'Emancipated': The journo who's living the dream thanks to Substack

Australian writer Gideon Haigh has been a journalist since 1984, and a freelancer since 1995.

He's had contract positions since then, but recently, he's grown his own steady audience on Substack.

“I was vaguely aware of Substack," Haigh tells Mediaweek about his account, which has 12 000 plus followers, called  Cricket et al.

“I started doing pieces here and there.” 

Now, he's living the dream - following cricket around the world, and writing about it - without any of the editorial constraint that comes with working for mainstream media.

“I miss nothing about it,” Haigh says when asked how life is in the independent media lane compared to with the major players.

Haigh's Cricket et al account is run with fellow journalist and long-term friend and colleague, Peter Lalor.

In 2024, Lalor took redundancy from The Australian and the duo began to concentrate on building Substack subscribers.

It was the ultimate working relationship, and continues to be so.

“We like each other, we trust each other, we work harmoniously with so many years behind it,” Haigh says.

"Our partners are friends. You don't have to deal with day to day office issues and senior staff - there's a lack of bureaucracy.

“You feel emancipated.”

Haigh also commented on the current state of sports media.

“Sports coverage is suffering - we don't have answer to paymasters. And that's encouraged me to a different kind of writing - not formulaic - which connects with people more readily.”

Gideon Haigh's Cricket et Al Substack

When asked if there are downsides to solely publishing work through a Substack with subscribers, Haigh says no, because he was already an established writer, so had a body of work that people knew of.

“I've written 52 books - I'm also a good time-manager,” Haigh says.

“Our pre-existing profile took a long way when we began. We were already established.”

One thing that has surprised Haigh about Substack is its offering of tools to support accounts.

“We decided to sell merchandise and it was a hit. Our ‘Free Imran Khan’ t-shirt has been a huge seller,” Haigh says.

Explaining that is was a short time between conception to selling, he adds, “That would take you months in mainstream media.”

Substack offers more tools for writers to grow

Earlier this year, Substack announced it has officially entered the connected TV space, launching a new Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV, as the creator platform looks to extend its long-form subscription model beyond mobile and desktop screens.

The move gives Substack’s growing video and livestream ecosystem a new home in the living room, positioning the company as a creator-first challenger in the increasingly crowded connected TV market.

It's evidence of what Substack is doing to grow its platform for contributors.

“I didn't even know there where chatrooms on Substack,” Haigh laughingly recalls.

“I thought one day that a chat might be a good idea, and then I realised people were already in it, talking amongst themselves.”

He adds, “There's a nice communal feel to it.”