Hamish McKenzie

We're living through the most significant media disruption since the printing press.

It's a transformation that explains everything from political polarization to why algorithms now do the jobs of editors.

And it's creating a hell of a mess.

But I secretly think that we're on our way to something greater than we've ever seen in human history.

This is a massive deal, of course, because media systems don't just convey information.

They shape how we think and how we behave,

They shape our culture.

I spent my career navigating these shifts.

As one of the founders of Substack, I helped writers and creators make money directly from their audiences.

Before Substack, I was the lead writer for Tesla, I wrote a book about the electric car revolution, and I covered media startups as a reporter.

So I've witnessed firsthand how media systems evolve and how they collapse.

The arrival of the internet promised to democratize media.

But so far, I think, it has broken more than it's fixed.

Yes, social media has given everyone a voice, but it has still concentrated power in the hands of a few.

But I see a new system starting to flourish.

and I call it the garden.

This garden includes a new generation of media platforms that give more power to creators and consumers.

It's coming from places like Patreon, Twitch, Supercast, and then the company I started with Chris Best and Jiraj Sethi, Substack.

It's an ecosystem that gives economic autonomy to independent voices,

and it fosters direct relationships that are built on trust, instead of just putting everyone at the mercy of algorithms that maximize engagement and advertising revenue.