Hi, welcome to your Weekend!

I do not envy news media executives, who have difficult jobs in the best of times. This week was not the best of times, as our CEO Jessica Lessin could tell you. While captaining a newsroom going full-throttle to cover the cataclysmic collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Jessica was also scrambling to ensure that The Information (an SVB customer) could make payroll and cover the rent. So far, so good.

We’re far removed from the salad days of media ownership, when a publisher could pretty much flip a switch and make money. Google and Facebook ended that era a decade or more ago. Now, the key is to be so indispensable to readers (as opposed to just advertisers) that they’re willing to invest in your success through subscriptions. The Information has leaned into that model, and increasingly, so has Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of The New York Times Co.

As Abe observes in this weekend’s cover story, Kopit Levien has enjoyed a charmed run atop The Gray Lady. While its biggest competitors—including the Washington Post, News Corp., and Gannett—are slashing costs, the Times is on a roll. Revenues are up 30% since 2020, and profits are up 70% as well. At the same time, the CEO must deal with a restive union, a sagging stock price and the need to grow, grow and grow some more. 

Nope, not an easy job for anyone. Which makes Kopit Levien’s strategy all the more fascinating.

Now onto this Weekend’s stories... 

the big read

The News Business Is in Crisis—but Not The New York Times Co.

Under CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, the media company has fortified its finances through both acquisition and innovation. But its aggressive growth plans (15 million subscribers by 2027) represent a complex gambit for a 171-year-old brand. Abe talks to Kopit Levien about how she plans to keep the news engine humming.

scene and heard

‘Your Dreams Are No Longer Safe’: The Washington Crowd Gets a Chilling Crash Course in AI

The government is chronically slow to respond to new technological threats. So Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin of the Center for Humane Technology are trying to get ahead of the situation. They brought their alarming presentation, “The AI Dilemma,” to an invitation-only event in Washington last week, and reporter Nancy Scola was there to take the political temperature.

market research

The Starlink Exit Plan: How SpaceX’s Satellites Are Bringing Remote Workers to the Wilderness

Starlink’s promise is simple: high-speed internet beamed down from space, whether you’re living in the Australian Outback or just camping out of your Subaru Outback. But as with other companies owned by Elon Musk, what you’re promised is not always what you get. Reporter Tim Stevens asks Starlink users to dish on the service.

my life's work

Shuo Wang Once Sold Scooters at Flea Markets—Now Her Startup Is Worth $12 Billion

Annie chats with the co-founder and chief revenue officer of Deel, a payroll platform that aims to streamline payouts and hiring. Wang discusses her upbringing and the early sales lessons—learned from her mother—that continue to guide her. 

Reading: The real-world Roys
Need a “Succession” fix before the final season debuts on HBO Max later this month? Pour over the tremendously fun “Unscripted,” a new book about billionaire Sumner Redstone and his crazed clan. Redstone died in 2020 after years assembling a media empire that included Paramount, CBS and Viacom. Drama over his own succession sparked an enormous conflict between his daughter, Shari Redstone, his business cronies and his lovers. The book’s authors—the New York Times’ Jim Stewart and Rachel Abrams—chronicle the strife in sordid detail, partly thanks to troves of texts and emails they obtained. (“One reader told me that no CEO should ever write a text again,” Stewart told me.) The Redstones are obvious sources of inspiration for the Roys from “Succession,” though Stewart didn’t watch any of the show until finishing the book. “I didn’t want it to have any impact, even subliminal, on our book,” he said. “But Sumner Redstone’s behavior goes beyond anything I’ve seen [on the show] so far.” And here you thought Boar on the Floor was bad. —Abe

Noticing: Mattel’s Silicon sisters 
Move over, Barbie. The coolest dolls on the shelf are named Anne, Susan and Janet. Those would be the Wojcicki sisters—respectively the CEO of 23andMe, the newly departed CEO of YouTube and a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at UCSF—who have now been immortalized by Mattel as part of a collection honoring women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The STEM dolls are the latest in Mattel’s year–long effort to rebrand Barbie as more than a blonde hood ornament. In 2018 the company came out with its “inspiring women” series, fashioned after historical figures like Jane Goodall, Ida B. Wells and Maya Angelou. With dolls like this, it might feel like Barbie is becoming all work and no play. But the real Wojickis sure seem to be enjoying life in plastic. —Arielle 

Following: The influencer living with HIV 
Three weeks ago, Zach Willmore, 19, filmed a TikTok in his bedroom, talking to the camera as he applied makeup. It was the TikToker’s first day being diagnosed with HIV. “I’m worried about people looking at me as untouchable,” he said, dabbing on concealer. The post went viral, and now 1.7 million people tune in to Willmore’s daily updates about his blood tests and medication. While Willmore’s content used to be about his life as a college student, he’s now become a very Gen Z-style activist, using viral sounds and makeup videos to educate his audience. In one post, he applies lime green eyeshadow while explaining the history of HIV; in another, he finds out his viral load is low and talks about his celebratory shopping spree. Some have criticized his videos, saying they minimize the disease’s severity. But thousands of others have praised Willmore for showing that HIV is no longer a death sentence. “I’m so thankful you are posting,” one commenter wrote. “You are going to save a lot of lives by talking about your experience.” —Margaux

Makes You Think

Too soon? 

Until next Weekend, thanks for reading.

—Jon

Weekend Editor, The Information