Talking Points Memo

There's a phrase in the investment world you may have heard: Sell in May and go away. The saying refers to the idea that investment returns, generally speaking, are better from November to April than they are from May to October. There is even a sort of complementary idea, "the Halloween Indicator."

There is apparently data that makes this more than just a folk theory. But when I first heard it while working as an intern at Bloomberg News, I assumed it was just because the weather was nice and rich people would rather go on vacation than mess around with investments. (Anecdotally, I felt this was vindicated, by the way.)
 

I've been in the news business starting to recognize a similar pattern. When the weather gets nice, generally speaking, people are less engaged in the news. This is especially the case coming off a general election. There is a 100-day period of interest and attention to the new administration and, in this case, the carnage. Then people decide they want to enjoy their lives while they can.

One of the good things about TPM and being funded by members and readers is that it's ok if people take a break. We don't need to maximize pageviews to extract every dollar we possibly can from ad revenue. We don't need to drive "clicks," as the anachronism goes. Instead, we focus on creating relationships with our readers so that they think it's important we exist because we provide a valuable service, not just to them but for the world generally. This also allows us to build things that help people keep up with events at their own pace, maybe with a newsletter or a podcast. 
 

If you want to take, or are taking, a hiatus from political news, that's ok. We'll continue covering bad crypto legislation and rogue EEOC chairs and Trump targeting political enemies. Josh and Kate will continue delivering the best political podcast in the biz. 
 

So grab your membership today. We'll be here when you get back.