Substacker Judd Legum on doing journalism that ‘went out of fashion’
Judd Legum, who runs one of the top US politics paid newsletters, says his journalism and much of what appears on Substack “went out of fashion for a while” but now it is back – albeit not as a replacement for a traditional newsroom.
Popular Information, which provides a mix of investigative reporting and political analysis, began as a solo venture in 2018 and now has a reporting staff of three and at least 20,000 paying subscribers. With an annual cost of £37 (more for monthly subscribers), a conservative revenue estimate could be that the newsletter is bringing in £740,000 per year.
In total Popular Information has a free mailing list of 523,000 people who get the core four newsletters per week. Those who pay are able to comment and take part in the community, get access to events, and are told they “support independent accountability journalism”.
Legum writes about US politics from a liberal perspective, with stories frequently covering right-wing influence in US schools, campaign finance, corporate hypocrisy, and media misinformation.
Recent editions of Popular Information have included a critical analysis of the Trump administration’s justification for bombing Iran-linked targets and an investigation revealing Verizon and Amazon had quietly withdrawn support for Juneteenth events, drawing connections to federal pressure against diversity (DEI) initiatives.
The main newsletter is published four times a week and it now has a twice-weekly spin-off called Musk Watch focused entirely on Elon Musk. At the time of writing Legum and Popular Information are sixteenth in the US politics bestseller list.
‘I don’t view this as a replacement for traditional newsrooms’
Legum left the now-defunct progressive news site Think Progress, which he founded in 2005 and where he worked as editor-in-chief, to launch Popular Information on his own. (He also previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign.)
He brought on his first team member for Popular Information in 2020, a second in 2021, and a third more recently to produce Musk Watch. All three are full-time reporters.
“I don’t view this as a replacement for traditional newsrooms,” Legum said. “There are things you can do with hundreds of staff that I can’t. But the truth is, most of what large publications publish doesn’t require a dozen people.”
He sees Popular Information as part of a return to an earlier model of journalism that prioritises direct connection with readers, free from algorithm-chasing and clickbait incentives.
“This kind of journalism went out of fashion for a while, mostly because there weren’t viable ways to make it pay. But now there are.”
Popular Information’s model is “about 98% subscriptions,” Legum said. “Over the years I’ve had the odd contribution, but I don’t get many grants because I’m not a non-profit. Most people only want to fund those.”
‘I don’t believe it’s possible to be truly objective… That’s why I don’t try to pretend’
Legum believes the key to Popular Information’s success is the trust it builds with readers, who are willing to pay for high-quality original reporting.
“What drives loyalty is when you provide something readers feel they can’t get elsewhere,” he said. “Whether that’s an investigation or analysis, something different. That’s what keeps them engaged.”
He continued: “You’re not chasing page views anymore. It’s not about drive-by traffic from Facebook. It’s about building a closer, more intense relationship with your readers… Something that might make them think it’s worth paying for.”
Legum doesn’t claim to be neutral and says being honest about his perspective is part of what appeals to his audience.
“I don’t believe it’s possible to be truly objective,” he said. “That’s why I don’t try to pretend. I say, ‘This is who I am, this is my political background,’ and I let people make their own judgments.”
But he added that this still requires a high level of journalistic rigour.
“You have to tell the truth. Not just claim it. Actually check and double-check everything. People need to trust that what you say is accurate.”
He contrasts this approach with the “meta-analysis” and performative neutrality that dominates much of legacy political journalism.
“A lot of outlets are focused on appearing objective. But I think a bigger audience is now looking for something less constricted, more authentic, and more transparent about who is actually doing the writing.”
The challenges of going solo on Substack
The independent route does have drawbacks: “It can be lonely when you’re entirely on your own,” Legum said.
“There’s no team to bounce ideas off, no one to say, ‘What do you think of this?’ Sometimes you’re full of ideas, but other times it’s a struggle, and there’s no one to pick up the slack.”
For him, though, the autonomy was worth it. “The freedom outweighs the difficulty, but it’s not for everyone.”
Asked his advice for other journalists thinking about going solo, he said: “Think just as hard about the substance of what you want to write about as how you’re going to market it.
“You’re no longer just a journalist. You’re also the business manager and the marketing team. You have to take responsibility for the whole thing.”
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