Publishers lean into live formats

Publishers are putting more journalism behind cameras and live chats as they try to sell access, not just articles. (substack.com) (thebulwark.com) Don Lemon’s Substack has become a steady live-video operation in April 2026, with posts such as “Has Trump Lost His Damn Mind?! Live with Don Lemon and Mike Nellis Now” running 24 minutes and then living on as recordings in the archive. His main Substack describes the product as a direct platform with “hundreds of thousands of subscribers.” (substack.com 1) (substack.com 2) The Bulwark has split that format into a dedicated subscriber lane called “Bulwark+ Takes,” which it describes as home to ad-free video shorts, member-only livestreams, and live event archives. Its main watch page mixes standard shows with shorter subscriber clips and archived conversations. (thebulwark.com 1) (thebulwark.com 2) That packaging marks a shift from the old newsletter bargain, where readers paid mainly for text in their inbox. On Substack in 2026, publishers are increasingly bundling writing, podcasts, video, chat, and live sessions into one subscription. (substack.com 1) (substack.com 2) The timing lines up with a broader scramble in media over what readers will still pay for as artificial intelligence systems summarize articles and answer basic news queries. Columbia Journalism Review’s Tow Center reported in May 2025 that publishers were already reassessing platform deals and the value of creating distinct experiences they control. (cjr.org) Industry research points the same way on revenue. Reuters Institute said in its 2025 trends report that 87% of surveyed media leaders said newsrooms were being fully or somewhat transformed by generative artificial intelligence. (politics.ox.ac.uk) Live formats give publishers something a text summary cannot fully copy: a scheduled event, a host’s voice, audience comments, and the feeling of direct access. That is visible in Lemon’s guest conversations and in The Bulwark’s archived member streams, which turn one-time events into a reusable subscription library. (substack.com) (thebulwark.com) This is not entirely new. News companies chased live video during the Facebook Live push a decade ago, but the current version is tied less to platform subsidies and more to owned subscriptions, archives, and recurring membership perks. (cjr.org) The business logic is straightforward: if commodity text gets easier to summarize, publishers need formats that are harder to flatten and easier to charge for. In 2026, that increasingly means asking subscribers to show up live — and then paying to watch again later. (emarketer.com) (thebulwark.com)