We all know that staying up to date is tough. With the balancing act of class, studying, going out and starting to think about jobs, many students wish that they could just have a current events cheat sheet… and their wishes have officially been answered. TheSkimm offers just that—a free daily email newsletter targeted at millennials that dissects the most crucial news pieces, broken down in easy to understand language and posturing. TheSkimm describes themselves as “…the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. We do the reading for you – across subject lines and party lines – and break it down with fresh editorial content. We read. You Skimm.” Sounds pretty great, right?
TheSkimm’s co-founders, Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, were both previously employed by NBC before the duo decided to part ways and start theSkimm. Founded only two short years ago, theSkimm has already hit a subscriber count over 500,000—talk about making a major impact on the media landscape. The email sent at 6 A.M. every morning aims to give subscribers everything they need to know about politics, worldwide events, social issues, sports, and more. An important attribute of theSkimm which differs greatly from the majority of most other news sources is that the newsletter doesn’t focus on being “first.” Instead, theSkimm focuses on building a news-based social community that provides quality coverage: each write up in theSkimm features a brief synopsis of the news, some background and analysis, and the takeaway of each piece.
In addition to providing such news coverage, theSkimm is also working to create social and political awareness. The company worked to provide an extensive, yet easy to digest guide to the past weeks Midterm elections. This 411 on the midterm elections crossed party lines and encouraged young women and men to become educated on issues of the election such as the economy, immigration, foreign policy, and social issues—as well as the candidates themselves. Most importantly, this guide encouraged millennials to get out and vote, including important registration and other voting deadlines. On the University of Wisconsin campus, Wisconsin co-chairs of theSkimm Shira Hirsch and Mollie Stevens worked together in order to promote theSkimm’s, “Pop the Campaign,” inviting students to pledge to vote in the upcoming election.
It’s undeniable that theSkimm is making significant gains in the news-media sphere. Aimed at providing quality news to the ever-busy millennial, this daily newsletter provides relatable information pertaining to significant current events. As a personal subscriber to theSkimm myself, this daily newsletter has become an addiction. It’s an amazing resource for college students and works to seamlessly add the news into our daily routine. For busy students on the go, subscribing this newsletter is an absolute necessity. Make sure you visit theSkimm at http://www.theskimm.com/?r=36WMY to subscribe or sample some Skimm archives.