Five Things I Think (I Think) 🖐️

What you can expect in 2026

Photo by Cris Campos

Neighbors,

I’m writing this to you from Washington, D.C., where I’ve been visiting family this weekend.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll take the train up to New York to see more family. Tuesday, Cris and I will meet up in the city to record our next video interview.¹ And Wednesday night, we’re flying back to Chicago, where we’ll hit the ground running, sprinting to release the final print edition of Creator Mag.

Speaking of which: There’s only twenty-six days left until the Creator Mag 𝖥̶𝗎̶𝗇̶𝖾̶𝗋̶𝖺̶𝗅̶ Celebration of Life. Will you be joining us to celebrate and/or grieve on January 31?

We’ll have more event details to share through soon. For now, tonight’s column will serve as a “State of the Union” of sorts—looking ahead at our 2026 plans, with a dash of learnings from 2025.

Here’s Five Things I Think (I Think).

— NGL

P.S. Last blog, we shared our Top Five Stories of 2025. You can read it here.

1.

I think old work doesn’t die as soon as we click send. I went bowling with my dad and brother today. Real ones know I’m a bit of a bowling purist, as newer alleys (often ruined by private equity) tend to shove expensive food, shoddy service, and flashing lights down your throat.

In between (gently) cursing out the overwhelming amount of screens in my line of vision, I was struck by the music videos this alley played on repeat: Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White grooving in “September”; Chad Smith pounding the drums to RCHP’s “Dani California”; and Jay-Z and Rihanna teaming up for the iconic “Umbrella.”

Nostalgia is a helluva drug, sure—and bowling alleys are certainly a portal to a previous era of Americana. But decades later, we keep playing the same songs over and over because they hold up. They’re still that good.

Interviewing Issue Four cover star Cole Cuchna / Phoyo by Cesar Jimenez

Over the last month-plus, Moy and I have been putting the finishing touches on Issue 8.² It’ll be a beautiful, two hundred-page coffee table book, filled with original profiles and essays spanning five years—an era that saw the creator world evolve from afterthought to inevitability. And I gotta say, it’s been quite the time jump editing each spread.

Normally, I have a bit of a cringe-inducing tic when it comes to rereading my old writing.³ But these pieces stand up. They’re every bit the on-the-ground reporting I set out to contribute when I began publishing Creator Mag in 2021; they convinced me I could turn this writer thing into a career, after all.

These days, we all have a tendency to push out creative work and rush to the next project. Speed is seen as a genuine asset…and rightfully so! There’s only so much time in the day, and dreams don’t turn themselves into realities.

Nevertheless, AI is only accelerating our perception of pace. It’s a race to the bottom. Even if you don’t make the next “September,” creating something thoughtful that Five Years Later You can read without cringing is a feat worth celebrating.

2.

I think Issue 8 releases on January 31. Did I mention Issue 8 releases on January 31?

And it’s a beautiful, two-hundred page collector’s edition, perfect for your coffee table or new bookshelf?

And each cover story includes a new afterword from yours truly?

And all proceeds directly support our original, on-the-ground reporting, as we continue to build out our newsroom—and bring new voices into the fold?

Wow. Seems like a great way to fulfill that New Year’s Resolution to read more print, if you ask me.

An evening walk around Diversey Harbor / Photo by moi

3.

I think local will be an even bigger part of the story in 2026. Earlier this year, a friend encouraged us to treat Chicago not as the subject of our work but, rather, as a backdrop. He referenced The Bear (which takes place in the Windy City, and stole the hearts and minds of this city and beyond) specifically. “Chicagoans love nothing more than to celebrate excellence happening in their backyard,” he offered.

I was thinking about this while walking with my brother around DC this weekend. He was talking about local creator Anthony “Tony P” Polcari (@_tonypindc), and how it’s a requirement to blow up your group chat when you spot the city’s most recognizable consultant.

Tony P may not be mainstream famous, but to a specific subset of working professionals in DC, he might as well be the most famous person in the world. And it’s a reminder that the relationship between local media—and the communities they serve—isn’t just more important than ever. It may be a lifeline, as Axios co-founder and CEO Jim VandeHei outlined in an internal company memo last month.

From Semafor:

The co-founder and CEO of Axios is warning journalists that they’ve entered “a post-news era where what matters, and has value, is information, not ‘the news.’”

“Your reality — how you see the world — is no longer defined by ‘the news.’” Jim VandeHei wrote. “Instead, it’s shaped by the videos you watch, podcasts you hear, the people you follow on social media and know in person, and the reporting you consume. We’ve entered a period where everyone has their own individual reality, usually based on age, profession, passions, politics and platform preferences.”

Axios believes its largest area for growth is in local coverage, much of which has been left behind by national media. The company expanded from 30 cities and regions to 34 this year; the additional areas will bring Axios Local to 41 locales.

Our coverage is not Chicago-specific. Treating the city as a backdrop (rather than our explicit focus) feels like the direction we’ll be headed in for the foreseeable future.

But if you’ve been reading this newsletter, then you probably know about my belief that we need to re-invest our energy into civic life. Speaking of which…

The Issue Seven Block Party, captured on film / Photo by Cris Campos

4.

I think you’ll see us host a lot more events in 2026. Like, one-big-event-a-month a lot.

I’ll be sharing an up-to-date calendar through this newsletter soon. It’ll be accessible to all—a reference point for you to plan your year with us.

And while we will take our events to other cities, we’ll continue building our creative neighborhood right here in Chicago…including the first Block Party on January 31.

5.

I think you can expect some answers on January 31. Yes, we recently announced that Issue 8 will be the final print edition of Creator Mag.

Why? You can watch our special broadcast again for more hints. And follow along for some answers, coming soon.

Thanks for reading! Shoot us a reply, comment, or DM if anything resonated with you in particular—we respond to them all.

1. ICYMI: Ahead of Issue 8, we’re rolling out three new interviews with previous Creator Mag cover stars on our YouTube channel. The first “re-interview” featured TikTok creator and congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh. Have you watched it yet?

2. When you receive Issue 8 either at the Block Party or in the mail, please make sure to slide into Moy’s DMs and give her her flowers. Designing a project this large is no small order—especially when it’s a single Art Director (!!) tackling it.

3. Who doesn’t?