Substack goes local

Your local newspaper is dying. Can newsletters replace it? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View on the web]( [Recode]( [Click to view images]( [Substack wants to pay you to write about local news]( Local newspapers have been in decline for well over a decade. Beginning with the advent of Craigslist, which took valuable classified ad revenue, and culminating with the dominance of Facebook and Google, which took the rest of the ad revenue, countless hometown papers have folded or significantly shrunk in size because they haven't had enough money to stay in business. Enter Substack, which has a lot of money. Buoyed by over $80 million in venture capital, the newsletter platform has made waves for drawing high-profile journalists away from their jobs at places like the New York Times (and Vox Media). The company now says it will hand out $1 million to all kinds of writers covering local news. These types of newsletters already exist — there's one for Toronto news, one for Indiana politics — and Substack sees an opportunity to grow more. Recode's Peter Kafka spoke to Substack co-founders Hamish McKenzie and Chris Best this week about the company's new initiative. [Click to view images]( [Like it or not, you should probably start paying attention to bitcoin]( As Coinbase goes public, cryptocurrency is more mainstream than ever. [ Rebecca Heilweil / [Recode]( ] [Click to view images]( [The spectacle of anti-Asian violence on Instagram]( Asian news sites like NextShark brought attention to anti-Asian racism — at the cost of circulating graphic imagery. [ Terry Nguyen / [Vox]( ] [Click to view images]( [Cable companies emerge as force in cellphone business]( More than five million Americans have turned to cable providers for cellphone service, attracted by lower prices and ease of adjusting plans. [ Lillian Rizzo and Drew FitzGerald / [Wall Street Journal]( ] [Click to view images]( ['It's a roller-coaster ride': Global chip shortage is making industries sweat]( The internet-connected world is completely dependent on the production of semiconductors. That's become a problem now that supplies are running short. [ Don Clark / [New York Times]( ] [Click to view images]( [A 23-year-old coder kept QAnon online when no one else would]( Nick Lim provides tech support to the U.S. networks of White nationalists and conspiracy theorists banned by the likes of Amazon. [ William Turton and Joshua Brustein / [Bloomberg Businessweek]( ] [This is Cool Section Title] [Look at this handcrafted wizard desk]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( Twitter [Instagram]( [Recode by Vox]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.