26 Comments
User's avatar
Peri Strathearn's avatar

Yes. Yes! It's wonderful to see Substack recognise the same potential I saw in its platform a year ago next week: not just to give independence to big-name, big-audience writers, but to provide a pre-fabricated platform where regionally based journalists who've endured years of budget cuts under chain ownership can strike out on their own and give their communities better local news coverage than what they've been getting. Yes! Love this.

Corrado's avatar

A further initiative dedicated to USA writers and for the American business and news model. We Europeans are left alone.

Hamish McKenzie's avatar

Substack Local is open to applications from anywhere in the world.

Corrado's avatar

Yes, theoretically. The local news model can't succeed in Italy. Hamish, you should really start thinking to a European plan, as Substack could succeed much more than you think, here (not for the local news model, anyway)

Pascal Clérotte's avatar

What? Why is that? Why can't this business model succeed in Italy?

Corrado's avatar

The local news model is fully covered by free daily papers, financed by local companies and having a permanent, expensive staff working on the papers. I can't do it all alone and for free. Please note that in Italy nobody reads the local news, so as the national news, so as books and newspapers. Unfortunately Italians are not great readers.

Pascal Clérotte's avatar

Nothing is "fully covered". Never. Please note that i have a shitloads of italian friends that actually read the local news.

Corrado's avatar

it is not a matter of readers only: it's a matter of market, processes, costs. Organisation. Etc. Etc. It is impossible to do it all alone, on my own and getting a price. Ask your friends to send me a photo of the local news they read and I will demonstrate that I am right

B.C. Kowalski's avatar

This is fantastic. I started The Wausonian to deliver a roundup of local news to readers' inbox once per week, with periodic deep dive, records/data-driven features, and people really love it. So I was very happy to see this. Even if I'm not selected, I am just so glad this is happening!

Marianne's avatar

NewsBox is right-leaning politically incorrect publication reporting on USA politics,China and Economy

https://plinews.substack.com/

Alexia Georghiou's avatar

People’s confidence in the media has declined. People currently trust companies more than governments, media, or NGO's, ( 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer). This is the right time to empower honest journalism that is balanced focusing on what is going well.

Wesley Verhoeve's avatar

This sounds like a wonderful initiative to push back a little against the decimation of the local newspapers.

Jonathan Reiss's avatar

I see the 12 that were selected in 2021.

Were there any funded in 2022 or 2023?

Karin Blignaut's avatar

We missed out in South Africa. We were unaware that we could also apply

demianDAO's avatar

Great plan, I believe that more people will settle here to write.

Matt Jachman's avatar

Hello. Successful applicants for Substack Local were to be announced May 20. Am I missing something?

Casey Mahoney's avatar

It is good to know what's going on in the neighbourhood.

Casey Mahoney's avatar

It is good to know what's going on in the neighbourhood.

Zalo Sánchez's avatar

Good luck to all applicants's... we feel very enthusiastic about this initiative!