Investor Due Diligence Report
by Doug Shapiro
The Mediator explores the structural changes reshaping the media industry and what they mean for the media business, culture, and society. I try to get at the why, not just the what.
12K
600 paid
~0%
Subscriber count is a platform estimate
Insufficient data
18 of 30 days needed
Pricing
$12.99/mo
$129/yr annual option
$6K
600 paid subs
$6K/mo – $6K/mo(±0%)
28.0
0.23%
(comments + likes) / subscribers
Bi-weekly
0.7 posts/week
67/100
Consistent (~10.8d avg)
| Newsletter | Subscribers | Weekly Growth | Price | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under the Desk News | 184K | -0.3% | $7/mo | substack |
| Katie Couric | 132K | +1.2% | $7/mo | substack |
| Michael Wolff | 86K | +3.8% | $8/mo | substack |
| Blocked and Reported | 82K | N/A | $7/mo | substack |
| Month | Subscribers | Est. Revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 12K | $8,635.03 | — |
| Mar 2026 | 12K | $8,635.03 | ~0% |
| Apr 2026 | 12K | $8,635.03 | ~0% |
Platform Dependency
Hosted on substack subdomain
Publishing Consistency
Variable publishing frequency
Key Person
Single-author publication — key-person dependency
Audience Concentration
Consistent engagement across posts
Subscriber threshold
12K subscribers — above the 3K category median for first paid tier
Has paid tier
Active paid subscription offering
Peer monetization
100% of 110 similar-size peers in Media have paid tiers
Pricing position
$12.99/mo vs $27.24/mo category average (843 newsletters)
| Date | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | $13 | $129 |
Disclaimer: This report is generated automatically based on publicly available data and proprietary estimation models. Estimated subscriber counts are derived from engagement patterns and should be verified through direct disclosure. Revenue estimates are based on known pricing and estimated paid subscriber counts. This report is for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for investment decisions.
Score based on available components only.
| Component | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement Rate | 50/100 | 30% |
| Paid Subscriber Ratio | 57/100 | 25% |
| Publishing Consistency | 51/100 | 10% |
| 70K |
| -0.7% |
| $5/mo |
| substack |
Revenue Model
Active paid subscription tier