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Why readers and self-publishers are turning to sites like Substack to get the China information they really want

  • Many Western readers are turning to newsletters to get their China news curated by China watchers that they trust
  • Modern technology has allowed subject matter experts to reach a market of paying consumers all on their own

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Why you can trust SCMP
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Substack is founded by Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi, three veterans at Kik, which wanted to be the “WeChat of the West”. Photo: Chris Best/Twitter
Josh Ye

Many Western readers, tired of scrolling through algorithmic feeds on social media and bombarded with an avalanche of China news on the internet, are now turning to email newsletters to get their China news curated by China watchers that they trust.

Leading the charge is long-time China watcher Bill Bishop’s current affairs newsletter Sinocism.

With 85,000 subscribers and a percentage of them paying US$15 a month, Sinocism has inspired a legion of young China watchers to start their own China-focused newsletters – such as ChinAI, ChinaTalk, China India Networked and Chinese Storytellers – on newsletter platform Substack, in which Bishop is an angel investor.

While newsletters and blogs have long been important formats for getting China news out to a Western readership, the surge of interest in China-focused newsletters on sites like Substack reflects two important trends.

Firstly, readers increasingly want their China news to be curated for ease of consumption. Secondly, for writers it has never been easier to self-publish on a professional platform and make money.

In an earlier article, we examined how Substack took its inspiration from China’s WeChat. Here, we take a deeper look at why sites like Substack have become a magnet for China watchers.

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