Why Journalists Are Going Indie (with Maddy Myers)

404 Media is an independent website whose work is written, reported, and owned by human journalists. Our intended audience is real people, not AI scrapers, bots, or a search algorithm. Become a paid subscriber here for access to all of our articles ad-free and bonus content. This week, Sam is joined by Maddy Myers, editor-in-chief of Mothership. She’s also a co-host of the video games podcast Triple Click.  Maddy launched Mothership with co-founder Zoë Hannah in January. It’s a queer and women-owned independent publication that focuses on gender and games. They discuss Maddy’s early days of games journalism at a (print!) alt-weekly in Boston and then at the Mary Sue, how she and Zoë decided it was time to quit their jobs and launch their own indie outlet, and the importance of owning your own work as a journalist. Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism. If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. Subscribe to Mothership Why I’m launching a feminist video games website in 2026 - The Guardian Mothership and a History of Women in Games Media - the Post Games podcast ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sam Cole is writing from the far reaches of the internet, about sexuality, the adult industry, online culture, and AI. She's the author of How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex. MORE FROM SAMANTHA COLE