The New York Times Debuts Subscriber-Only Newsletters

Rumors have swirled for months that The New York Times was working on a newsletter project to combat external pressure from platforms like Substack, and this morning the publisher unveiled it. The Times announced on Thursday that it would be launching a suite of 18 new and existing subscriber-only newsletters, including seven entirely original opinion newsletters, eight formerly free news emails and three formerly free opinion emails. The program begins Aug. 16. “Our suite of Opinion newsletters will explore complex issues that matter most to our readers across topics like race, economics, language, technology and more,” said Opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury in a statement. Top Line The Times follows in the footsteps of other publishers, like Bloomberg Media, who have begun experimenting with subscribers-only perks in the hopes of boosting retention. The Times’ new stable of newsletters trades on the cachet of many of its most influential journalists, such as economist Paul Krugman, tech reporter Kara Swisher and political analyst Jamelle Bouie. By giving renowned authors flagship newsletters and placing those products behind a paywall, The Times hopes to incentivize new readers to subscribe and reinforce the value of current subscribers’ monthly payments. Newsletters have become one of the dominant trends in the media world in the last year, as the old-fashioned technology allows publishers to bypass algorithms and deliver their journalism directly into the inbox of readers. The routine cadence of newsletters helps readers develop habit, a valuable quality given that data suggests readers who regularly consume content are the least likely to churn. The Times' more than 50 newsletters currently reach more than 15 million people every week, and almost half of all Times subscribers open at least one newsletter on a given week, according to Axios. Between the Lines The newsletter platform Substack blindsided much of the media ecosystem in 2020 by luring top writers away from their employers with promises of higher salaries, more autonomy and stability in an uncertain media ecosystem. In the last year, journalists like Casey Newton and Matthew Yglesias decamped from their publishers to launch independent newsletters, which have in certain cases proven wildly lucrative. Earlier this year, prominent New York Times journalist Charlie Warzel left the newspaper to launch a newsletter on Substack, and the platform has courted reporters like media critic Ben Smith and culture reporter Taylor Lorenz. The Times’ newsletter program likely hopes to act as a safeguard against the siren song of Substack, a way for the publisher to reward its top journalists and discourage notions they might have of leaving. A Times spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked whether writers in its newsletter program would receive a cut of the subscription revenue they generate, a practice that publishers with similar programs, like Forbes, have adopted. It is also unknown who owns the intellectual property of these newsletters. Bottom Line The Times recently surpassed 8 million digital subscriptions, making it the undisputed leader in the race to accumulate paying readers online. CEO Meredith Kopit Levien has said that the publisher sees its potential market size as 100 million subscriptions. However, in an increasingly crowded digital ecosystem, the publisher has embraced new methods of generating subscriptions, such as leaning on its Games and Cooking products. Its push to use newsletters as a lever for generating new paying customers aligns with this trend. The Times added only about 77,000 new subscriptions to its news product last quarter, its lowest gain since 2018. The publisher no doubt hopes its new fleet of subscribers-only newsletters will help bolster that growth. The New York Times Tops 8 Million Subscribers, but Growth Stutters

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The New York Times Debuts 18 Subscriber-Only Newsletters

The project is its long-rumored response to Substack

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Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg