An Interview with Meredith Klein from Meredith & The Media

The way people consume news is changing.

Substack, which was started in 2017 by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi, is now home to 50,000 publishers monetizing their content, with the top 10 publishers bringing in more than $40 million per year.

As PR professionals, it’s important that we keep our clients apprised of shifts in the media landscape. As Substack continues to grow in popularity, there’s a lot to uncover on why so many veteran reporters are flocking to the platform and what it takes to build a successful following.

To learn more, I spoke with none other than Meredith Klein, who brings her 20+ years of communications experience to her Meredith & The Media Substack. 

If you’re unfamiliar with Meredith & The Media, it’s a must for all PR professionals and my personal favorite Substack. Meredith sits down with top reporters to discuss the changing media landscape, the relationship between content creation and journalism, pitching tips, and so much more. With over 2,100 subscribers in just a handful of months, Meredith is working to shape better PR pros and bring the industry along with her to explore new waves of media.

Q: You've obviously had an immensely impressive communications career from Walmart to Pinterest, and now you've launched Meredith & The Media. What inspired you to go out on your own on Substack and what has your experience been building it from the ground up?

A:  I've been in PR for 20 years. I cut my teeth on the agency side, working at Golin and then Makovsky, and then I was pulled in-house to Jet.com, which was acquired by Walmart. I was then a communications leader at both Walmart and Pinterest. Being in communications for so long, I have built a significant media rolodex. So all of these reporters I have pitched and secured stories with have become friends. 

Media relations is one of my absolute favorite parts of communications. It’s what I was always really good at, so I started offering Media Relations services to agencies, brands and startups. As I was doing this, I was seeing the early rise of Substacks. Legacy reporters who spent decades at outlets (e.g. CNN, Forbes, etc.) were all moving over to start their own Substack, so I started talking about the rise and resurgence of the platform, and that’s when I started getting interest from trade outlets about what this trend was.

It finally came to the point where I was talking about Substack and pitching Substacks, so it made sense for me to put my money where my mouth is, so to say, and start my own. I carved out my niche interviewing reporters, so I can share insights that will help teach the next wave of PR professionals about the industry, where it’s at, and where it's headed.

Q: What do you think helped you the most with developing strong personal and professional relationships with reporters? Relationship building is something we're always talking about at Greenough, and how it’s not always about just sending a pitch or asking for something, but also letting reporters know when you like a story or asking how you can be a resource. 

A: It's the two-hand rule. You've got two hands, one to ask for help and one to offer help. So if you're constantly putting out your hand, saying “I've got this pitch,” “I need this help,” “I have this story,” it becomes a very one-sided relationship. Whereas, if you're like, “Hey, I saw you're looking for a source. I don't have any clients that fit the bill, but I'll send out a tweet or I'll send out a message on LinkedIn to help you find one,” — it really goes a long way.

For example, I was working with a reporter at Good Morning America, and I had a source for her, and she let me know she needed one more. I didn’t have one, but I put a post on LinkedIn, and I got tons of inbounds. I ended up taking a call from a freelancer, vetting them, and then connecting them with the reporter. In the end, my own client made the story and so did the additional source. I was just as determined about getting the reporter the sources  she needed as I was about placing my own client for this one piece. If you're willing to go the extra mile and help reporters find sources for their story, beyond the client or brand that you represent, that's a really big deal, and reporters will recognize that.

A lot of the reporters I talk to also bring up name recognition in their inbox. They're getting 300 emails a day. Yes, it needs to be a compelling story related to tariffs or AI or the buzzword de jour, but they're going to open my email because they know me, and they know that I'm not going to send them a bad pitch. Even if it's not the right time, they'll respond to me and let me know that or share what they’re working on next.

I'm also always liking, commenting, and reposting what reporters are posting. You can't just keep pitching, pitching, pitching. You have to find a way to form a relationship, because they're going to go to a different outlet or they're going to switch beats, and you want to be a recognizable name despite the shift in focus.

