Good morning. A whirlwind presidential race has come to a close in the US, and we know that many of you (our wonderful readers) probably have a lot of thoughts and feelings about the results.

Our industry continues to impact politics, and plenty of creators are already drawing conclusions from the race. “I hope to see politicians from both sides doing 2-3+ hour genuine, human conversations moving forward,” podcast host Lex Fridman posted on X.

Here at the Publish Press, we’ll continue to cover stories from around the creator world—even (and especially when) it comes to the growing, sometimes confusing ways creators intersect with politics.

— Hannah Doyle & Nate Graber-Lipperman

Comedy production company Stapleview, known for launching talent like Grace Reiter and Dylan Adler, is kicking off a new slate of shows and expanding into talent management.

Catch up quick: Stapleview, founded by producer and talent manager Sam Grey, launched in 2022 as a TikTok live show, filming on an iPhone and using handmade props. It was a hit, with video clips receiving millions of views.

Now, with a new COO and investment from Hollywood vets including Steven Spielberg and Joe Drake, Stapleview is spinning out longform video across platforms—as well as a talent management arm.

“A big part of why we started the management side of this is because success means a lot of different things to a lot of different creators in this changing comedy landscape,” Grey told us.

Looking ahead: With a variety of business pipelines available to comedians through social platforms, Stapleview wants to continue focusing on developing new and emerging talent, like Jane Wickline, who got her start on Stapleview and just made her SNL debut in September.

“I truly believe we will meet all of the next huge comedy stars on TikTok or Instagram. We’ll know them later on from whatever they want to go off and do, but we’ll meet them in the short-form space first,” Grey said.

In 2021 and 2022, online tech and entertainment publication Giant Freakin Robot (GFR) grew to over 20 million readers a month. 

Two years later, monthly viewership has decreased to a few thousand site visitors, according to a blog post from GFR founder Joshua Tyler—and he’s decided to shut the site down instead of “stomp[ing] our way toward inevitable bankruptcy.”

Zoom in: Tyler said that his publication has been hit hard by recent tweaks in Google’s Search algorithm, which he believes is prioritizing AI-generated search results and giving big brands “special treatment” (a problem he’s shared with Google employees).

So what’s next for GFR? Tyler plans to continue publishing new video essays on tech and movies to the GFR YouTube channel, which he started in 2023—and has already grown to 94,000 subscribers.

“It’s been incredibly successful…YouTube is a fantastic platform, one of the few that still rewards hard work and experience,” Tyler wrote in his blog post.

Zoom out: Independent publishers have been sounding the alarm on decreased traffic from Google over the last year. The company didn’t exactly alleviate fears at its Web Creator Summit last week when Google Search VP Pandu Nayak reportedly said that the company “can’t guarantee” independent publishers will recover from algorithm changes.

Sponsored by LTX Studio

Registration is now open for LTX Studio's ‘Frames of the Future’ event exploring case studies and pro tips for using AI to drive visual creative development across advertising, filmmaking, and entertainment.

It’s happening Monday, November 18th at 6 PM.

Space is limited so snag your spot here.

TikTok parent company ByteDance increased its international revenue more than 60% to $17 billion in the first half of the year, according to The Information. 

TikTok accounts for most of ByteDance’s revenue outside of China, which suggests its advertising and ecommerce revenue is holding ground amidst the legal pressure from US states and Washington.

Looking ahead: According to six TikTok employees surveyed by Wired, TikTok isn't too concerned with its fate in the US. In July, President-elect Donald Trump said that he’s against a TikTok ban—a stark reversal from when he attempted to ban the platform as president in 2020.

We're polling you, our Publish readers, about your experiences, POVs, and businesses to finish out the year with insights into the future of the creator industry. This poll is part of an ongoing series we'll share in December.

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