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It's Election Day. Feeling Twitchy?

Plus: V. Spehar's new Substack, ethical true crime and why Google docs rule

Author

Liz Kelly Nelson
November 05, 2024

As I type this, it’s before noon on election day in the United States, so:

Election-related

  • If you’re covering the election today and need support explaining what the hell is happening, Trusting News has got your back with this continually updated resource explaining everything from vote counting to misinformation.

  • In Chicago, a low-tech 70-page Google doc voting guide called “Girl, I Guess,” has gained massive traction, defying almost every newsroom in America that diligently creates and promotes under-trafficked voter guides every election cycle. What’s their secret? Co-creator Stephanie Skora tells The Washington Post it’s all about tone and a clear point of view.

  • Aaron Rupar, former Vox editor and king of the political Twitter clip, tells the Pioneer Press about his journey to independence. With 1M X followers and a thriving Substack newsletter, Rupar says “it’s worked out well.”

  • How are Gen Z voters following the U.S. election? TikTok memes, Instagram stories and on Twitch, where one Zillenial tells The Boston Globe she can find sources that align with her own values and feel a sense of community with others who gather there to talk about the news. (note: I was able to circumvent the subscriber pop-up by clicking on the privacy policy text and then using the back button on my browser.)

  • Related: Twitcher Hasan Piker is using his stream to cover the election and fostering a lively, and seemingly never-ending chat for his 2.7M followers.

In other news

  • Under the Desk News-er V Spehar is expanding from TikTok to Substack with the launch of a new newsletter that they say will become “the safest, most greatest place on the Internet for news.”

  • Substack says its app is now the biggest subscription growth engine for its stable of newsletter scribes, beating out the platform’s recommendations engine. “In the past month, recommendations drove 2 million subscriptions across the platform,” writes co-founder Hamish McKenzie. “The app drove 3 million.” McKenzie goes on to credit the growth to Notes, the Home feed, and onboarding suggestions.

  • Meanwhile, writes Taylor Lorenz (on Substack), Substack’s follow feature is antithetical to the platform’s original mission of centering creator ownership of their user lists.

  • Some true crime creators are intentionally shifting the focus of their work to victims and survivors, writes Hanaa' Tameez for NiemanLab, in what they’re calling a more ethical approach to the popular genre.

Training opp

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