如今的出版业，谁还愿意为一万字付出十六万美元？
我最近看了前《Vanity Fair》主编Graydon Carter写的回忆录《好时光未远去》（When the Going Was Good）的简介，里面提到了前《Vanity Fair》撰稿人布莱恩·伯勒（Bryan Burrough）在《耶鲁评论》上发表了一篇颇具反思的文章，回顾了《名利场》昔日曾经的辉煌。他写道：“如今回想起来，Graydon时代的《Vanity Fair》就像一个消失的世界，一座镀金的亚特兰蒂斯，最终被经济与科技的海啸吞没。那时的辉煌，只能任由媒体考古学家慢慢发掘。”
在这篇充满怀旧情绪的文章中，有一个特别引人注目的细节。Bryan说，在他为《Vanity Fair》工作的25年里，他每年大概写三篇长文，每篇约一万字。在巅峰时期，他的年收入高达49.8万美元，换句话说，每篇文章报酬超过16万美元。而如今，一万字的稿子能拿到2万美元就算幸运了。他说人们常问他为什么不多写点，他说，“按照这个价格，我实在提不起劲来。”
最近看到一个新闻，美国著名的《The Atlantic》杂志目前正在以年薪20万到30万美元的工资招生一批资深记者，其中包括9位是从亚马逊创始人贝佐斯拥有《Washington Post》跳槽过来的编辑。这个工资待遇在硅谷真的只能算是初级的水准，但是在出版行业里算是非常豪华的薪水，因此也引起了一些争议，有人说这样的薪资“过于昂贵”，甚至“不太合理”。有位竞争媒体的编辑甚至直言：“看见有人愿意在新闻业砸钱当然挺好，但我的天，这么砸钱，真的能持续吗？”
也就是说，在很多人眼里，30万美元竟然已经成为天花板。而在出版业的黄金时间，就是刚刚提到的《Vanity Fair》曾经辉煌的那段时间，20万美元是很多记者与编辑基本的收入，转职是拿个10%到15%的涨幅也纯属正常。
如今的出版业，裁员已经成为常态，我曾经做过咨询服务的Bell Media，Rogers Media现在是经常裁员，规模越来越小，其内容质量在下降也就可以理解的了。
正因为如此，媒体行业正在进行一场缓慢但又十分必须的重组。像《The Atlantic》这样高端的出版机构，他们背后有雄厚的资金，因此可以高工资的经济策略来吸引优秀的记者与编辑。好的内容并非靠AI能写出来，能让读者掏出信用卡来阅读的内容，必须是由优秀的撰稿人以其独特的视角以及自成一体的文字来实现的。
与此同时，另一种趋势也在悄然发生。越来越多媒体人开始选择单飞，比如《The Atlantic》的资深撰稿人 Derek Thompson，最近在工作了17年之后，他宣布离开杂志，转向Substack，理由就是“我想为自己写作”。
这里科普一下什么是Substack。Substack 是一个专为内容创作者打造的订阅制写作平台。它的核心理念很简单：让写作者直接面对读者，通过newsletter的形式发布内容，并收取订阅费用。对写作者来说，Substack 提供了一种去中介化的方式，你不再需要依赖传统媒体的编辑部、广告模式或流量算法，而是可以拥有一批忠实订阅者，靠他们的支持获得收入。写作内容可以是文章、评论、新闻分析、小说连载，甚至播客或视频，形式非常灵活。对读者来说，它就像像是你的私人订阅杂志。你可以订阅你喜欢的作者，部分内容免费，部分内容付费，支持的是某位你真正认同、欣赏的个体创作者。我自己本身就订阅了好几个在Substack上的作者账号，包括我特别喜欢的CTV娱乐记者Lannie Liu。如果大家有兴趣的话，也可以去下载这个app。
现在在 Substack上，也的确已经有一些作者靠读者付费，可以轻松突破30万美元的年收入，比如，Bari Weiss、Casey Newton 和 Emily Sundberg 这样的明星创作人，但与此同时，更多的作者也是默默上线，然后又悄悄退场。写作是一门需要编辑、调研、设计、法务支持的生意，而独立写作意味着你除了写作之外，也要具备更加全面的技能与素质。
比如CNN前记者Oliver Darcy靠自己的付费栏目《Status》在Substack上实现了年入百万美元的突破。但他也毫不讳言地警告同行：“这条路真的不好走。我每周工作肯定超过100小时。很多人以为这很轻松，其实根本不是。”
因此，今天的出版行业，正被两股力量重新塑造：一边是像 Derek 和 Oliver 这样勇敢“下海”，尝试独立写作之路的内容创业者。另一边，则是如《The Atlantic》这类依然愿意为优质记者提供稳定平台和长期投入的媒体机构。
就像许多看似“辉煌已远”的行业一样，出版也正站在转型的十字路口。与其沉湎于过去的黄金年代，不如将目光投向未来，通过不断试验、不断突破，寻找新的生存与发展之道。毕竟，下一个黄金时代，不会凭空而来，它属于那些愿意行动、敢于创新的人。
In Today’s Publishing World, Who’s Still Willing to Pay $160,000 for 10,000 Words?
I recently read “When the Going Was Good”, a memoir by former Vanity Fair Chief Editor Graydon Carter. It references an article by longtime Vanity Fair writer Bryan Burrough in The Yale Review, where he reflects on the magazine’s glory days under Carter. He compares that era to a "gilded Atlantis", a vanished world swallowed by economic and technological shifts, now left for "media archaeologists" to rediscover.
One striking detail: during his 25 years at Vanity Fair, Bryan wrote about three long features a year, each around 10,000 words. At his peak, he earned $498,000 annually, meaning over $160,000 per article. Today, writers are lucky to get $20,000 for the same word count. People often ask why he doesn’t write more. His answer: "At these rates, I just can’t get excited."
