Mehdi Hasan revealed details of his own media company on Wednesday. Called Zeteo, meaning “to seek” in Greek, the company is based on Substack. It will publish a weekly streamed show by Hasan, as well as a podcast and newsletters, according to Jeremy Barr at The Washington Post, who exclusively broke the news. Zeteo will formally launch in April and include work from a variety of contributors.
Hasan’s move comes after his recent exit from MSNBC. As the WaPo piece noted, a number of conservative former talk show stars have built their own brands after exciting networks. However, there have not been many moves by equivalent figures on the left. The host said:
I believe there is a craving for media organizations that don’t shy away from saying the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it bothers people, even if it hinders access, even if it shakes the apple cart. From a purely business perspective, there is a gap in the market.
I feel like we’ve heard that one before, but anyway…
Hasan started career at home in the UK. He really came to prominence as a senior politics editor at The News Statesman. He then moved to become political director of The Huffington Post before heading across the Atlantic and becoming a TV star.
It is an interesting choice to start on Substack. There are no reports of any kind of a deal with the newsletter platform, although I’m sure they are delighted to having him and will offer Hasan support. Zeteo certainly seems to be using all the features Substack has to offer with a slick-looking announcement post and native video. Given the backlash that followed the end of his MSNBC show, I suspect Mehdi Hasan is going to to generate plenty of paid subscriptions very quickly.