The Cool Kid on the Block

Written by contributor Kandie Stroud

Photo credit: Farrah Skeiky

Thomas Paine Would Have Published Common Sense on Substack. Paine proudly strode about Substack’s party at City Tavern - frock coat, waistcoat, breeches, wig et al - offering doses of common sense dusted with a coating of fiery revolutionary rhetoric to a room chock-full of cocktail- sipping independent writers celebrating 250 years of revolutionary writing. I pulled Paine aside to ask him does he still consider these “The times that try men’s souls?” “Oh yes, indeed,” he replied. “Back then we were at a point in our great revolution, in which many of the soldiers were facing the end of their enlistments, at a time in which the government had no ability to pay them; they were suffering at the winter camps half naked, almost freezing to death. They hadn’t eaten. They had no food. They were in a threatening position where the British could have wiped them out at any time. It was a point of our lowest morale during that war. Today we’re again at a point of our lowest moral.”

Would he have written for Substack had it existed in 1776, instead of having to schlepp his revolutionary writings to local printers and then painstakingly distribute them in pamphlet form to barber shops, coffee houses and taverns. “Oh my yes. It seems to be a fabulous way for one to gain a voice and a platform for their views.”

Many in the room echoed Paine’s appreciation of Substack.

Karen Fawcett (left) with Diane Rehm

Veteran journalist Karen Fawcett, who founded and published Bonjour Paris, a digital publication dedicated to French travel, culture and expat life, now writes political and personal commentary on her column called Karen Fawcett’s Musing on Substack. She declared Substack “absolutely terrific because it’s an alternative to be able to talk to people without having to read a newspaper.”

Diane Rehm, the legendary former host of the Diane Rehm radio show syndicated for decades on more than 200 public radio stations nationwide and broadcast internationally via NPR Worldwide until 2016, has been doing high-profile video interviews on Substack for more than a year now and just did her first live Open Chat which allowed her to speak with many of her nearly 20,000 paid subscribers about their thoughts on the political state of affairs and the midterm elections. No middlemen, no advertisers, no age restrictions, no censors. At almost 90 Rehm said, “It’s like being back on the air again. It was like doing the Open Phones segment I did during my years on NPR.”

Anita McBride

Anita McBride, Co-Chair of In Pursuit, Director of the First Ladies Initiative at American University and former Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush, co-hosted the reception with Substack. She described In Pursuit as a new national civic education project from More Perfect that creates “a catalog of wisdom” for future generations. “We’ve invited former presidents, first ladies, the Chief Justice and leading historians and journalists to write essays on U.S. presidents and first ladies. Each essay highlights a key lesson about their leadership in our democracy, showing how moments of triumph and challenge shaped the nation. It’s about asking: what lessons can we draw from the past and carry forward to help us to build a more perfect union? President George W. Bush penned an essay on George Washington. Former President Barack Obama wrote an essay on Abraham Lincoln. Bill Clinton wrote about Theodore Roosevelt. Michelle Obama is writing about Jackie Kennedy. Laura Bush is writing about Lady Bird Johnson. Hillary is writing about Eleanor Roosevelt. David Rubenstein is writing about Jimmy Carter. We also have thought leaders and journalists like Ken Burns, Jon Meacham, Judy Woodruff and Bret Baier. It’s a diverse group that brings experience and perspective to the project. In getting these stories though the very unique lens of presidents and first ladies and being able to make them accessible though this new way to reach people, and it’s not censored in any way. The distribution is unfiltered. The essays are what they are. The essays are in the voice of the writer. And the fact that we can make it available for free. There’s no payroll like with other distributors.You have to pay to read a New York Times article. You have to pay to read The Washington Post... And I think this moment in time, these lessons on the perspective of history are more important now than they ever were. And that was our goal, to take the information and get it out there with absolutely no barriers. And it’s bipartisan, really bipartisan. Thank you Substack!”

Dr. Colleen Shogan

Dr. Colleen Shogan, CEO of In Pursuit, speaking to the assembled writers added:

“We have very short essays, very accessible essays about all of our presidents and first ladies. We boil all those essays down to 1,200 words that you can read in 10 minutes when you wake up in the morning or before you go to bed or on your lunch hour, or if you’re grabbing a cup of coffee. We all have to learn and spend time, think about our history, and the ideals in the Declaration of Independence.” She too thanked Substack for its partnership and distribution of the project.

Eight-year old Substack is a hot indie social media platform with cool high profile writers, newsletters and video content. It’s changing the modern media landscape and directly challenging legacy institutions like The New York Times, The Washington Post and major cable news networks. In the last year Substack has experienced a huge surge in readership. The media powerhouse now has more than 5 million paid subscriptions, 35 million monthly readers and in peak months sees over 73 million site visitors, beating the traffic on WSJ.com and CBS. With an annualized revenue around $45 million and a valuation of an estimated $1.1 billion. It has evolved into a giant among centuries old media institutions.

Catherine Valentine

Catherine Valentine, Substack’s Political Director, spoke to me towards the end of the happy hour about the growing importance of the digital app. “Free speech is under attack. The free press is under attack, so independence is really critical, and the most independent and free journalism that is happening in the country in the world is on our system. It’s completely revolutionizing and changing the relationship between readers and the authors.” Is this the future of journalism? “Yes it is! Damn Straight!”