📌 3 Big Takeaways:
Substack isn’t disrupting traditional media—it’s disrupting social media.
The core asset of local media is trust and community—something Substack is built to support.
Hamish foresees a shift in which media orgs partner with creators, rather than operating in the traditional employer/employee relationship.
From Crocodiles to Content Platforms
In our latest People of Media conversation, I had the privilege of sitting down with
, co-founder of Substack, the platform behind this very newsletter.From his childhood tales of “crocodiles stuck in toilets” to covering Elon Musk at Tesla, Hamish has always been driven by a love for storytelling and journalism.
“I decided I wanted to be a journalist. I couldn’t think of a better job,” he said. “You can hold power to account, speak truth to power... You can get policies changed.”
Today, Hamish isn’t a journalist in the traditional sense—he’s something more. “I’m not doing the work directly,” he explained, “but I get to enable many journalists to do it. That’s even better.”
Vision-Driven
Hamish is a visionary with bold ideas that challenge the status quo. He doesn’t just respond to shifts in media. He imagines new futures and builds toward them. His thinking reframes how we understand publishing, trust, and technology—and opens the door to a different kind of media system.
And while his company is seen as a disruptor, he draws a line:
“We’re not disrupting traditional media. That already happened. We’re disrupting social media.”
Platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram “just want to take what you’ve got and keep it in their systems,” he says. In contrast, “Substack wins when you win.”
That’s the main weapon in Substack’s fight against the “attention monsters.”
Keeping Talent in the New Era: Ownership vs. Employment
Hamish made a powerful case for embracing the full spectrum of creator mindsets inside media organizations. “Some people are going to want to do the independent thing and are going to be successful at it. You’re better off having a piece of it and looking to invest in that, rather than trying to trap them until they get frustrated and leave anyway.”
He contrasted this with staffers who “are going to be happier as being part of a newsroom,” valuing the structure, paycheck, and camaraderie.
As mentioned in Don Harkey’s keynote at the recent Denver CRMA conference, leadership’s relationship with teams is changing, especially as Boomers continue to hand the reigns to the next generations, who think very differently. This is a time to be open to ideas that might have seemed too disruptive or inconvenient in ages past.
In Hamish’s mind, one key is offering both paths. Publishers who want to retain top-tier, entrepreneurial talent will need to think beyond salary and into co-ownership. By supporting individual creators with aligned incentives—giving them space to build a presence, share in subscription revenue, or own their audience relationships—media orgs can stay relevant and vibrant in the age of supported influencers.
💡 Want more voices like Hamish McKenzie? See more People of Media at https://peopleofedia.com
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