the offline version. Deleting the app because you can't decide who to select and read is like going into a book store and saying "You have too many great books, but instead of making a decision and read one this month and another one next month, I punish you for your good variety by buying none" 😅
I am on Social Security and, like you, I can't afford to pay in order to read many writers postings. I pay a subscription to just one person. Others I've had to let go entirely because they adopted the "Cliff hanger" approach to roping in more subscribers.
They let you read the first few paragraphs of their articles and then you hit a wall telling you that this article is only for paid subscribers. They then ask you to sign up in order to continue reading and to make comments.
Nope. Can't do it. It's financially untenable. So I stick to the free-to-read writers. There's thousands of great writers who don't financially censor readers.
Yes, writers deserve to be paid for their work.
I just don't like getting netted in with all the other fish and then being tossed aside later on cuz my page or comments, etc., are no longer necessary to the writer's continuing survival on Substack.
They are now up and rolling while I discovered that I was just their free "mouthpiece", their free advertising for "X" amount of months until they finally grew big enough and outgrew their need for people like me.
That's ok. As I said, there are tons of great free-to-read writers on Substack. If my being a free reader helps give them some free advertising , fine. I no longer expect to be kept on anyone's webpage indefinitely.
Oh well. Life goes on.
My blog posts are free. There is a lot of free content.
True, but Maggie, why dont you try my Free TV letter? Ik Ik, it's bad, but there are some decent good free things u can just subscribe to without really feeling the need to pay.
If you watch TV Shows, I bring out Weekly TV Updates in packaged format to be read under a minute or 2. For a change, I watch cinema. I have a small community of other likeminded peeps.
I wish you the best.
Boomer logic be like 🤤
🩷🍑🍑🥭🥭🍎🥭🍋🟩🍋🟩🫐🥭🥬🥬🥬🥬🥦🫑🫑🍅🥦🫛🥒🥑🥑🥑🥑🥑🫛🫑🥦🥦🫛🥑🥦🫛
Substack is a ponzi scheme, ultimately not much different than Tik Tok, simply a more mature user base. Views and traffic are directed to writers with the most monetary reach, aka, culturally orthodox/mainstream. Substack will disappear writers within the algorithm just as quickly as TikTok and YouTube. I sang the praises of Substack for about three years until it became apparent that the platform is another digital ghetto. Just a little more sophisticated.
Amen.
Artisanal, free range socmed slop
I’m getting nickeled and dimed to death with $ subscriptions with no control over the payment timing. I hear what you’re saying but consumers are drowning in $ subscriptions and donation requests. It’s very guilt provoking.
I just find the revenue model is great for substack company but not for many creators. I would like to subscribe to many more 10 to 20 awesome creators but it becomes financially prohibitive. I never subscribed to more than 5 magazines and newspapers but I read multiple authors in each one.
Me too. I wish I could support something like npr or a more general platform which includes a lot of good content that I trust without having to support and pay for lots of individual content creators
NPR is just another government controlled outlet.
Not even, do not speak to which you do not know. NPR, viewer supported, no government support at all. Go make out with elon, swap lies as you swap spit.
NPR was 80% government funded and supported dems only!
NPR has never had 80% of it's budget paid for by Government. Are you confusing it with PBS? Ever since the Bush era only about 1.5% of the budget has been from the Federal Government, and since Trump, Zero. Most NPR stations were linked with State Universities and had and still have a highly educated audience. Their audience, who are also their financial supporters have no interest in listening to the brainless garbage that Fox News Network or vapid commercial talk radio broadcasts. Most of NPR Listeners have too much mental integrity to tolerate mental midgets like like a James Comer or a Jim Jordan. They also have enough history education to have, like me, recognized that the Conservative Republican Party has morphed into a dangerous Fascist Party following the same footsteps of Nazi Germany and with Trump, A fascist, cleptocracy! Fascist networks like Fox News Network not only lie, but use propaganda methods of State Sponsored TV like in Putin's Russia. It has been brainwashing it's viewers for years. They are pervayors of Trump's Narcissisic Personality Disordered Fantasy World, not reality. Now, go back to your world of X hate, and leave us alone! We are operating with two different sets of information you and I.
That's the issue we are dealing with- Christian fanatics control the narrative to millions (literally) via Sunday services, Bible study & church mtgs. 'Outsiders' are viewed as heretics when we point out misinformation or outright lies.
Similar for the Kirk/ Jones / Fuentes crowds.. we are defying their little man-gods.
Who fronts them the massive $$$ to create their platforms & national/ world presence?
Most dropped out of college but assert superior knowledge.. targeting even less informed people who just want bias validation.
Perhaps the murder of Mr Pretti is a wakeup call for a large % of them? Typically, they're pro gun rights and support open carry.. yet the regime they voted for states he was violent because he legally carried a firearm.
