Today's newsletter is brought to you by Chris. This time we're talking about new revenue models for mid-sized publications, Musk's unrealistic Twitter targets, and the NYT keeping its news and games separate.

Have we finally unearthed a revenue source for mid-sized publications? — www.axios.com

It's been a truism for years that mid-sized publications are being squeezed from above and below. Huge, international media companies hoover up ad revenue and general news consumers, small publishers have a more sustainable cost base and target niche subscribers. But now, as the entertainment and culture newsletter Dirt announces it has done more than $100,000 in NFT sales, can we finally say we've found a revenue model that works for that squeezed middle?

As reported in Axios, Dirt's publisher Kyle Chayka notes that the newsletter is of the perfect size to act as a testbed for web3-based monetisation: "This helps us see what could work for media. It could broaden the appeal of NFTs, web3 and crypto with what we already cover, which is digital content and entertainment broadly."

I'm healthily sceptical of the future of NFTs. Despite the huge amounts already raised by publications, a collapse in interest and a lack of utility for most tokens feels like we've already passed the peak of the craze. But if Dirt can make them work for mid-size publications I'll be happy to reconsider.

New York Times drops ‘fetus’ as an answer to Wordle – but not for all players — www.theguardian.com

I wrote an article for our site, arguing that more publishers should consider blending games and news. The NYT appears to have taken the other tack: the Times says it tried to switch the word for as many users as possible, apparently in response to the supreme court’s draft Roe v Wade ruling.

Lenta.ru briefly filled with anti-war, anti-Putin content — meduza.io

It takes some bravery to stand up to a thin-skinned, paranoid dictator. And yet, as we've seen many times before from independent newspapers and outlets in Russia, there are those journalists who risk their livelihoods and potentially freedom to do so.

Elon Musk thinks he can double Twitter’s revenue through subscriptions alone — www.theverge.com

Musk believes Twitter can grow Twitter Blue subscribers to 69 million by 2025, and more than double that number to 159 million by 2028. Given that Twitter Blue's benefits are limited, this is a conversion rate that seems totally impossible. Because it is.

Mediagazer is an up-to-the-minute homepage of breaking trends and commentary for publishers and media owners. They sift through thousands of sites to present the very best picks on a single page. It's definitely a site we check on a daily basis before putting this newsletter together.

Go to mediagazer.com or follow them on Twitter @mediagazer.

This week's podcast

The Juggernaut Founder & CEO Snigdha Sur on bringing a business-first mindset to her startup — voices.media

This week we spoke to Snigdha Sur, Founder & CEO of The Juggernaut; a content and community platform for global South Asians. She talked about founding a media business with a business background rather than a journalism one, and how her knowledge of media VC and funding has influenced how she runs the publication.

Your chance to lead the Conversation — voices.media

We offer a limited number of media vendors the opportunity to lead the conversation for our listeners through our sponsored podcast series: Media Voices Conversations. Just reply to this email if you'd like a look at our info pack!