The resurrection of Facebook Instant Articles

Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media newsletter. You can subscribe by clicking on this handy little button:

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This agency makes it easier for media startups to get off the ground

One major barrier to launching a new media company is that it requires significant resources to build a tech stack that caters to your content and business model. [Simon Owens]

Facebook Instant Articles revenues rise for publishers

You don't hear much these days about Facebook Instant Articles, but apparently more and more publishers are warming up to it. I'd love to see figures on how much Facebook is paying out, in aggregate, to publishers. [Digiday]

2020's been a breakout year for creators

It's never been easier for independent creators to monetize their content, and it feels like we're still at the beginning of the creator boom. Exciting times are ahead. [Axios]

Speaking of indie creators…

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Substack announces a new product that makes it easier to read all your newsletters in one place

Definitely an interesting product, though after testing it out, it seems clear it wouldn't have much utility unless you subscribe to a whole bunch of Substack newsletters. I think its newsletter discovery features could still use some work. [Substack]

How right-wing websites are getting around Facebook’s political ad ban

Weird that it almost always happens to be right wing websites that manage to skirt around Facebook's rules. Almost as if the platform is deliberately looking the other way. [Protocol]

Group Nine Media Explores Blank-Check Company for Digital-Media Acquisitions

We’re seeing a boom in indie creator publishing while simultaneously witnessing a huge consolidation of digital media companies. If you want to succeed in media, you either need to be small and nimble or really huge. [WSJ]

The real reason local newspapers are dying

There are a lot of reasons local news is struggling, but a big one is that so many legacy newspapers are just badly run. This is why so many digital news startups are succeeding in areas where their legacy competitors are shrinking or shutting down. [Nieman Lab]

Vox Media Studios targets $100 million in 2021 revenue

Everybody mocked the "pivot to video," but some publishers actually did a pretty good job with it. [Axios]

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