Claim OwnershipThe Business of Content with Simon Owens
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© Simon Owens 2025
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The show about how publishers create, distribute, and monetize their digital content.
261 Episodes
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My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ The Kyiv Independent launched in 2021, and its timing was in some ways fortuitous, since it was only a few months later that Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine. Suddenly, the entire world was paying attention to the country, and the Kyiv Independent happened to be the most authoritative English-language outlet to be reporting on the ground. This attention not only resulted in a massive amount of traffic, but also a surge in membership donations as sympathetic Westerners sought out ways to support Ukraine's cause. In a recent interview, Chief Operating Officer Zakhar Protsiuk discussed the early days of getting the Kyiv Independent off the ground, its shift from one-time donations to recurring memberships, and why the outlet has begun producing longform documentaries.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ What if you took Morning Brew's approach to newsletter writing and applied it to local news? That was the original idea behind 6AM City, a company that launched its first newsletter in Greenville, South Carolina in 2016 and gradually expanded into over a dozen cities. For most of its history, 6AM City's approach was to hire a handful of editors in each city and then gradually build up an audience and advertiser base. But in the last year, it developed a playbook for using AI to launch newsletters in smaller, less populated areas, with the goal of eventually hiring human editors once those newsletters reached certain thresholds. In a recent interview, co-founder Ryan Heafy explained how these AI newsletters actually work, where they get their information, and what guardrails the company has put in place to ensure quality control.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ When the media holding company Woven Digital purchased BroBible in 2012, the idea was that the guy-focused publisher would benefit from all the business synergies that come from being part of a larger media network. Instead, BroBible was neglected and undermonetized. So when Woven began unraveling its holdings in 2018, BroBible's staff banded together and bought it back. And what started out as a staff of seven has grown to 16 today, and the business is diversified across programmatic advertising, events, and sponsored social media posts. In a recent interview, publisher Brandon Wenerd walked through Brobible's early blogging days, its transformation into a real business, and how breaking free of its parent company allowed it to adapt to the current media climate.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ In 2008, Wade Wallace found himself living in Australia and laid off from the company that moved him there in the first place. With his visa in limbo, and not much else to do, he launched CyclingTips, a blog that covered both the professional and amateur aspects of the sport. What started out as a hobby eventually grew into a fully-staffed news website, one that eventually sold to the investment firm that owned Outside Magazine. Then in 2022 he quit CyclingTips, raised some investment money, and then launched Escape Collective, which covers the exact same beat. Unlike CyclingTips, Escape Collective is fully funded through paid subscriptions, and when we recorded this interview it was on the verge of profitability. In a recent interview, Wade walked through his early days building CyclingTips, why he grew unhappy at Outside, and how he grew Escape Collective to 15,000 paying members.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ There was a time 20 years ago where if you filmed a horror movie on a tight enough budget, you could plausibly turn a profit from the DVD sales alone. Unfortunately for Chris Sharpe, his entry into the horror genre came just as the DVD market was collapsing, and so his career as a movie director fizzled out after he made only one film. Luckily, one of the stars of that film, Hilah Johnson, had a strong onscreen presence and a penchant for cooking, and together they launched Hilah Cooking, a YouTube channel that eventually grew to over 450,000 subscribers. Then a few years later Chris teamed up with another co-star from that movie, Adriene Mishler, to launch Yoga With Adriene, which now has over 13 million subscribers on YouTube. In a recent interview, Chris walked through how he and his collaborators launched both channels, why Hilah decided to eventually end her channel, and the massive success they've seen building a yoga streaming app.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ When Tomiwa Aladekomo took over Big Cabal Media eight years ago, the company was little more than two promising publications that were read mostly within Nigeria. He stepped in not as a founder, but as someone who had spent years inside every corner of the media world, including music, advertising, brand strategy, and digital publishing. And he saw, even then, that Big Cabal had the potential to diversify its revenue and scale up into one of the most influential media companies in Africa. In a recent interview, Tomiwa walked through how that early instinct turned into a 100-person company that now stretches across multiple countries and several lines of business. He also discussed how Big Cabal is navigating the same headwinds facing publishers everywhere—including shrinking social traffic and the rise of AI—while also confronting challenges unique to African media.