🟠 News Club - Eight years and counting...

On Saturday, we turned 8yo…

Thank you if you’re someone who gave us their best wishes after we flagged the milestone in the Saturday Squiz newsletter and Weekly Wrap podcast. 

I think to fact that we’re here - still learning and growing - is down to the fact that we’re forward-looking people. We’re not the sort of people who linger on what’s just happened - we’re always onto the next thing.

That’s mostly a good thing because what I’ve come to appreciate from running a small business is that a lot of the day-in-day-out practice of it is about momentum. However, what gets lost sometimes is a proper reflection on how far we’ve come. 

Last week, Kate Watson and I recorded a 15-minute podcast episode with Andrew Williams to mark the eighth anniversary of pressing send on the first Squiz Today newsletter, and we did a bit of both - looking back and looking forward. I encourage you to have a listen if you’re interested in how we’re going about things. 

I also wanted to pull out our observations here - because, if nothing else, I’m pretty good at boiling things down.

1. We’re doing good. I mean that in a slangish ‘things are fine’ kinda way… Our advertising revenue - while hard fought for - is solid and allows for modest growth. We now have 16 on the team, and plan for a couple more to up our capabilities and output. And I also mean ‘doing good’ in the literal sense. Squiz Kids and Newshounds is our investment in future generations of informed citizens, and we’re so proud of it. 

2. The more things change, the more they stay the same for The Squiz. The way Aussies consume news, our media environment here in Australia, and the influence of big tech - those 3 things are very different to when we started in 2017. What’s entirely unchanged is the way we tackle the news for you. Our mission to be your shortcut to being informed, without agenda and without taking ourselves too seriously, is 100% the same. 

3. By the end of this year, we’ll be a fully-fledged newsletter, podcast AND video business. As publishers struggle to maintain audiences and battle social media algorithms, we’re well-placed with our newsletters and podcasts. But it’s clear from observing my own habits and those around me that video is more and more a thing - and The Squiz needs to be there. Wish us luck… 

As always, thanks go to you for your support. We’re glad we’re a useful resource for you to make sense of the world - and that we can have some fun along the way. 

The future - particularly in the media industry - is far from assured, and we’ll continue to work hard to earn our place in your inbox or podcasting app - and, into the future, your video feed. But with Squizers’ support, we know anything is possible. 

If you want to get us something for our birthday, tell someone about us. Suggest they sign up for our newsletters. Recommend a podcast episode to listen to (some suggestions follow…). Recommendations from Squizers are the #1 way we grow, and we appreciate each and every referral from you. 

Alright, enough navel-gazing. Let’s get back to it….