Thoughts?
Not on your fucking life is that true. I'm here, in the real world. Your russian google ain't good for nothing.
You're a psycho.
In 2025, Congress approved a rescissions bill (backed by President Trump) that clawed back approximately $1.1 billion in previously allocated federal funding for CPB, covering FY 2026 and 2027. This effectively ended federal support for public broadcasting.  CBP in part funds NPR.
• CPB announced in August 2025 that it would wind down operations, with most staff positions ending by September 30, 2025. 
• On January 5, 2026, CPB’s board voted to formally dissolve the organization after nearly 60 years, citing the loss of funding as making continued operations impossible and risking political interference.
NPR is surviving because of public funding. The fact that a portion of their budget used to be federal dollars, they remained independent. PBS, NPR are still one of the best places to go for facts. We know what used to be, PBS and NPR said we aren't capitulating. They aren't and never have been "state TV" that's why monies was snatched, they present facts. NPR, PBS exist because of us, not the federal government.
David, you stated it had no government funding at all. That simply wasn’t true. I also don’t agree that it is 100% factual. It is very left leaning. C-SPAN is factual.
Actually, corporate sponsorships are the main source of NPR's revenue (35-40%). Next are member station fees (30-35%), which come from universities, nonprofits, community broadcasters (which get *their* revenue from listeners, corporations, and government grants-however indirectly). Next are "philanthropic" foundations (15-20%). And, despite Trump's rhetoric, federal $ still goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, under which NPR and PBS reside. Lastly, listener donations make up 10-12%. In short, "public" in name, but corporate in nature.
They took the federal dollars away, that is fact. Corporations, public, philanthropic, public and viewers like me, public. We, us and me, support NPR and PBS, all public.
Reading thru these comments reinforces why I don’t subscribe to content creators.
NPR is independant and always has been. Government saw how important it is and always gave funding since it is a nonprofit.
Thank you Mary Bee
As a Substaker since 2021, I couldn't agree more. This platform is so much better than the other ones that hide our posts, turning social media into plain old media. Thanks for providing this space.
Where do we turn when even Substack joins the censorship game?
Go back to the hand written form of dialogue, deliver posts and mail out newsletters hopefully 🌸
Like Zines
Don't be mean, read a zine!
Won't happen! But if you ever want to leave, on Substack you get a mailing list that you can take with you.
Make sure you regularly download your subscriber list!
Build your own platform.
We go back to looking outside ourselves, like we should be doing now. We don't need computers, we have brains.
It's truly time to be face to actual face with people. Knowing someone firsthand, leads to a personal investment, and thereby empathy (if they're not fully brainwashed that is).
Get your own website. Then wait for the Usual Suspects to turn off the internet.
By that time, scrolling the web will be the least of our worries.
Tik Tock & Facebook 2 sides of the same coin. Pablum & distraction 4 the masses. The Billionaire Tech Bros want control.
Resist.
Furthermore, McKenzie’s point about ownership & control needs 2 B repeated & emphasized. Like Google, Facebook has metastasized as it has grown. Tic Tock was purpose built by the Chinese Communist Party. Their purpose is to own, influence, (mis)direct, control & censor the creativity of writers, artists & contributors. They also want as much personal information as they can harvest to further achieve those goals. These are not benign sites for creatives to share their work. They are massive cultural & political control systems aimed at enriching their owners & controlling the flow of culture & information. Another emerging goal is to damp down dissent.
And then there is Amazon. Beware Tech Bros bearing gifts.
Eh, Elon?
The irony is that the US govt is now deploying multiple software programs to do the same thing- on US/us. Israeli Mossad Spyware had been purchased by NSA - but restricted to use on foreign soil & on foreigners.
Palintir & similar are Big Brother - & those perv 'family membesr' are Donald Trump & Stephen Miller.
At this time I am not able to support financially. I would love to be able to do so. Living on a fixed income has become more difficult due to rising costs but no increase in income. Please continue to allow us to have at least some access to the creators. Thanks!
Many creators, like myself, offer free content.
Acta, non verba.
I find it ironic that this was sent four short days after the "Introducing the Substack TV app" post. With moves like this, on a long enough time horizon, Substack will succumb to short form video.
Heed your own advice, Hamish: "Platforms shouldn’t own people; people should own platforms." Fight the need to hit every OKR and KPI dictated by VCs.
You've built something special here. Make it an eternal sun, not a short-lived flare: https://www.whitenoise.email/p/be-the-sun-not-a-flare
+1
🙏
Yes
Why is Substack promoting a TV platform then?
Trumps TikTok is failing terribly
Makes sense. Everything Trump touches, it turns to shit. He's the reverse Midas.
Economy booming, egg prices, gas prices, inflation WAY DOWN! Safer country without criminal illegals! No Chinese spy balloons patrolling overhead! The world respects the U.S. again!
