Dear reader,
2026 continues to be a year in full gallop. Remember how I started the year by blending my left index finger while making a soaked-cashew garlic dip for kale chips? It was dramatic. I’m still reminded of it every day as I follow my fingernail’s regrowth. However, it doesn’t even make it on the Top Five List of ’26 Significance.
Here are two things that happened this week: Tuesday, my dad had his last day at work, and Thursday, I passed my driver’s license exam. Onwards.
With care,
Kristoffer
Charlotte Rubesa: Quiet Media
Charlotte Rubesa is a London-based communications strategy director and the creator and editor of Quiet Media.
What is Quiet Media?
Quiet Media is a print-first publication founded on the idea that “our attention is our most valuable resource and it should be handled with care.” The publication gathers writers, strategists, artists and founders examining the systems that shape attention. It balances essays, interviews and reflections, prioritising depth over speed and thoughtful creation over endless output. Rubesa is also developing Quiet Media as a media format that respects attention through print, focused apps, and podcasts — formats without constant notifications, infinite scroll, or artificial urgency.
Why did you start it?
Working as a communications strategist, Rubesa has observed dramatic shifts in the media landscape. She notes that “attention becomes something to capture vs something to earn” as platforms increasingly mediate visibility through algorithms. She created Quiet Media as an optimistic collection of voices building alternative futures for media and culture during this moment of recalibration.
Who or what inspired you?
Rubesa cites living in London, where a constant phone presence is unavoidable, as her initial inspiration. A course at the McLuhan Institute exploring media and behaviour proved influential. She also referenced Karen Nelson-Field’s research on how brands lose investment through platforms where “people’s active attention is low.”