Nearly every Friday morning for the past five and a half years, I’ve started my day with a very large iced coffee in hand putting the finishing touches on this newsletter. Some mornings would be a triumph; I’d hit send by 8am, proud of the smart analysis I pulled together days in advance. Other mornings were tough: scrambling to rush something through, despairing over the half-assed monstrosity I’d just blasted into the inboxes of thousands of Very Important People.

I never thought I would spend five years writing this newsletter, and I didn’t really enjoy writing until this newsletter found me. But in 2019, when I took over FWIW in its infancy, I quickly learned that there was a big story to tell, one that others were simply not writing about. 

Moving on

Today, I’m letting you know that I’m going to move on from writing FWIW and the grind of the weekly digital ad tracking via this newsletter. I’m going to attempt to reclaim my Friday mornings, and I intend to refocus my creative strength on answering bigger questions. 

I hope to continue researching and writing about the internet’s impact on our politics in a different format and a different forum. After I take a few weeks to catch my breath, I’ll make sure you’re among the first to hear about my next endeavor. Do you have ideas for me on where to go next? Can I help your organization track or deal with some of these questions? Just want to get coffee in DC and chat? Send me an email (kyle@kyletharp.com).

What this means for FWIW

I know the consistent, weekly tracking component of this newsletter has been extremely helpful for many of you in the political digital space, and it would be a real shame if it were to go away. After a holiday hiatus, the team at COURIER intends to continue this newsletter in some form next year with someone else taking it in a new direction. When that happens, you’ll receive it right here in your inbox. Do you have an idea for FWIW’s next phase and want to be a part of writing it? Just reply to this email with your thoughts. 

Acknowledgements

Before I sign off, I want to thank Tara McGowan and Rachel Thomas for coming up with the idea for FWIW way back in 2018, and to Tara for seeing its potential and investing in its long term success over the years. Shout out to editors & co-authors Nick Seymour and Lucy Ritzmann, for walking me back off the ledge too many times to count and contributing valuable insights each week. I also want to thank many of you in the legacy press who have cited this newsletter in your own reporting over 500 times in the past few years. As much as I love dunking on you all, your validation was helpful. 

Lastly, I want to thank each of you for inviting me into your inbox every week. FWIW became an engaged community of over 24,000 readers, and I hope I’ve given you data and analysis you couldn't find elsewhere. If you’re a journalist, strategist, or donor, I hope I helped you do your job just a little bit better. 

Logging off for now,

Kyle