The Information
Premium subscription tech and business news publication founded in 2013 by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin. Known for breaking Silicon Valley scoops behind a hard paywall at $399/year, with over 20,000 subscribers and 90%+ revenue from subscriptions.
Score generated by AI agents based on publicly cited evidence and reviewed by the project maintainer. Not independently validated.
Score History
Timeline events are AI-curated from public reporting. Score trajectory is derived from documented events.
Jessica Lessin launched The Information in December 2013 with a $399/year hard paywall, a model widely considered unsustainable at the time. The tiny team produced one or two deeply reported stories per day, hired from top outlets like WSJ, and built a reputation for quality over volume. The high price created an inherent accessibility barrier (D7), but the clean, ad-free experience and transparent editorial model kept other dimension scores minimal.
The Information reached profitability by 2016, opened its Hong Kong bureau under Shai Oster, and launched $10,000/year Investor and student tiers. The conflict-of-interest controversy over Lessin's inadequately disclosed Zuckerberg friendship in a NYT op-ed raised editorial transparency questions (D5). Early reporter turnover and a top-down editorial culture characteristic of Lessin's WSJ background bumped labor concerns (D9). The multi-tier pricing deepened the monetization stack.
The Information introduced the Ticker app ($29/year) for mass-market consumers, added Young Professional ($199) and All-Access ($749) tiers, and tested a Bloomberg bundle at $499. By 2018-2019, the team reached 23 reporters with their best-ever Q2. Glassdoor reviews surfaced management concerns, and the proliferating subscription tiers created mild lock-in through habit formation and community features. The core product remained high quality with no feature degradation.
The Information launched The Electric standalone newsletter, hired 22 people in one year including a dedicated growth executive, and targeted scaling from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Subscriber count reached ~45,000 by 2022. Trustpilot complaints about auto-renewal practices and no-refund policies emerged, and Glassdoor reviews about Lessin's management style accumulated. Lessin turned down acquisition interest, confirming independent ownership. Product quality continued improving with expanded coverage.
The Information matured into a $20M+ revenue operation with approximately 112 employees, 30% revenue growth in 2024, and expanded AI coverage through dedicated newsletters. The $999/year Pro tier added another monetization layer. Trustpilot complaints about auto-renewal practices and Glassdoor reviews about management style maintained moderate D7 and D9 scores. Lessin Media began investing in other niche journalism startups, positioning The Information as the anchor of a broader media portfolio.
Alternatives
Vox Media-owned technology news site offering free access to tech industry coverage, reviews, and analysis with a broader consumer tech focus than The Information's industry insider angle.
Independent subscription newsletter by Ben Thompson analyzing technology strategy and business models, offering a similar premium subscription model at lower price with single-author depth.
Digital news startup co-founded by former New York Times and BuzzFeed News journalists, offering global business and tech news with an innovative format separating facts from analysis.
In the News
Dimensional Breakdown
Summaries below were written by AI agents based on the cited evidence. They are editorial interpretations, not independent research findings.
Dimension History
Timeline (27 events)
The Information launches with $399 hard paywall
Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin launches The Information, a subscription-only tech news publication at $399/year or $39/month. The hard paywall model was considered audacious at a time when metered paywalls were the norm and most digital publications relied on advertising revenue.
Eric Newcomer joins as first employee
The Information hires Eric Newcomer, recruited through the Harvard Crimson alumni network, as its first full-time employee. Newcomer initially worked out of Lessin's apartment in San Francisco's Dolores Park neighborhood before the company had formal offices.
Staff grows to eight in first year
Within the first year, The Information expanded from Lessin alone to eight core staff including five reporters. Lessin credited the subscription model with enabling faster-than-expected team growth. The publication established a reputation for fewer, deeper stories rather than the high-volume model common at digital outlets.
Martin Peers joins from Wall Street Journal
Martin Peers, a 15-year Wall Street Journal veteran and Pulitzer Prize winner, joins The Information as a columnist. He would later become Managing Editor in December 2015, providing editorial leadership and industry credibility alongside Lessin.