Q: This all brings me to one of the most interesting questions I think you ask in all your interviews about the growing relationship between being a journalist and a content creator. I know you get a slew of different responses to the question, but I was curious as to what influenced you to ask that question and how do you yourself feel about the relationship between the two?

A: When I first started the Substack, I came up with my list of questions, and in my early interviews, I was looking for feedback on questions that reporters felt like I should be asking, and it was actually one of my early interviewees who suggested this question to me.

It’s been so fascinating to listen to the responses I get on this question because you have some journalists who are classically trained and feel as though this modern idea of content creation is entirely separate from their craft, and then you get others who feel like they are creating content and doing multimedia work. 

I think the differentiating factor is that journalists absolutely have to fact-check their sources. They can't just write based on  a rumor and blast it out, whereas a content creator can put out a headline in a TikTok in two sentences and create an entire viral story on it.

Q: Where do you think Substack is headed?

A: I think that, unfortunately, there's going to be more media layoffs. So, you’ll see some folks start on Substack because they were laid off. For those who have years of newsroom experience, taking full ownership of your writing on a platform like this can be enticing.

You also have the opportunity to monetize it. These reporters can charge a monthly or yearly fee and put their content behind a paywall. And honestly, it's so lucrative that you could probably make more money on Substack than you would in a newsroom. 

For comparison, about a year ago, I applied for a newsroom job as a reporter and the salary was $54,000 for the year. On Substack, if you have 1,000 followers and each of those followers signs up for an $8-a-month yearly subscription, you make close to $100,000. 

I think reporters are seeing that, yes, they want to work for a reputable legacy media company, but there’s a ton of pressure and they’re stretched very thin.

So I think you'll see the answer is, as more layoffs come, reporters will take their autonomy into their own hands and start a Substack. I think you'll see the rise of the platform also intrigue others who might still be working at legacy media outlets or freelancing.

Q: How do you stay so on top of all the media moves?

A: I wish that I could say it was some superhero intuition, but honestly, it's LinkedIn. LinkedIn is only as good as you make it, so if you're on LinkedIn and not seeing these updates, you need to do an audit and look at who you’re following. 

While I have 13,000 followers, I am following way more than that. I am following editors, contributors, reporters, PR professionals, brands, founders, and anyone who is related to the work I’m doing.

So I see these updates on my LinkedIn, and I'm like, wow, they just posted that 30 minutes ago, I'm going to post it right away. And then I'm commenting congratulations and letting them know I just covered their move in my Substack. Emma Hinchliffe from Fortune ended up actually taking my breaking news post on her job update and putting it on her Instagram! I'm giving them the publicity that they rarely get, and then I’m also increasing my own visibility at the same time. 

And, with all of the relationship building I spoke about earlier, it is really easy for me to ask them to fact-check what I wrote or get insights on what they’re going to be covering along with any quote they’re interested in sharing. 

For the PR professionals that follow me, not only do you get real-time breaking news, but you're also getting insight on the background of top reporters and a reason to reach out to them on LinkedIn. When you see this news, it’s a great move to make sure you go and actually follow them on social media and send over a note saying congratulations because it’s a great way to start building that name recognition and relationship.

Q: Is there any final advice you'd like to offer? 

A: The most frequent questions that I get from PR folks and clients are: ‘How do I pitch a Substack?’ and ‘How do I get my client to see that Substack is a big deal?’ I think that the more we see veteran reporters moving from these legacy sites to Substack, people will realize that while these Substacks may not have 20 million viewers like CNN, they have a very dedicated group of subscribers who want to be there and who are actively choosing to opt in.

Realistically, you are not going to cnn.com every day and checking the news. You likely are not even reading the newsletter, whereas if you are intentionally opting into Substack content, your client has a better chance of reaching highly engaged, intent-driven individuals. If the news is coming through a Substack, you're getting a more dialed-in audience, who are more likely to take action by going to your website, signing up for your product, or joining your waitlist. So for me, I think PR folks should be sure they are not sleeping on Substack.

‍