Practical guide
How to summarize across newsletters
Curate the reading list before summarizing. The publications must serve the same concrete reading goal, and each companion should add an explainable contribution rather than mere similarity or opposition.[1][2]
Why this gets difficult
Cross-newsletter summaries often pair publications because they share a broad category, then manufacture overlap or combine authors who serve very different reader needs.[1][2]
A practical way through
- Define the reading goal the publication set is meant to serve.[1][2]
- Read official descriptions and recent issues before approving companions.[1][2]
- Reject a trio when the publications do not naturally address enough of the same questions.[1][2]
- Run the approved set together and report whether coverage was combined, retained separately, or excluded.[1][2]
An example
The situation: An economics newsletter is paired with a broad anti-monopoly publication solely because both appear under business.[1][2]
What changes: The pairing is rejected unless recent issues serve the same reader question; a pragmatic policy source may be a better companion if its contribution can be stated clearly.[1][2]
What you get: The final summary reflects a believable reading list instead of an imported category relationship.[1][2]
What to watch for
Sources worth keeping
How Scottie helps
Scottie can read a carefully chosen group of newsletters together and show what it included, left out, combined, or kept separate.[3]