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Profile: James Ledbetter, Substack Author

In trendy and media trade media at least, the Substack-as-new-model-for-journalism story seems to have already come and gone. Yet there’s so much more left to tell. Perhaps the Substack story’s next phase is best told inside out, through the eyes of a newly self-minted author — such as James Ledbetter.

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The New Era of Fintech Coverage: Payments & Banking

SWMS contributor Rhiannon Pacheco writes: With Covid keeping people out of the aisles and in front of their screens, buying more online than ever before, fintech and ‘buy-now-pay-later’ companies such as Klarna, Affirm, AfterPay, Marqueta are rising in popularity and dominating recent headlines.

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Payments & Banking: Targets and Themes

Based on our research, here’s a look at story types most common in the payments and banking spaces these days, coupled with a short list of must-pitch reporters, and some diamonds in the rough, too. Keep a sharp lookout for the story types, using them as templates for your own approaches.

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Here are Two Fintech Narratives Adaptable for Any Client

Why did we choose payments and banking for the latest SWMS deep-dive? Everybody buys something. If the payments space doesn’t constitute the largest total available market of all time, it’s close. Banking? For a decade, startups have struggled to monetize those who don’t use banks, or barely use them.

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FRIDGE NOTES

The Economist Asks, ‘How Much Would You Pay?’

A survey fielded Nov. 27 asked how much (or how little) subscribers would pay for The Economist’s subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters, as well as its digital edition and a digital-print bundle. The survey strategy is brilliant: what if the publication charges too much, or worse, too little? Clearly, the publication is contemplating pricing changes and wants to maximize revenue.

A New Investment Firm Invests, Then Writes About It

The FT has a cool scoop about Hunterbrook, a new kind of investment firm. Guided in part by former WSJ EIC Matt Murray, Hunterbrook’s business model is part investment firm, part publisher. The investment side of the house drives a (theoretically) market-moving business deal, while the publishing side of the house — comprised of veteran business reporters and analysts — works alongside under NDA. At the very moment the deal is announced, the editorial side publishes the article, moving the market and giving Hunterbrook first-mover advantage. It’s all legal. though leaks could pose a moral hazard.

Thanks For Nothing

When Google Bard was asked whether it could deliver a list of trade reporters along with their email addresses, it responded, “I’m a language model and don’t have the capacity to help with that.”

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