Recently, The Atlantic magazine made headlines for hiring top-tier journalists, including nine from The Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos), with salaries between $200,000 $300,000. That’s considered high-end for journalism but so modest by Silicon Valley standards. Still, it stirred debate in the publishing world, with some calling those salaries “too expensive” and unsustainable.
In the golden days of publishing, a base salary of $200,000 was considered standard for many journalists and editors, and switching jobs typically resulted in a 10–15% raise. Today, mass layoffs are common, and shrinking staff sizes have made declining quality more understandable.
The publishing world is being reshaped. Prestigious outlets like The Atlantic, backed by deep pockets, can still afford to pay top dollar to attract quality writers. Their strategy is clear: great journalism can’t be generated by AI, it requires human voices with unique perspectives and writing styles that move readers enough to pay for content.
Meanwhile, a growing number of journalists are going independent. For example, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson left after 17 years to write on Substack, saying, “I want to write for myself.”
So what’s Substack? It’s a platform where writers can publish newsletters and get paid directly by subscribers. Writers bypass traditional media and rely on loyal readers for income. It’s flexible; you can publish essays, reports, fiction, podcasts, or videos.
Some journalists, such as Bari Weiss, Casey Newton, and Emily Sundberg, earn over $300,000 a year on Substack. But many others quietly fail. Writing is a business that requires more than just writing; it needs editing, research, design, and legal support. Going solo means doing it all.
Oliver Darcy is a former journalist for CNN. His Substack column, Status, now earns over $1 million a year. But he works over 100 hours a week and warns others: “This path is really hard.”
Therefore, in today’s publishing world, the industry is shaped by two forces:
Independent Content Creators – like Derek and Oliver, who are brave enough to build solo careers.
Legacy Media Investing in Talent – like The Atlantic, offering stable platforms and generous pay.
Just like other industries once considered “past their prime,” publishing is at a crossroads. Instead of mourning the past, the focus should shift to building the future through innovation and experimentation. The next golden age will belong to those bold enough to chase it.