The media landscape is expanding. Influence is no longer shaped only within traditional newsrooms, but across a wider ecosystem of platforms and independent voices. Substack has become one of the most significant among them, with its impact already clear. The New York Times, through The Athletic, recently acquired The Sports Gossip Show, a publication that began on Substack and proved its value by building a loyal, engaged audience long before it entered the legacy spotlight.
How Substack Builds Influence
Influence on Substack is backed by visible audience growth, subscriber data, and engagement from both readers and the broader media. What sets the platform apart is how it enables writers to build credibility in plain sight. They connect directly with readers, refine their voice over time, and earn trust within focused communities.
Substack’s rise has produced breakout figures whose reach now rivals traditional columnists. Take Aaron Parnas, whose newsletter The Parnas Perspective became the top-ranked news publication on Substack by mid-2025 with more than 447,000 subscribers. That level of traction has drawn attention from major journalists and political figures, showing how success on Substack can lead to broader visibility and credibility for writers and their brands.
What is Substack?
Launched in 2017 by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi, Substack is a publishing platform that empowers writers, journalists, and creators to build independent audiences through email newsletters. By combining an easy-to-use publishing interface with direct-to-subscriber delivery and built-in paid subscription tools, it gives creators full ownership of their content and audience. For communications professionals, this means a growing space to discover credible voices, engage with niche communities, and track emerging narratives before they surface in traditional media. The model has attracted everyone from high-profile journalists to subject matter experts, all seeking editorial freedom and a direct, trusted connection with readers.
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