Forbes to launch a newsletter service that will let journalists start their own paid newsletters and split the revenue, while also getting a salary and benefits
Forbes is launching a newsletter platform that will allow journalists to launch their own paid newsletters and split the revenue … Tweets: @axios , @campuscodi , @levinejonathan , @jackmarshall , @hanaatameez , @alexrkonrad , @simonowens , @kantrowitz , @seangriffey , @randalllane , @benedictevans , and @sub8u See also Mediagazer Tweets: @axios : Exclusive: Forbes is launching a newsletter platform that will allow journalists to launch their own paid newsletters and split the revenue with the publisher. It will hire 20-30 writers with big followings to get the platform up and running. https://www.axios.com/... Catalin Cimpanu / @campuscodi : People barely buy subscriptions on legitimate news sites. Wonder what makes some newsrooms think people will flock to pay for newsletters, many of which are just lists of links, with little actual perceivable value. https://twitter.com/... Jon Levine / @levinejonathan : If I'm a writer with a large following and want to start a paid newsletter, I see very little reason to share my profits with Forbes rather than just start a substack https://www.axios.com/... Jack Marshall / @jackmarshall : 50/50 revenue split is steep, but the current independent newsletter boom feels like a stepping stone to models like these. https://www.axios.com/... Hanaa' Tameez / @hanaatameez : “It will be less appealing for writers with controversial political opinions or those looking for no editorial or brand oversight, like Glenn Greenwald, who recently joined Substack.” Via @sarafischer: https://www.axios.com/... Alex Konrad / @alexrkonrad : We are launching a new kind of newsletter model at @Forbes, with the goal of supporting more high-quality journalism! I'm excited to announce that we're launching a Midas List newsletter in upcoming weeks as part of this broader push. via @sarafischer: https://axios.com/... Simon Owens / @simonowens : This seems like a big deal. It's the first mainstream media company that I know of that will actually partner with writers (i.e., giving them a cut of revenue) to launch newsletters. https://www.axios.com/... Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz : Forbes is going to pay journalists a salary to write newsletters, and split subscription revenue with them. Competition with Substack heats up. https://twitter.com/... Sean Griffey / @seangriffey : Does anyone else remember when *everyone* decided that Groupon was going to be huge and then everyone rushed to create a lookalike competitor only to realize the market was large enough for all of them? https://www.axios.com/... Randall Lane / @randalllane : Excited for the new @Forbes Journalist Entrepreneurs program, hiring top reporters to produce premium paid newsletters. A bunch of folks comparing it with Substack this morning. Would like to clarify the differences (short thread) https://www.axios.com/... Benedict Evans / @benedictevans : I am somewhat skeptical that people with big audiences will give Substack 10% indefinitely, but Forbes wants 50%. They'll have to give a great deal of upside to your audience to justify that, IMO. https://www.axios.com/... Subrahmanyam Kvj / @sub8u : We are in that phase where everyone you know has a newsletter (yes, I have one too!). And every site you read has a newsletter platform. Forbes launches one and wants a 50% revenue split. Is there a phrase called ignorant greed? 🤔 https://t.co/q1bzWewHbc https://t.co/USCW7qNRpv See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Newsletter platforms had already presented direct subscriber payments as a sustainable model for some writers, while Substack framed itself as a platform rather than a media company. Forbes adds a publisher-backed version: selected writers receive employment terms alongside subscriber revenue.
The later debate over platform payments as editorial selection sharpens why the structure matters. Choosing and compensating writers makes the operator more than a neutral payments-and-publishing layer.
First-order effects
- Forbes must recruit 20–30 journalists with established followings and fund salaries and benefits while sharing paid-newsletter subscription revenue.
- Participating journalists gain a route to subscriber revenue without assuming the full employment risk of operating independently.
Second-order effects
- Substack faces a more direct contest for prominent writers from a publisher offering both creator-style revenue sharing and traditional employment terms.
- Forbes shifts part of its subscription proposition from a house publication to individual journalists, making writer selection central to customer acquisition.
Third-order effects
- The model blurs the line between newsletter platform and publisher: financing selected writers gives the operator an editorial role, consistent with the later critique of writer payments as editorial decisions.
- If publishers adopt similar arrangements, newsletter businesses may compete less on publishing tools alone and more on the compensation packages and distribution support offered to individual writers.
The trend: Paid newsletters are evolving from standalone creator businesses into hybrid publisher platforms that combine subscriber revenue with institutional backing.