CNN’s Media Chronicler Strikes Out on His Own

Just how big is the market for news about the news?

That’s a question that Oliver Darcy, a veteran media reporter, is poised to answer. He announced on Thursday that he would leave his longtime perch at CNN, where he writes the widely read Reliable Sources newsletter, to start an independent, subscription-based news site dedicated to the media industry.

Mr. Darcy, 33, is tossing his fedora into a crowded ring. Puck, another digital outlet, has found success with bespoke emails focused on media gossip in Manhattan, Hollywood and Washington. Semafor recently debuted a media-focused podcast, “Mixed Signals,” and The Hollywood Reporter beefed up its media coverage this year.

Mr. Darcy’s new venture, called Status, will be similar to the daily media digest that he helped lead for four years at CNN, with a mix of reporting and analysis. Topics will range from Silicon Valley to presidential politics to the effects of artificial intelligence technology on news consumption.

“We are trying to connect all these dots on a nightly basis,” he said in an interview.

Reliable Sources, founded in 2015 by the journalist Brian Stelter, is distributed free by CNN. Subscriptions to Mr. Darcy’s version will begin at $15 a month or $150 per year; an elite membership, with perks like private Zoom calls, is available for $595 annually. The first issue is set to appear on Monday.

A number of journalists have departed traditional news organizations to try their luck on subscription sites like Substack. Mr. Darcy plans to start with an initial sponsor (he declined to specify the company) and an ad sales partnership with The Ankler, a start-up that covers Hollywood. He has no outside investors, and for now Mr. Darcy will be reporting alone.

“My pitch to readers is this is a 100 percent independent voice,” he said. “I don’t think there’s one product out there that does exactly what we do.”