A US investigative news outlet that has just hired nine new journalists to its team puts its ability to invest down to its flourishing subscriber strategy.

The Lever was launched as a newsletter in 2020 by David Sirota, a speechwriter and senior adviser for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. Sirota has also been a columnist for Guardian US, editor-at-large for American left publication Jacobin and senior investigations editor for The International Business Times.

From starting with a team of two, The Lever now has a staff of 19. The new hires announced this month included a senior investigative reporter, an enterprise reporter, three reporters, podcast producer, contributing news designer, social media and marketing producer and an editorial fellow.