Editors join newsletter revolution with launches aimed at people who need to be in the know

Two respected regional editors have joined the newsletter revolution in the latest sign that email is set to permanently shake up local news in the UK.

Neil McIntosh, who was editor of the Scotsman until last year, has launched The Early Line, while Brian Aitken, former editor of the Journal in Newcastle, has lanched eyes&ears, a weekly briefing about the North East.

While very different in tone and approach, the newsletters both aim to help people in their respective parts of the UK — Scotland and the North East of the England — interested in what’s driving their areas, in touch.

Neil said: “Since leaving my last role the generosity and openness of people has been extraordinary. In countless conversations, I’ve been asking: what media do you consume? Where are the pain points?

“It seems a problem I can help solve is helping people engage with the world while dodging the deluge of clickbait, clutter and trivia masquerading as news that forms a big chunk of the media landscape.

“The reasons for that appalling experience are well-rehearsed. But there’s hope.

“There is still good, quality journalism about Scotland, the UK and the wider world out there — about politics, tech, business, ideas, entertainment and sport. You just need to find it. I can help.”

Neil paid particular thanks to Michael MacLeod, the founder of the popular Edinburgh Minute newsletter which rounds up headlines from multiple news sources in the Scottish Capital.

The Early Line follows a similar approach, albeit using the Beehiiv platform rather than Substack. Neil’s newsletter arrives at 7am Monday to Friday, and he said has an emphasis on ‘highlighting new ideas with the potential to shape our world’ and ‘introduce readers to groundbreaking creators and new voices.’

A subscriber-only weekend briefing has also been launched.

10 days after launch, Neil revealed he had achieved his month one goal of 1,000 subscribers in just three days.

Sharing a post on his early learnings on LinkedIn, Neil said: “Moving from leading a big newsroom to working solo is a psychological shift. The hustling doesn’t come naturally to me, and more than a few journalists have mentioned encountering this mental barrier. Are we trained out of it? Am I just the wrong generation? Or is it just alien to our culture? But overcoming it is essential.

“A clear mission — important news and ideas for Scotland’s decision-makers — has been my guide. Feedback and flexibility have honed what I’m offering, and it’s far from perfect yet. But having that clear idea of what I want to deliver keeps the whole thing rooted.

“Consuming so much Scottish media reminds me of its brilliance — and its gaps. There’s real opportunity for enterprising colleagues. I hope to support them in time.”

In Newcastle, eyes&ears grew out of The QT, the online regional affairs magazine Brian Aitken launched in 2024, but which paused publication after running out of money while seeking paying subscribers.

eyes&ears was a section within the QT, described as ‘hugely popular’ — and the new newsletter has had addition extras and tweaks added by Brian, who authors it weekly, utilising the QT’s archive regularly.

Published on Substack, eyes&ears now boasts more than 2,000 subscribers. Praise has come thick and fast for the newsletter, with Brian sharing examples regularly on Linkedin.

Brian added: “It’s a curated briefing for busy people who want to keep up with news and events but struggle to find the time. It’s all you need to know, in one place, once a week. And it’s free.

“Readers are saying that they really liked the curated round-up of what’s happening in the region and beyond — a one-stop shop for news for busy people.”

While email newsletters as a format are as old as many local news websites, the last few years has seen a huge growth in the range of newsletters being launched, by start ups and established players.

Across local journalism, newsletters are proving to be a space when innovation and new ideas are thriving.

Michael MacLeod’s Edinburgh Minute has now expanded into London, a city which is perhaps best-known in journalism circles for having lost its daily newspaper, the Evening Standard, last year.

Jim Waterson, former media journalist at the Guardian, launched the LondonCentric newsletter last year, while the London Spy newsletter, running for over a year, now has more than 7,000 subscribers reading its blend of long reads, round ups, investigations and opinion.

Mill Media is perhaps the best-known local journalism success story built on newsletters. It launched with the Manchester Mill in 2020, and has since expanded into other cities including Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and London. Having launched on Substack, Mill Media has been moving its titles across to the Ghost CMS platform in recent months.

Competing with Mill Media’s Glasgow Bell is the Glasgow Wrap, launched by Newsquest with support from Michael MacLeod, and the Splash Glasgow, launched by former Ayrshire Post editor Gary Fanning.

Like Newsquest, regional publisher Reach has also focused on newsletters as part of its audience strategy. The Manchester Evening News publishes the Mancunian Way newsletter daily on its website, via email and on LinkedIn, while the Liverpool Echo publishes the Liverpool Daily Post newsletter in a similar way every day, focuses on engaging the Merseyside regions’ movers and shakers. Neither have paid-for options.

Reach also runs a number newsletters on Substack which do have paid for options. It used subscriptions to fund a return to covering Port Vale, via the Valiant newsletter on Substack. Others in the Reach stable include Inside Birmingham, by BirminghamLive politics and people editor Jane Haynes, and the Alasdair Gold Spurs Newsletter, from Football.London.

Across the North of England, start-up The Lead launched a series of newsletters, even printing newspapers to promote their work as they went. The charge has been led by Ed Walker, formerly a senior digital leader at Reach.

The Lead has dedicated editions for Southport, Calderdale, Teesside, Blackpool and Lancashire. All set out with aim of helping find solutions to the problems faced in local areas.