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ These days, every audio podcast has an accompanying video podcast, but Jefferson Graham was hosting video podcasts before the term even existed. In 2006, he started co-hosting a show with another USA Today colleague who lived on the opposite coast from him, and they'd physically FedEx the tapes back and forth so they could be edited. Jefferson then went on to host several video series for USA Today, including one where he'd interview celebrities about their favorite tech. In 2021, after 30 years at USA Today, he decided to take a buyout so he could launch PhotowalksTV, a YouTube travel show where he'd visit different cities and instruct viewers on the best spots to take photos. In 2024, he signed a deal with Scripps News to broadcast the show on its FAST channels, and now new episodes air every Sunday at 10 am. In a recent interview, Jefferson discussed what it was like to host a podcast when nobody knew what a podcast was, why he took the buyout from USA Today, and how he generates multiple revenue streams through his YouTube channel.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ If you attend any media industry conference, you'll hear lots of discussions from publishers about how they're trying to diversify their revenue streams, but Todd Scott took the opposite approach. A few years ago, he announced the National Business Review, the New Zealand media outlet he runs, would no longer accept advertising and instead monetize solely through paid subscriptions. NBR now has over 14,000 subscribers paying $499 New Zealand dollars a year. In 2025, it's projected to generate $4.5 million in revenue and is profitable. In a recent interview, Todd walked me through how he acquired NBR, why he ditched advertising, and his plans to license his publishing technology to media outlets all across the world.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ Francesca Donner has had a somewhat unusual journalism career in that she never aspired to be a reporter or have her own bylines; instead, she started out her career as an editor and rose through the ranks of places like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. But though she wielded some influence at these publishers, she was always frustrated by the lack of female viewpoints, both in terms of who was writing the articles and who was being interviewed for them. So in 2022, she launched the Persistent, a sort of online magazine that's written entirely by women. In a recent interview, Francesca talked about her experience working in mainstream media, how she's trying to build an interactive community with the Persistent, and why she's been hesitant to lock content behind a paywall.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ One day in the 1990s, Alan Jay received a surprising phone call at work from Jeff Bezos's assistant, who said the Amazon founder wanted to meet with him during an upcoming trip to the UK. That meeting would eventually lead to Amazon acquiring IMDB, the movie database Alan had co-founded. After the acquisition, Alan didn't rest on his laurels; over the next two decades, he went on to co-found two other media companies – one in entertainment and the other sports – both of which had their own successful exits. In a recent interview, Alan told the origin story of IMDB, walked through how he built the two other media properties, and explained why it's much harder to launch a media business today compared to 20 years ago.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ If Stuart Schuffman were in his early 20s today and building an independent media career, he'd probably be a TikTok influencer, but when he launched Broke Ass Stuart in the early 2000s, the natural medium was a print zine, one he printed out and stapled together himself. It was a San Francisco travel guide of sorts, and he trucked it all around the city and convinced coffee shops and bookstores to sell it on consignment. The zine was never a huge moneymaker, but it landed him a book deal, and from there it expanded into an online media brand that's widely read by the city locals. In fact, Stuart can't walk through the streets of San Francisco today without being recognized. In a recent interview, he told the Broke Ass Stuart origin story and explained how, bit by bit, it turned into a real business.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ By the time Eric Coffie launched his YouTube channel in 2016, he was already one of the most successful federal government contractors in the US and employed an entire team that specialized in erecting steel buildings. The YouTube channel came out of his frustration of having to repeat the same advice over and over again to those wanting to break into the industry; he figured he could just record some video explainers and send them to people. But the success of the channel led to him expanding into podcasts, and then before he knew it Eric was operating an entire media company that spanned across video, podcasts, online courses, coaching, events, and even a paid community. In a recent interview, Eric explained how he found an audience by going extremely niche and why he wants to shut down most of his media revenue streams so he can regrow his contracting business.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ The Coppell Chronicle isn't your average Substack newsletter. For one, the headlines are incredibly boring. Secondly, there's really no free version of it, since every issue that's sent out includes a paywall. But perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is that it's managed to convert upwards of 40% of its email list into paid subscribers, which is a conversion rate at least 10 times higher than the average Substack newsletter. What's more, its owner Dan Koller achieved all this while maintaining his full time job. In a recent interview, Dan explained how he launched the newsletter, why it took off in his Dallas suburb, and whether he thinks other wannabe local news entrepreneurs could copy his model.