Vanity Fair names Lessin a 'Media Disrupter'
Vanity Fair included Jessica Lessin on its 2014 New Establishment list, naming her one of a new generation of 'Media Disrupters.' She appeared in the magazine's photo spread alongside 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and Disney CEO Bob Iger, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Advisory board formed with tech and media leaders
The Information forms an advisory board that includes venture capitalist John Doerr, Politico co-founder Jim VandeHei, and ProPublica executive chairman Paul Steiger. The board provided strategic guidance and added credibility but also raised proximity-to-sources concerns given the publication's Silicon Valley coverage.
Investigation into Nest founder Tony Fadell crashes site
The Information published a 4,000-word investigation by reporter Reed Albergotti into Tony Fadell's management of Nest, revealing a broken company culture with on-the-record quotes from executives. Traffic from the story crashed The Information's website. Fadell later announced he was stepping down from Nest.
Asia bureau opens in Hong Kong with Shai Oster
The Information hired Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Shai Oster from Bloomberg as its first Asia Bureau Chief, based in Hong Kong. The bureau represented the publication's first international expansion, targeting the growing tech sector in China and broader Asia where subscriber interest was rising.
Investor tier launched at $10,000/year alongside student plan
The Information launched two new subscription tiers: a $10,000/year Investor plan targeting hedge funds, VCs, and private equity firms with monthly private conference calls and briefings, and a $19.50/month student plan reaching students at 30 schools including Wharton, Harvard, and Stanford. The dual expansion extended the price range from $234 to $10,000 annually.
NYT public editor criticizes Lessin for Facebook conflict disclosure
Jessica Lessin published a New York Times op-ed arguing Facebook should not fact-check news, disclosing only that her husband 'did work there for a brief period.' NYT public editor Liz Spayd called the disclosure inadequate, noting Sam Lessin spent four years as Facebook VP of Product reporting directly to Zuckerberg, and that the families had a close personal relationship.
Publication reaches profitability within three years
The Information achieved profitability by the end of 2016, just three years after launch. With 'many thousands' of subscribers at $399/year and over 90% of revenue from subscriptions, the publication demonstrated the viability of premium, ad-free subscription journalism. Only $1M in external funding was ever raised.
The Briefing newsletter launches for daily commentary
The Information launched The Briefing, a daily email newsletter featuring opinionated takes on articles from other news sources. Announced at the Subscriber Summit in New York, the product marked a shift from the publication's original focus on exclusively deep-dive reporting to include curated commentary and aggregation.
Media startup accelerator launched with $25K investments
The Information launched The Information Accelerator, investing $25,000+ in subscription news startups and providing mentoring, distribution help, and business model guidance. The first cohort of five startups included The Ankler, The New Consumer, and TrueHoop, representing Lessin's broader vision for subscription journalism.
Young Professional and All-Access tiers introduced
The Information added a $199/year Young Professional plan for subscribers under 30 (lockable for five years), and a $749/year All-Access plan with guaranteed event access and a guest invitation. This expanded the pricing from a single $399 tier to a five-tier structure spanning $199 to $10,000 annually.
Team reaches 23 reporters with most successful Q2
By mid-2018, The Information had grown to 23 reporters and editors, expanded beyond tech into adjacent sectors, and reported its most successful Q2 in five years of operation. Over 90% of revenue came from subscriptions with subscriber lifetime value exceeding $1,000.
Ticker consumer app announced at $29/year
The Information announced Ticker (later rebranded Tech Top 10), a mobile app offering summarized tech news for $29.99/year ($2.99/month). This was the publication's first consumer-oriented product, targeting a mass audience beyond its core tech executive readership at a fraction of the standard $399 price.
