Best media newsletters to follow

Editor’s note (January 2023): we’re updating and expanding the article listing top newsletters for journalists and media managers, which was originally published in July 2022.

Journalists love writing about other journalists. From NiemanLab to The Fix, there are many interesting media outlets covering the media sphere – and a few great newsletters is perhaps the best way to stay on top of most interesting stories. 

The Fix has compiled a list of ten best media newsletters to follow – along with an example of one worthwhile piece from each newsletter you should check out. 

Surely, this list is not exhaustive, and there are other top media newsletters to follow. We tried to balance newsletters covering different topics and include a few non-obvious choices. 

Do you know other media newsletter, especially those focused on the European market? Let us know at newsroom@thefix.media

Axios Media Trends

Axios built a successful news outlet thanks to its signature short-form style – brief, matter-of-fact articles with heavy use of bullet points – and its bet on newsletters.

Axios’s veteran media reporter Sara Fischer leads its weekly media newsletter. Focusing on the US media industry, Axios Media Trends is known for frequent scoops, as well as data analysis.

• One worthwhile piece: Deal frenzy stalled 

Future of Journalism by the Reuters Institute

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, one the most prominent media research centres, publishes a weekly newsletter “exploring the future of journalism worldwide”.

The newsletter comes out on Tuesday and features key highlights of the Reuters Institute’s research, as well as a selection of reading recommendations from other sources.

• One worthwhile piece: What’s next for journalism in 2023

Baekdal Plus Newsletter

Every week, Danish media analyst Thomas Baekdal discusses the issues in the media industry, including editorial and business strategies, trust in news, monetisation, and much more. He also analyses how specific topics, such as climate change or elections, are covered in the media, showing the examples mostly from the US and Nordic countries. You can expect very well-argued and clearly written points by him every week.

There is also a subscription option (12$/month and 120$/year) which opens a library of more than 200 special Plus reports, which are practical deep dives into particular topics.

• One worthwhile piece: Trust in news is about more than the news

The Rebooting

The Rebooting is a biweekly newsletter by Brian Morrissey, media expert and former president and editor-in-chief of Digiday. His project, which is paired with a weekly podcast, focuses on “building sustainable media businesses.” One of the weekly episodes usually contains a summary of a new podcast episode, where he shares insights from top media managers, while the second focuses on a particular topic from the author’s perspective.

• One worthwhile piece: RIP platisher

Kevin Anderson’s Newsletter

British journalist Kevin Anderson, who is now working as a Consulting Services Director, publishes the newsletter a few times a week. He gathers articles from all around the web and includes comments with his thoughts. Anderson focuses on topics around digital transformation and product development in media.

• One worthwhile piece: Cuts at ‘passion platforms’ Patreon and Substack cast shadow over creator economy

People vs Algorithms

Weekly newsletter by a media executive Troy Young which is a little wider than just about media business. Young discusses trends such as AI and reflects on what is going on in the media as a whole, so his newsletter is more of a food for thought to better navigate in this world instead of a practical guide.

• One worthwhile piece: Media and AI

RQ1

RQ1 is a monthly newsletter summarising the most interesting recent research on journalism and media. It’s written by Mark Coddington and Seth Lewis, American journalists-turned-academics.

Each edition includes a deep dive into one research paper and a roundup of several others. “Our goal is to give you each month a brief but meaningful overview of a key piece of research from the past month, and also to point you to a rundown on other important work you might want to check out,” the authors write.

• One worthwhile piece: Were fears about the ‘infodemic’ overblown? 

Media Voices

The Media Roundup from Media Voices is a convenient way to quickly catch up on most important stories – the newsletter offers a daily selection of four noteworthy articles for media and publishing professionals.

Media Voices is also a podcast devoted to news media, featuring interviews with the industry’s leading figures like Twitch’s Creative Strategy Lead Jack Woodcock or Director of the Reuters Institute Rasmus Kleis Nielsen.

• One worthwhile piece: Publishers reprioritise revenue over subscriber growth

Muck Rack Weekly

This weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn is another kind of a digest of media news. Gregory Galant chooses several events to report on with five to six paragraphs, including comments from media people on social media. Then, every article ends with a list of other media news and a lot of hyperlinks — a great place to follow what is going on.

• One worthwhile piece: Is four days the new three days?

The Fix Media

You are reading our newsletter, aren’t you?

The Fix’s mission is cracking the media management puzzle through insights, solutions and data. Recently, we reported on the Hungarian podcasting market, interviewed the CEO of Ukraine’s public broadcaster, looked at the revenue model of Sweden’s largest media house, and dived deep into the latest Digital News Report. 

The most reliable way to stay updated on our coverage is reading the weekly newsletter. Every Monday morning, we bring a roundup of The Fix’s pieces throughout the week, as well as industry news, grant opportunities and job offers for the media community, and more.

• One worthwhile piece: Making your journalism more constructive in 2023 

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