Lenny Rachitsky: observation

Transcript context

…sed on news ranking and feed, all we could do was train pieces of in information based on an engagement outcome. We couldn't actually train it based on the quality of that piece of information itself. At the Times you get all, you have 2000 plus journalists and you're actually trying to structure their expertise into things that can actually translate into really great algorithmic decisioning, and that's just so different. No one else is really doing something in that space. Product managers are becoming very editorially minded and we're also getting editors to become more product minded. I just think that how we work there is so different and so unique. It's just a pretty fascinating part of, I think, how the sausage is made, if that makes sense. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. I think that's really important topic of just how it's different and why it's worth considering trying something like the New York Times as a place to work. What's interesting about what you're talking about, this also reminds me ironically of Substack, where they also are anti-algorithms and are also very focused on people and people recommending other people and just like individuals. I don't know if we want to get into this, but I guess do you have a opinion of Substack as a medium? Because folks leave New York Times to work on Substack, they come back. My whole living is on Substack. Any thoughts on the world of Substack? Well, a couple of things. First, it's not that we're anti-algorithm on the New York Times front, it's just that we want our algorithms to reflect editorial judgment. That's really different. When it comes to Substack, actually, I think a lot of what Substack is doing is great. The idea of writers being able to make a living individually off of their craft, I think, is fantastic. The thing that I get excited about for Substack, but also for a company like the New York Times is trust right now with institutions has been declining, with governments, with religious institutions, with news organizations. But trust with individual experts, where you have a real relationship, that really matters. That I think is one of the big unlocks in terms of helping the next generation of readers really start to create more of a relationship with high quality journalists and writers who have really important things to say about the world. I think whatever is happening in the world that helps great writers find their audiences, make a living, is wonderful. At the New York Times, a lot of what we're trying to do is, it's not the Substack model, but we have a lot more that we're doing to actually help get individual journalists out there. They have their own subscribe only newsletters, podcasts. We're really trying to help them find a way to create a mini platform within the means and the scale of the New York Times. It's not quite the Substack model, but I do think that there's some interesting similarities, and the more that artists and creatives can help make a living, I think, it's just fantastic.…

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