Looking Back on Year Two of The Catch
Another year of pushing the boulder
On November 12, 2022, I started a Substack after Elon Musk had recently bought Twitter. Though my follower count and engagement had begun a steady rise beforehand, Musk's nonsense had already dealt a blow to the platform as a networking tool. The writing was on the wall.
Flash forward two years. Things have never been worse. Not sure what to tell you. But there have been positive developments for myself and The Catch in that time. It's now officially an annual tradition to look at the achievements in review and to highlight important pieces.
Before I do that, I'd like to mention a couple things.
Last year, The Catch had just over 100 subscribers. At time of writing, we're sitting at just over 200! Thank you to everyone who read, subscribed and spread articles. An extra big and special thanks to those who have signed up for a paid subscription! I'd like to mention your names in gratitude on The North State. I'll send a separate email asking for permission once I find a way to receive appropriate feedback. All those who sign-up for a paid tier will be mentioned on the podcast moving forward (unless you would prefer not to be). This will happen after those who are paying now confirm consent to be named or not.
As for other members, if you want to support The Catch, here are the two most important things you can do. First, share useful articles with people in your life who you think would appreciate it. Second, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. If I can dedicate more time to The Catch and less on non-journalist work, then I can introduce more original reporting, shift The North State from an episode very two weeks to a weekly program and spend more time freelancing for other outlets. These are goals that will only come with a bigger audience.
And please, remember, only give if you're able.
Getting to a point of self-sustainability won't happen overnight. It's a slow process. In order to reach that goal, I have to not only earn your trust, but repeatedly show that this content is worth paying for. For paying members, I don't take your membership for granted. I cannot express my gratitude adequately and will continually strive to earn your payment. Thank you.
For those considering a paid membership, here are the type of stories that you would support.
Shortly after The Catch's first anniversary, I published a chronicling of Jesse Brown's initial descent with his conflating anti-Zionism and antisemitism. I've been told that this is one of the few pieces that's actually done so outside social media spaces. Brown has since blocked me on Bluesky even though he never acknowledged any of my many critiques of his approach on Twitter. Does that make this impact journalism?
Scott Martin
In December, after viewing mortality statistics for COVID in 2022, I wrote a piece on the complete lack of reporting on the high death count compared to 2020. Few other outlets covered this phenomenon.
Scott Martin
I often try to avoid personal essays, but with the absolute bloodbath of layoffs in the journalism industry sweeping early in the year, I tried to tackle an important question. Is It Ethical to Teach Journalism? The piece questioned how post-secondary education commodifies knowledge and gatekeeps an industry that supposedly rests on informing the public.
Scott Martin
In March, I had the pleasure to interview adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Winnipeg and managing editor of the Investigative Journalism Foundation, Cecil Rosner. Rosner's book Manipulating the Message was an excellent text for understanding how Canadian news is manipulated by business interests.
Scott Martin
In a steadfast analysis of the fascist ties to the Victims of Communism memorial, I wrote about something I have yet to see discussed on the subject: tearing it down. Since our news media has no interest in even considering this, it took The Catch to publish a piece that not only raises the idea, but explains how it's the best option.
Scott Martin
After Donald Trump won the 2024 US Presidential election, I published a piece examining the decay of liberalism and its failure to meaningfully combat the rise of fascism. Occasionally, I will do pieces on politics, with a dash of news media criticism.
Scott Martin
Last, but certainly not least, I launched The North State podcast. In the first three episodes, I spoke to journalists and activists about Canada's support of Israel during their genocide of Palestinians. After these episodes, we reached over 1,000 downloads, a respectable start for a DIY podcast. Thanks again to Harbinger Media Network for taking us on.
Scott Martin
There were, of course, many other articles of which I'm very proud. This was especially true through repeatedly covering the Canadian news media bias when covering Palestine. These are some of the pieces I felt it worthy to highlight in the past year of The Catch. If any of this analysis or reporting was something you valued in this past year, please consider supporting.
Without getting teary-eyed, the journalism landscape is not good. It doesn't look to be improving in the future. One consequence of this continually collapsing industry is more acquiescence to pillars of financial support. Whether that's to advertisers, subscribers or corporate benefactors, it has cemented the direction of these outlets. Voices criticizing that direction are more crucial than ever.
Thanks for reading.
Comments ()