Bloomberg Media bundle subscription tested at $499
The Information and Bloomberg Media launched a $499/year joint subscription bundle offering access to both publications' full content, events, Slack channel, and Bloomberg TV. Revenue was split 50-50 regardless of which publisher acquired the subscriber. The one-year trial represented a rare partnership between premium business publications.
Aggressive hiring push targeting 'hundreds of thousands' of subscribers
The Information hired 22 people in the preceding year, including Sam Rosen from The Atlantic as general manager of consumer business. CEO Lessin stated the goal of reaching 'hundreds of thousands' of subscribers from the 'tens of thousands' the publication had at the time. The hire of a dedicated growth executive signaled a shift from organic growth to active subscriber acquisition.
The Electric EV newsletter launches as first standalone publication
The Information launched The Electric, a standalone premium subscription newsletter covering batteries, electric vehicles, and energy transition, written by veteran journalist Steve LeVine. This was the publication's first standalone product outside its core tech news offering, extending the Lessin Media portfolio into niche verticals.
Subscriber base reaches approximately 45,000 paid subscribers
The Information reached approximately 45,000 paid subscribers by September 2022, with a broader user base of 225,000 including newsletter sign-ups. The Financial Times reported this figure, also noting that Lessin had turned down acquisition interest and planned to maintain The Information as an independent publication indefinitely.
Pro tier launches at $999/year with proprietary data
The Information launched The Information Pro at $999/year, offering org charts tracking 4,000+ individuals at 50 companies, proprietary databases on cloud infrastructure spending and creator fundraising, reader surveys, and a specialized weekly newsletter. The product targeted CIOs, CTOs, and executives willing to pay for data-driven business intelligence.
More or Less podcast launches with Lessin and Morin families
Jessica Lessin and Sam Lessin launched the More or Less podcast together with Dave and Brit Morin. The podcast, produced under The Information umbrella, features Silicon Valley insiders debating tech topics. The format raised further proximity-to-sources concerns given Sam Lessin's role at VC firm Slow Ventures.
Leaked internal audio reveals financial details to Adweek
Adweek obtained a recording of an internal July 2023 meeting revealing that The Information saw consistent subscription growth in H1 2023 with an $800,000 boost from the new Pro product, but was only 70% to its brand advertising revenue target. The rare leak provided a glimpse into the normally opaque financial health of the private company.
AI Agenda newsletter launches for daily AI coverage
The Information launched AI Agenda, a daily newsletter written by AI reporter Stephanie Palazzolo covering artificial intelligence startups, venture capital, tech giants, and research. The newsletter expanded the publication's coverage footprint into the fastest-growing area of tech reporting.
NYT profiles The Information as model for niche news future
The New York Times profiled The Information as a model for the future of niche news, reporting $20M+ in revenue, 30% revenue growth in 2024, and a doubled editorial staff. Lessin Media's investments in Semafor, The Ankler, Dynamo, Charter, and other startups positioned the company as both a publication and a media investment platform.
TITV live video show launches with daily weekday broadcasts
The Information launched TITV, a daily live video show airing weekdays at 10am PT/1pm ET, hosted by reporter Akash Pasricha with regular segments from Jessica Lessin. The show streams on YouTube, X, and the publication's website, marking the publication's first entry into live video content.
Zuckerberg interview audio failure embarrasses TITV debut
TITV's premiere featured a high-profile live interview with Mark Zuckerberg conducted by Jessica Lessin, but viewers heard silence due to an audio failure for several minutes. Beyond the technical embarrassment, media critics questioned why Lessin conducted the interview without disclosing her family's long-standing friendship with Zuckerberg.
Evidence (36 citations)
D1: User Value Erosion
D2: Business Customer Exploitation
D3: Shareholder Extraction
D4: Lock-in & Switching Costs
D5: Twiddling & Algorithmic Opacity
D6: Dark Patterns
D7: Advertising & Monetization Pressure
D8: Competitive Conduct
D9: Labor & Governance
D10: Regulatory & Legal Posture
Scoring Log (4 entries)
Stripped for Phase 2 re-enrichment