re: The Atlantic's in subscriptions (36k in March!)

tl;dr: CNN : 1991 :: The Atlantic : 2020

A few 1/4 baked trying to learn from CNN during the first Gulf War with how The Atlantic is an authority for folks considered "high-information consumers" https://twitter.com/jbenton/status/1245756393078038528

At the top:

If you work in media, you know that the Atlantic has spent years hiring an incredible staff of reporters, editors, developers, designers, and more.

It's not a surprise that the Atlantic has Nieman Lab alums in senior roles across the masthead.

It's also worth mentioning that the Atlantic has sought out incredibly talented science, medical, and technology journalists to report on disease and climate.

Without these people, the Atlantic wouldn't be such a trusted resource at this precise moment.

Now... wtf am I thinking about CNN in the early 1990s?

I was 6 during Operation Desert Shield and didn't remember that for a two week period CNN basically had a monopoly on broadcasts b/c they - unlike ABC, NBC, etc - had a dedicated telephone line running through Jordan.

Throughout the military operation (for better and worse), CNN became the war.

World leaders watched CNN. Members of Congress watched CNN. Journalists watched CNN.

If interested, run a google scholar search for the "CNN effect" to learn more.

"I waited all the time, watching CNN. For five, six hours I didn't move," -Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

does this sound familiar?

In 2020, many folks are glued to cable TV but it's not the same as it was in 1991.

And yes, I'm talking about Twitter.

Unlike CNN who had a monopoly, Twitter doesn't intentionally favor one specific media company over others

But... there are ways to remain relevant as we refresh our feeds day after day after day...

I think the Atlantic is best in class in making the case to stay in our feeds

Why is the Atlantic staying relevant in our Twitter feeds?

- Quality reporting + analysis
- Helping support services for all journalists like @COVID19Tracking
- Respect among their peers who consistently share

It feels like b/c so many journalists rely on The Atlantic, there's a new "flywheel" where:

- Journalists read & share the Atlantic's journalism
- Journalists amplify the Atlantic to high-information consumers
- High-information consumers share with their friends (Facebook)
-

/gonna end b/c there are way more important things worth your attention at this moment...

It's obvious the Atlantic's rapid growth in subscriptions is not a fluke. It's grounded in years of hard work + talented folks who are trying to help us all make sense of what's going on.