I already don't like you.
Best thing to do with bots*, is to ignore them. Don't fall for it.
*any thing or person who lacks neuroplasticity.
Why? You hate the truth, huh?
No, we hate donnie🇷🇺 lying sycophants. Your tds disability renders you to be of the, sit down and shhhh crowd, worthless worthless worthless boy.
Typical MAGA garbage.
Hey “Abby”, what is wrong with Making America Great? I am a citizen and couldn't stand to watch Biden destroy us! That's why Trump WON IN A LANDSLIDE! The MAJORITY OF AMERICA LOVES TRUMP! LEAVE IF U DON'T LIKE IT!!!!
Hey "Shawn", having a pedophile in charge, constantly spewing hatred and lies isn't making America great; it's making America GARBAGE.
I find it hilarious that my freedom of speech triggers you so much that all you can do is lie and scream for me to leave. How about all you worthless MAGAts leave? Now THAT would make America great!
Pedophile? Bill Clinton left the Presidency years ago.
Your sense of sarcasm is great! You are spewing the Trump lines and are smart enough to know how phony they are. Thank you Shawn for providing a laugh for me today!
Ditto what Abby said!!
Best thing to do with bots*, is to ignore them. Don't fall for it.
*any thing or person who lacks neuroplasticity.
Which planet are you from?
Best thing to do with bots*, is to ignore them. Don't fall for it.
*any thing or person who lacks neuroplasticity.
It's hard to differentiate Bots from a Fox News watcher these days... lol
Reality planet!
Respect? You don't anything about respect. You're a worldwide joke and people like are enablers of wannabe dictator.
Wannabe dictator? Who? We have a duly elected president in the U.S. Are you talking about Venezuela?
That's right. You didn't try to steal the last election because you won it. No need to steal it. But the world remembers January, 6th, five years ago. Maduro and Trump have a lot in common. Both are thugs who should be in jail. Like Brazil did with Bolsonaro. Learn something.
Um, January 6th was an inside job! Nancy Pelosi admitted she failed the American people by NOT calling for the National Guard! Hundreds and hundreds of Biden feds were in attendance on Jan. 6th! Ballot fraud? Like in Georgia? Where Trump WON EASILY in 2020 now that they exposed the cheating! Minnesota/Somali FRAUD of taxpayer money! You're ok with that? Trump has the RESPECT OF THE WORLD!!!
So, if everything is so nice, why $ go so low against gold, silver etc? Is it something to do to $ 38 Trillion of debt or excessive printing, and what will be end to it?
Maga putin pedo protector trolls are out in force.
clearly someone forgot to turn off Fox News and take their meds today.. There's always tomorrow.. lmfaooooo
Agree, just wish Substack wasn’t so cumbersome and more navigation-friendly.
Completely agree - Substack gives both creators and readers so much more control
The issue I have with many substacks is the cost point for subscription. I don't have a huge amount of disposable income, and coule throw $1 or $2 at someone I follow. Asking for $12-$15 a month per sub, and I can't justify even one.
In 2009, Chris Anderson (then Editor in Chief of Wired magazine) published Free:The Future of a Radical Price. The central premise is the marginal cost of an additional customer is essentially zero in digital technologies, meaning vendors are able to access vast numbers of customers relativity cheapely and allowing freemium business models. It feels like the digital economy has evolved from this, with more content locked behind paywalls so high they block a sizable chunk of potential new customers.
I would love to see Substack provide a tipping model where I could give a low amount, but still be able to contribute to supporting the writer.
Mine is only $6/month, but looking at your profile, you don't subscribe to any publications, even free ones.
That's fair and thanks for taking the time to check. This is a new account, though I've used substack from an email subscriber PoV for a couple of years, I've not engaged fully with the platform due to that barrier of monthly sub costs.
If I think of the classic demand/supply curve a lower price point enables a higher number of customers. The missing datum to this graph that I don't have for Substack is the elasticity of demand to price and the point at which revenue is maximized. Maybe that work has been done and the amount is between $5 and $15 per month, though you'd assume different substacks would have different price elasticity.
Either way, I can afford $15 USD (which is $25 in my local currency) to contribute to writers. At $6 per month (your pricepoint), I would only be able to support two writers. Instead I choose to support none, as there's no single one that I would say is more valuable than the others to warrant that single writer my support. If I could contribute $1, I would support $15 easily enough.
Thank god for Substack as a tool for finding the truth.
Only problem for some is paying to subscribe to individual people is too expensive along with everything else one has to pay for. All that paying adds up. But this is how it is.
Yep, yep and yep.
“When a platform is built on direct relationships backed by subscriptions, it must serve creators. When its business depends on creators thriving from direct audience support, it must do everything it can to protect and nurture those relationships.”
This really is one of those “change the incentives, change the outcome” situations.