The future of journalism is emails like this

I can’t recall anyone ever saying it was a good time to get a job in journalism. But even by the industry’s usual standards, last week’s layoffs at the Washington Post were devastating. Nearly half of the journalists at the third-largest paper in the U.S. were abruptly laid off, including its entire books and sports sections, a reporter in his eighties who had been working there since 1965, and its Ukraine correspondent Lizzie Johnson, who was in the middle of an active war zone.

This was more of a solemn defeat than anything resembling a surprise. WaPo’s owner Jeff Bezos, who is currently the fifth-richest person on Earth, has spent the last couple years driving the news organization that broke Watergate into the ground. The entire industry isn’t dead yet, it’s just shrinking at an alarming pace, like sea ice in the Arctic. Some journalists are surviving as freelancers and going independent, launching their own publications as newsletters and websites and podcasts and social media pages. I can attest to that, since it’s what I did after I got laid off from NBC News last year. I’m used to seeing people talk about the limits of this form, how not everyone can do it and how it can’t fully replace what has been lost. They’re not entirely wrong, but that’s also not the whole story. Independent, worked-owned journalism has also met needs, filled gaps, and succeeded for a growing number of people.

To talk about the ups and downs of publishing hard-hitting journalism in the newsletter ecosystem, I chatted with 404 Media’s Jason Koebler and The Handbasket’s Marisa Kabas, whose scoops and reporting have outpaced some legacy newsrooms with a fraction of their resources.

I also have some exciting news to share about this newsletter, which is that Spitfire News turn 1 year old in two weeks! And to celebrate, I’m throwing a little soirée in New York City for friends and members. There will be more details after the break, and I hope to see/meet some of you there!

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