Welcome to The Red Letter

Welcome to The Red Letter, my new home for fiercely independent journalism. I wanted to create a space to publish my scoops, in-depth reporting, notes, and interviews – a place where I can say exactly what I want to say, and tell you everything you should know about what’s really going on among the most powerful people shaping our world.

In a lengthy profile feature on Sunday, The New York Times noted that I’m taking a different tack by rejecting partisan vitriol and that my “zeal for scoops” has made me “unpopular among both Democrats and Republicans and occasionally other journalists.”

I’ve been a working journalist for nearly two decades, although I admit to being obsessed with the profession since I was five years old, keeping journals about the all the happenings in my working class New Jersey neighborhood and seeing every couch as an opportunity, Oprah-like, to interview whomever was sitting next to me. Maybe you know me from PUCK (where I was senior political correspondent), ABC News (where I was a White House correspondent), or POLITICO (where I covered U.S. politics from Washington, the machinations of the European Union from Brussels and then co-wrote the influential Playbook column), or the New York Post (where I was on the staff of Page Six and also covered the raucous political battles of New York, where sound bites leave tooth marks). Or maybe you’ve listened to my podcasts such as Somebody’s Gotta Win, Broken: Jeffrey Epstein and Power: The Maxwells. The

Everything in my life has led me to this moment. I didn’t grow up among the media intelligentsia. I’m the first person in my family to graduate from a university and it was at American University that I even met a real-live journalist for the first time. But between my father, an electrician who blasted Rush Limbaugh on the radio, and my mother, a Polish immigrant and legal assistant, I was exposed to all different types of media and considered all perspectives.

I’ve worked at news outlets across the ideological spectrum — from conservative newspapers to network television — and in all of these roles I’ve had to speak or write in styles or abide by editorial decisions that, in ways subtle or severe, had the effect of creating a barrier between me and the audience. Within those institutions, I wasted too much time fighting the everyday battles of internal politics and corporate bureaucracy just to get my critical work published.

Now I’m finally free to speak in my own voice, to break stories that I believe matter, and to create a community built on trust. I’ve always understood journalism to be an act of public service. I’ve seen a lot, and I have an extensive network of sources who are always prepared to tell me the inside story about what’s happening and why.

Without fear or favor is a phrase that’s often cited by people in the media; it’s our ideal mode of operation. But too often, because of cowardice or corruption or plain laziness, the media falls short. Here, I am striving to realize that ideal with every word I communicate to you. Strange times call for gutsy journalism, and that’s what I will strive to give you in The Red Letter and on my Youtube channel.

This is my first chance to share my deeply sourced reporting on the world’s most powerful people in a real, unvarnished way. I’m not driven by an agenda. I don’t have political objectives. I don’t want to advance a cause. All I’m motivated by is a desire to get down to the truth of the matter, which means talking to people from all political persuasions and worldviews.

As much as I wish I could spend my days investigating without having to worry about keeping the lights on and paying the bills, I will need your support. Your paid subscriptions will help me to continue to deliver the kind of quality journalism that I’ve been delivering throughout my career. I’m excited to use all of the features that Substack offers to communicate with you, from video, audio and direct chats on top of the weekly flagship newsletter The Red Letter.

For paid subscribers, in addition to access to all of the in-depth reporting, scoops, juicy nuggets and insights in The Red Letter, you’ll also receive my breaking scoops e-mailed directly to your inbox, so that you’re first to know. Of course, if the story is of major national importance, I will bypass the paywall on my home page. Paid subscribers will also have full access to my weekly blind items, power rankings and what they said but what they really meant. Another perk to being a paid subscriber is being able to comment on the post, chat with me directly to ask questions and offer suggestions on what I should dig into. After all, I want to hear directly from you about what you want uncovered.

I decided to launch The Red Letter after my experiences at PUCK and while creating the Somebody’s Gotta Win podcast for Bill Simmons's The Ringer Network, when I realized most people were consuming their news through podcasts and social media. And that they were becoming increasingly skeptical of institutional filters and instead were choosing their own preferred and trusted messengers. News consumers are yearning for authentic, independent voices that are accountable to their audience. I’m excited to pursue an entirely new media venture, not only via Substack but also on Youtube, where I’ve joined the content creator program. I will be regularly posting new content and interviews, so please subscribe here!