Nieman Foundation at Harvard
When The Washington Post ran its first piece on the federal funding freeze last week, its reporters gave credit where it was due: It was independent journalist Marisa Kabas who had broken the story.
Kabas started her newsletter The Handbasket as a Substack in 2022. (As in “to hell in a handbasket.”) The newsletter, now hosted on Beehiiv, became her full-time job a year later.
In the wild political week that followed the funding freeze memo, readers rewarded Kabas for her scoop. The Handbasket went from 8,300 subscribers to 16,000 — and the number who pay ($8/month, $80/year) rocketed from 815 to 1,700. She also accepts support via Venmo and the tip-like payment platform Ko-Fi.
“The jump has been staggering,” Kabas told me.
Other independent journalists relying on subscription revenue have stressed the importance of scoops and breaking news for growth. Newsletters are “a hits business,” Casey Newton of Platformer has said. “I truly wish every reporter could have the experience of getting a raise on the same day they produced something of value to their readers.” Well, now Kabas has had it: Assuming those new subscribers stick around, they should boost her annual revenue by more than $70,000.
In her big scoop last week, Kabas had posted a screenshot of the internal memo announcing the federal funding freeze on Bluesky, but didn’t send to subscribers of her newsletter The Handbasket right away. In a message to readers, she reflected on her hesitation:
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t send this out earlier when I had the scoop. To be honest, I’ve been asking myself the same question. I think that despite the fact that I’ve proven to myself and to my readers that I have good news instincts, it can still be challenging to have the confidence to report a story with such far-reaching impact. Despite trusting my source implicitly, I still hesitated. I sat with my stomach in knots until I saw The Washington Post confirmed.
Despite the massive growth of independent journalism, there’s still this idea that news is only “real” once it’s confirmed by massive corporate outlets. After all, could one woman with absolutely zero institutional backing in leggings and a sweatshirt in her NYC apartment really be the one to break such an important story? Now we know the answer is yes.
The Associated Press called her scoop “a key moment for a growing cadre of journalists who work independently to gather and analyze news and market themselves as brands.”
Kabas’ success derives at least in part from her vigorous critiques of mainstream news outlets. (“A truly breathtaking display of fecklessness,” “kowtowing to fascists hellbent on cloistering themselves away while general suffering metastasizes,” “bootlickers,” etc.) It’s clear the criticism is resonating with some readers. She is distinguishing herself from outlets and journalists often unwilling or unable to, for example, express public support for trans people in America or ending the war in Gaza. Some of Nieman Lab’s predictions for journalism this year anticipated this surge of support — or at least a backlash to a “both-sidesy middle.”
The Handbasket has been publishing memorable work for longer than the letters OMB or DOGE have been appearing in sequential push alerts. A Long Island native herself, Kabas covered the George Santos drama closely and creatively (see: “Schmear campaign”). She’s published exclusive interviews with the Kansas newspaper owner raided by police and female staffers of Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone.
Marisa Kabas will always be dear to me because of her article tracking down what Long Island bagel shop locals thought about George Santos
— Eleanor Courtemanche (@ecourtem.bsky.social) January 28, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Over email, I asked Kabas about working solo, what makes a Handbasket story a Handbasket story, and connecting with readers on Bluesky. Full disclosure: Kabas and I met at George Washington University, where we both worked at the independent student newspaper. She graduated with a degree in journalism in 2009. Our conversation, lightly edited, is below.
It’s very much a one-woman show, but I’m looking to bring on paid freelancers for guest posts.
I found early on that Bluesky people were really enthusiastic about my work, and I was diligent about personally connecting with them — not as a means to an end, but because I was genuinely so touched that they thought I had something to say. They gave me the confidence to keep at it.
I share these frustrations, especially when the public is being asked not to believe our eyes. All the people who sounded the alarm about Project 2025 and the destruction of a second Trump administration were absolutely right. So where is that story?
You’ve been reporting on disturbing developments at the highest levels of government in recent weeks. How are you thinking about incorporating unexpected and/or lighter work during what looks to be a long period of unnerving and upsetting news for many of your subscribers?
I know readers will need that relief, as will I. I’ve been working on a Hanukkah romantic comedy screenplay for a while now, and I look forward to going back to that whenever I need a break.
My least favorite part is that I’m 100% responsible for everything and I have to own that. It can be lonely and isolating and I miss working with a team. But I have so many amazing journalist friends who have helped me with everything from editing to website design, and they’ve helped keep me from losing my mind. Even as an independent journalist, it takes a village.