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ If you ask Dave Anderson what he does for a living, he'll probably tell you he's retired, but that's not entirely true. While he did leave his last full-time job at Amazon back in 2020, he still writes a weekly newsletter on Substack about tech leadership. And even though he only works on the newsletter part time, it currently has over 2,000 paid subscribers. It turns out a lot of people want to tap into his insights gleaned from 20 years working in the tech industry, including over 10 at Amazon. In a recent interview, Dave discussed the newsletter's origin story, how it found its audience, and why he doesn't have any ambitions to scale it into a larger media company.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ Andrew Fogliato never set out to be a marketing consultant. He was simply trying to succeed as a real estate agent and began creating local online content to promote his listings. His colleagues at RE/MAX quickly noticed that his marketing savvy gave him an edge, and soon he was training other agents across Canada. Eventually, he left RE/MAX to launch his own marketing agency, where he built a strong business helping agents run Facebook ads. In 2022, Andrew saw an even bigger opportunity. He purchased Real Estate Magazine, Canada's largest industry trade publication, and immediately began expanding its online presence. In a recent interview, he discussed why he bought the magazine, his approach to monetization, and why he isn't in a hurry to expand into the U.S. market.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ SailGP is only a little over five years old, and yet the competitive sailing league has already built out a substantial fan base all across the world. Not only are its competitions broadcast on linear TV channels, it also produces an impressive amount of content that includes YouTube videos, social media clips, and podcasts. In 2022, it hired Melissa Lawton, a longtime sports broadcast producer, to run its content operations, and she's invested heavily in everything from live streaming to highly-produced docuseries. In a recent interview, Melissa explained how SailGP's media operations fit within its larger business and walked through her team's approach to producing both shortform and longform content.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ When Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter launched the Design Better podcast, they did it on behalf of InVision, a tech platform used by designers and other creatives. Aaron was the head of content at the company, and the goal of the podcast was to educate the designer community while also raising awareness of the InVision brand. But when InVision decided to wind down its content operations, Eli and Aarron negotiated to take over Design Better, and now it's a thriving standalone business. In a recent interview, Eli talked through everything from the evolving format of the show to how it became an independent media business to its current monetization models.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ When Kevin Raposo launched KnowTechie in 2014, he had no idea it would grow into a thriving tech news outlet – he just wanted journalists to answer his emails. He was working as a PR consultant and figured reporters would be more receptive to his pitches if they considered him to be one of their peers. But after three years of running the site, its audience blew up, and Kevin was able to hire several writers to expand its coverage. And while the rise of generative AI has eaten into its traffic, KnowTechie continues to drive meaningful revenue. In a recent interview, Kevin walked me through his accidental entry into content marketing, his strategy for growing KnowTechie's audience, and how running the site impacts his day job as a tech PR consultant.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ By the time Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables came together to launch a parenting podcast in 2016, both had already achieved some mainstream success in traditional Hollywood. Amy landed multiple roles in TV sitcoms and Margaret had worked for several years as a senior writer at Nickelodeon. They teamed up on the podcast, which is called What Fresh Hell, because it offered them more creative freedom and ownership over their work. Within years, advertisers were beating down their door to reach their enormous audience, which mostly consists of moms. In 2022, they leveraged that success to launch Adalyst Media, a podcast network that sells ads for other shows targeting female audiences. In a recent interview, Amy walked me through why she left traditional Hollywood, their decision to launch a network, and how she thinks the podcast industry will evolve in the coming years.
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ Spencer Macnaughton doesn't believe there's a lack of LGBTQ-focused journalism in the mainstream media; as a former producer for both 60 Minutes and the Wall Street Journal, he saw a willingness from these outlets to cover anti gay and trans hate movements. He launched Uncloseted Media last year, though, because he thinks there's a need for more concentrated, investigative reporting on this type of discrimination, and he convinced several wealthy donors to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to help him get it off the ground. Today, it publishes up to two investigative articles per week and has been syndicated by some of the world's largest media outlets. In a recent interview, Spencer walked me through how he pitched these donors, why he went the non-profit route, and how he works with other news outlets to amplify his team's reporting.
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