By Monica Talan, Partner
If you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance you’re a newsletter junkie. I certainly am. I write for two newsletters, one in English and one in Spanish, and subscribe to far more than I could realistically read every day. So, do I actually read them all?
Well… sort of.
I built a ChatGPT workflow that goes through my newsletters and gives me a daily summary of the key headlines and takeaways. If something catches my attention, I go back and read the full newsletter.
And as someone who also writes newsletters, I realize I may have just admitted to being part of the problem. If AI gives me enough information that I don’t open an email or click through to an article, what does that mean for the person who created it? What happens to open rates, clicks and, more importantly, our understanding of whether someone actually engaged with the content?
It is something newsletter writers and communicators are going to have to think about because AI isn’t only changing how we create content, it’s changing how people consume it, too. Probably a topic for another article.
But AI hasn’t replaced my newsletter habit yet. There are still writers whose emails make me want to read the whole thing. So, in no particular order, here are a few newsletters by and for communicators that regularly get my attention, along with a couple that help me keep up with the media industry itself.
Blurring The Lines, by Michael Kaye
Michael Kaye writes about the increasingly overlapping worlds of communications, marketing, media and culture. He also regularly talks with people working across the industry, which makes it a useful way to see how different communicators are approaching their work and careers.
Subscribe to Blurring The Lines
Meredith & the Media, by Meredith Klein
Meredith Klein brings the perspective of someone who has worked on both sides of the media relationship. Her newsletter looks at media, communications and what PR professionals should understand about the changing news environment.
Subscribe to Meredith & the Media
The Chris Gee Newsletter
Chris Gee writes about communications, AI and the changing way we work. I may be slightly biased because Chris and I work together, but his newsletter is one I recommend to communicators trying to understand AI beyond the latest tool or headline.
Subscribe to Chris Gee’s newsletter
Axios Communicators
This one is built specifically for people in communications. Axios Communicators comes out weekly and covers the topics and trends affecting the profession. It’s a useful way to keep up with what other communications leaders are watching and talking about without adding another very long read to the inbox.
Subscribe to Axios Communicators
Semafor Media
This one isn’t specifically about communications, but it is important for anyone who works in or around the media. Semafor’s media coverage looks at the business, power and changing economics of news, including the companies, platforms and people shaping how information reaches audiences. For communicators, that context matters. Understanding how news organizations are changing helps us make better decisions about media relations, storytelling and where audiences are actually paying attention.
The CCO Dispatch
The CCO Dispatch is aimed at chief communications officers and other senior communications leaders. It focuses on the issues shaping the role at the highest levels, from reputation and corporate affairs to leadership, business strategy and the changing expectations placed on communications teams. Even if you aren’t a CCO, it is useful to see how senior communications leaders are thinking about the function. The decisions made at that level influence priorities, budgets, team structures and the role communications plays inside an organization.
And, of course, the CommsCollectiv newsletter
If you’re reading this in the CommsCollectiv newsletter, you obviously already know this one. Thank you for reading.
If someone forwarded this article to you, you can subscribe and get the next issue directly in your inbox.
Subscribe to the CommsCollectiv newsletter
And now I want to add to my already unreasonable number of subscriptions. When we share this article on LinkedIn, tell us: Which communications or media newsletter do you read?