During the first Trump administration, among a certain set of Americans, consuming the news was valorized as an act of civic duty. The second Trump administration brought a vibe shift: audiences were tuning out, preferring to ignore the news entirely rather than re-engage with the torrent of headlines a Trump presidency might produce.
The Logoff is an innovative daily newsletter designed to meet those readers where they are. The concept is simple: Every weekday evening, the newsletter tells its subscribers about one story that they really need to know about from the day’s news – something that will matter beyond a 30-minute news cycle. That might mean explaining the biggest headline of the day, or focusing on a development that has flown under the radar but has greater significance. After that, it redirects them to log back off, with a link to a story, podcast, or video about something other than national politics.
Sometimes, nothing meets the bar — every day brings plenty of headlines, but some are merely incremental developments or flash-in-the-pan controversies. And in that case, the Logoff simply tells the audience to log off.
The newsletter uses a conversational tone with a question-and-answer format. Up front, the writer explains why he’s chosen each day’s story and why it matters. In its first four months, the newsletter has developed a large, loyal and responsive audience, with more than 40,000 subscribers and open rates that routinely hover around 60 percent. In emails, they tell us that they appreciate that the Logoff helps them stay informed without getting caught up in endless, and often fruitless, news cycles.
