Some NewsBreak vs Medium Articles Missing the Points

A few things, even from so-called Medium superstars, do not gel with me

This post is not about criticising writers or writing platforms but inviting readers to a reality check by providing a neutral standpoint based on observations.

I recently read an article from a top writer with significant followers on this platform. Unfortunately, the writer was saying goodbye to Medium because the focus of the program is now on quantity rather than quality.

I felt sorry for his departure, but he alluded to coming back. I hope he does, as he writes good stuff. However, his reasons did not gel with me.

The premise of the writer about quality makes good sense. As readers, we prefer quality over quantity. However, by checking the background of the author, a few things confused me more.

First, the author mentioned he has a large following on NewsBreak to continue his service there. It is inspiring to see writers with a large following — no issue with this.

However, the writer seemed to criticise Medium and showed favour towards NewsBreak. I respect his personal opinions. It might have worked for him. Though, I have a fair idea of how many people gained benefits from these two platforms.

So, stories I read from other writers about NewsBreak did not quite gel with this writer’s views. Let me explain.

Many articles about NewsBreak pointed out that some writers earned significant income from the platform. However, NewsBreak has recently changed its contract and stopped the base payment, which upset many writers. Those writers who made over a thousand dollars a month now earn ten to twenty cents.

As the platform has inadequate domain authority, search engines do not favour their content. So old stories cannot earn even a single cent unless writers share the links with readers. Search engines bury them.

Thanks to its very high domain authority, medium stories always get great exposure from search engines even after many years. Platforms have their business goals and practices. We cannot criticise them for their commercial decisions.

From the stories, I learned that NewsBreak does not allow writers to mention other platforms. I also understand that they do not allow writers to criticise their platform. In short, writers cannot write about platforms on NewsBreak. There is nothing wrong with this. It is a business decision.

Some writers who criticise Medium publish their stories on Medium with no such constraints. Amusingly, Medium allows criticising stories. More remarkably, these writers earn income from Medium by criticising the platform. Can you imagine how NewsBreak would respond to a writer who criticises their platform? I heard that they now use a striking system resembling the punishment of naughty kids.

This top writer who makes a quality versus quantity argument is one of the most prolific writers. He posted many articles to both Medium and NewsBreak very frequently. I did not read anything about NewsBreak limiting the number of articles per writer, but I am sure Medium has a limit of a maximum of 15 posts a day.

Entertainingly, I read a story about a writer in the earlier days of NewsBreak posting 200 articles in a single day. The author has become a media influencer recently.

Medium is a self-publishing platform giving voice to any ethical writer and does not censor or reject posts unless they are against policy such as harmful material for society.

However, NewsBreak selects writers and only allow those who meet their criteria. Encouraged by some referrals, I sent an application to NewsBreak, and it was rejected due to my low following on social media. Nevertheless, it was fair enough, and I respected their decision.

In addition, I read numerous articles mentioning that NewsBreak does not approve stories for trivial reasons, not just for quality reasons. Some writers noted that the platform favours local content rather than content valuable to broader society.

So those who wrote local content seemed to earn more income than others. Fortunately, no such discrimination exists on Medium.

A top writer mentioned that her stories related to relationships and sex went viral on Medium, but any article she used the term sex even it was not about sexuality at all was rejected on NewsBreak.

Their algorithm discarded them immediately. She had to remove the word sex from her vocabulary to get published on that platform. I know it was difficult for her. She is a writer with vibrant language.

I am not a prolific writer and don’t have many readers yet. However, I reviewed and published hundreds of other writers’ articles as a volunteer editor of Technology Hits publication on Medium. This publication gives voice to many tech writers who are not necessarily experienced in writing but offer valuable content to technical communities and overall society.

As far as I know, Medium did not censor a single story from this publication. I know some of our contributors use quite heavy words and vulgar language every now and then. They amuse readers with their sense of humour.

Quality is not just about writing stylish materials but also posting valuable and helpful content for writers. I know that discerning readers do not care much about minor typos, and instead, they focus on the value they get from the content.

I witnessed several viral stories on Technology Hits. By elitists’ standards, those stories are below average written by amateurish writers from countries English as a second, third, fourth, or even fifth language. But their content gained significant reading times. And we did not receive any complaints from readers about the quality of their posts.

To me, every platform has its own pros, cons, weaknesses and strengths. We cannot compare apples with oranges. Have you ever seen a perfect platform, a company, or a person? I haven’t!

Surprisingly, some followers think that I earn lots of money on Medium as an editor. Frankly, this perception surprised me. For transparency purposes, my stories made only $7 this month and fewer in many other months. And I pay back $5 to support the writers of Medium as I benefit from their content. In short, I couldn’t even buy a cone of ice cream with my monthly earning of Medium stories.

Similar to some writers, my intention is not to earn money on Medium, and I don’t blame the platform for my failure. Those who write engaging stories consistently make good money. I witnessed a single story on Technology Hits made around $2,000.

The writer was not even a paying member showing no green circle in his photo. Good for him as he brought many readers to this pub, and other writers benefited from the traffic!

I volunteered to help a few publications that resonated with my personal and professional goals. I love reading tech content from a diverse group of smart writers.

I spent a few hundred hours reviewing and editing this year which gave me gratification. I respect people who write for earning money but I am disappointed by obsession on other people’s earning. Why don’t we just mind our own business?

As far as I know, publications and their editors are not paid on Medium. At least, the publications I am supporting and their editors are not paid. They do it as a giveback to the writing and reading community on Medium. Many writers see Medium as a home. Candidly, I do too.

I am grateful at least Medium allowed me to write a few small pieces to find my writing voice. They even distributed a few stories that received a handful of readers, but it meant a lot to me because NewsBreak did not even give me a chance to write on their platform. That is also fine by me. I respect their choice. It was not my loss, so to speak.

So, my point in this post is not Medium versus NewsBreak, as it is a moot point. However, before we throw stones at platforms, we should do a reality check and understand the purpose of each platform, read thoughts from the majority, and do a quick track record review.

This realistic view can give us better insights on what Medium achieved and contributed to writers and readers since 2012 versus what NewsBreak did in the last few months. The picture is clear. You don’t have to be a media influencer to see the portrait.

I am confused with the motives of influencers, but I hope I did not confuse you with my humble and neutral observations.

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