In September 2023, INMA awarded 30 young professionals around the world with its fourth “30 Under 30” award as part of its Young Professionals Initiative. This is the 16th in a series of 30 features about the impressive rising media stars who are shaping our industry. 

A now-successful media company began when Lucy Blakiston was texting her two best friends instead of listening to a lecture on international relations.

One of them suggested they start a blog called Shit You Should Care About — and they did. It was a side project for three years, but in 2021 they “decided to give it a real go.”

Now, it is a leading news source for Gen Z, with more than 3.5 million followers on social media, a popular daily newsletter, and two podcasts.

“My biggest passion is making sure young people are informed and in a way that isn’t going to impact their mental health,” Lucy said. “I want to give them the news without giving them the blues.”

Since young people consume news differently, SYSCA uses TikTok and Instagram to deliver the news, but also encourages them to move to other platforms — which is where the newsletter and podcasts come in.

One secret to her success is that she is willing to try anything:

“The quickest way to get anything right is to fail reallllly fast with the things that are wrong,” she said. “And I have no hesitation when it comes to making a new platform work for us.” 

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