Let’s readjust your media diet
You deserve a healthier alternative to all-you-can-consume digital junk food.
I’m obsessed with a particular brand of Twizzlers. They’re red and yellow and filled with a cherry or lemon sweet-and-sour filling. My mouth literally started watering after I typed that description.
My mom buys me at least one pack whenever I visit the fam in Dallas. I re-up on however many I can fit in my carry-on before I leave (they cost twice as much in New York City as they do in Texas). And this summer as I doubled-down on writing my upcoming book, my roommate Amazon-ed a six-pack to the apartment so I’d have some on reserve to sooth my deadline-inducing stress.
This would be a cute story if these Twizzlers were my only candy complex. But they’re not. I’m an equal opportunity sugar boy. Chewy Lemonhead and Friends. Sour Patch Kids. Mike and Ike. Welch’s Fruit Snacks. Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.
When it comes to the sweets, my diet could obviously benefit from at best some moderation, and at worst a complete overhaul. Ironically, I feel the same way about most people’s media diets. Because in addition to the unhealthy stuff you and I put into our bodies, there’s digital junk food too: The clickbait, hot takes and highlight reels we feed our minds.
And for the past decade, the media industry has succumbed to (or been swallowed by) an ad-supported business model that often compels publishers and journalists to prioritize attention over quality. The result is an all-you-can-consume buffet of addictive of addictive and outrage-inducing platforms that value advertisers and algorithms over the well-being of the humans they rely on to fill their newsfeeds.
I created my new business newsletter This Should Help to give the unsung heroes of the creative class — women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community — a space to feel seen, heard and served as they make, brand, market and sell their creative work.
The news and views you’ll discover in This Should Help are delivered with one goal in mind: To serve as your GPS to navigate the new economy so you can work and live on your own terms.
When you subscribe to This Should Help, you’ll enjoy an experience that includes:
1. In-depth independent journalism, in plain English
This Should Help provides original commentary on creativity’s intersection with business, technology and pop culture in a bright, brainy, and human voice. Weekly issues are free; Daily issues are published three days a week to subscribers only.
2. Conversations with creators and Michael
Interact with other writers, artists, hosts and founders and share your thoughts on various topics through smart, respectful dialogue in the troll-free, subscriber-only comments section.
3. Exclusive discussion threads
Once a month, you’ll be able to ask me anything about the creative mindset, the creative process and how to build a sustainable creative business around your original ideas inside a private, subscribers-only discussion thread. Sometimes I’ll even invite a guest host to join us for a conversation on a recent newsletter topic or relevant theme that matters to the This Should Help community.
4. 24/7 access to the Archive
Browse by date to catch up on issues that were published before you subscribed or easily locate essays you’d like to re-read.
5. Zero ads
No annoying pop-ups or loud auto-play videos — ever.
In a world where you can effortlessly rent, share or subscribe to fashion, media, education, transportation, groceries, software, possessing things has less cultural cache than previous generations. Ownership over how you work and live and who and what has access to your precious time and attention now ranks as the paramount pursuit for twenty- and thirtysomethings across the country. In other words, the new luxury is personal freedom. And the straightest, most sustainable path to personal freedom is fueled by creative work.
So whether you’re starting out, starting over, burned out or leveling up, I hope you feel inspired to make This Should Help the newest addition to your media diet — no moms, carry-ons or roommates required.
The fun starts on November 11. Subscribe now to save 20% forever (or give This Should Help as a gift or purchase a group subscription).