can you explain what you mean by "It just seems to be Forbes contributors with even less vetting"? I am subscribed to several different columns, with a couple of paid subscriptions, all about a very wide variety of topics—it's just a blog/podcast platform.

Layperson here:

When I click on a forbes article I usually don't notice the author.

On Substack I'm subscribed to specific authors and one former newspaper/ now independent journalist I follow.

Honest question: why is noticing/not noticing the author relevant to you? Isn’t the point of reading something to consume the actual content?

I totally get the point of following people you’re already familiar with and have a track record of quality. Not arguing against that.

I’m just interested in your comment about not noticing the author.