News consumers will increasingly check out of publications and platforms that don’t link tragic news to coverage of responses to the root problems that precipitated it. People want depth beyond explainers or infographics; they want to feel wiser about the nuanced, generational crises that we are facing, and the solutions that might turn the various tides.

The growth of Substack will lead to more news consumers being willing to pay for the news that doesn’t make them want to tune out. Individual newsletters are helping retrain us around how critical and worthwhile curating what we consume really is to our mental and intellectual health, and thus, we’re becoming more willing to pay for it.