Comments on: Turning The Wrecking Ball of News Into A Bola http://tropophilia.com/2009/08/09/turning-the-wrecking-ball-of-news-into-a-bola/ the love of change Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:45:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Jarred Taylor http://tropophilia.com/2009/08/09/turning-the-wrecking-ball-of-news-into-a-bola/#comment-2291 Jarred Taylor Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:02:21 +0000 http://tropophilia.com/?p=1176#comment-2291 Ian, that's an extremely fair point. One component of Politico's business model that I neglected to mention was its weekly print edition in Washington, D.C. The print ad revenues have helped make the company profitable. Admittedly, it is ironic, if not slightly hypocritical, for the future of digital journalism to have a print backbone. But I think online ad revenue is actually more sustainable than you think. The LA Times editor said several months ago that he could finance the entire reporting expenses and payroll of his paper (i.e. most of the cost of journalism if you take away the printing/distribution costs) with their online ads revenue.<br><br>TechCrunch has found other revenue sources. They host TechCrunch50 and other events. They publish annual reports for a premium price. They're developing the CrunchPad. I could see similar efforts being put forth by similarly modeled news organizations, as well. Ian, that's an extremely fair point. One component of Politico's business model that I neglected to mention was its weekly print edition in Washington, D.C. The print ad revenues have helped make the company profitable. Admittedly, it is ironic, if not slightly hypocritical, for the future of digital journalism to have a print backbone. But I think online ad revenue is actually more sustainable than you think. The LA Times editor said several months ago that he could finance the entire reporting expenses and payroll of his paper (i.e. most of the cost of journalism if you take away the printing/distribution costs) with their online ads revenue.

TechCrunch has found other revenue sources. They host TechCrunch50 and other events. They publish annual reports for a premium price. They're developing the CrunchPad. I could see similar efforts being put forth by similarly modeled news organizations, as well.

]]> By: Ian http://tropophilia.com/2009/08/09/turning-the-wrecking-ball-of-news-into-a-bola/#comment-2290 Ian Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:22:05 +0000 http://tropophilia.com/?p=1176#comment-2290 Your pitch seems to be built on Arrington's shaky assumption that private investors will be able to keep a news startup afloat until it reaches profitability. The problem is that there's no plan for profitability, which scares investors away. Online ad revenue (which I believe in, by the way), is down and still uncertain. The subscription model is obviously controversial. Pitch a hybrid plan that includes some paid content, some advertisement and possibly other untapped revenue sources (paid event promotion? ticket brokering? marketing and web development?), and maybe investors will take notice. Your pitch seems to be built on Arrington's shaky assumption that private investors will be able to keep a news startup afloat until it reaches profitability. The problem is that there's no plan for profitability, which scares investors away. Online ad revenue (which I believe in, by the way), is down and still uncertain. The subscription model is obviously controversial. Pitch a hybrid plan that includes some paid content, some advertisement and possibly other untapped revenue sources (paid event promotion? ticket brokering? marketing and web development?), and maybe investors will take notice.

]]> By: Jarred Taylor http://tropophilia.com/2009/08/09/turning-the-wrecking-ball-of-news-into-a-bola/#comment-2122 Jarred Taylor Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:02:21 +0000 http://tropophilia.com/?p=1176#comment-2122 Ian, that's an extremely fair point. One component of Politico's business model that I neglected to mention was its weekly print edition in Washington, D.C. The print ad revenues have helped make the company profitable. Admittedly, it is ironic, if not slightly hypocritical, for the future of digital journalism to have a print backbone. But I think online ad revenue is actually more sustainable than you think. The LA Times editor said several months ago that he could finance the entire reporting expenses and payroll of his paper (i.e. most of the cost of journalism if you take away the printing/distribution costs) with their online ads revenue.<br><br>TechCrunch has found other revenue sources. They host TechCrunch50 and other events. They publish annual reports for a premium price. They're developing the CrunchPad. I could see similar efforts being put forth by similarly modeled news organizations, as well. Ian, that's an extremely fair point. One component of Politico's business model that I neglected to mention was its weekly print edition in Washington, D.C. The print ad revenues have helped make the company profitable. Admittedly, it is ironic, if not slightly hypocritical, for the future of digital journalism to have a print backbone. But I think online ad revenue is actually more sustainable than you think. The LA Times editor said several months ago that he could finance the entire reporting expenses and payroll of his paper (i.e. most of the cost of journalism if you take away the printing/distribution costs) with their online ads revenue.

TechCrunch has found other revenue sources. They host TechCrunch50 and other events. They publish annual reports for a premium price. They're developing the CrunchPad. I could see similar efforts being put forth by similarly modeled news organizations, as well.

]]> By: Ian http://tropophilia.com/2009/08/09/turning-the-wrecking-ball-of-news-into-a-bola/#comment-2121 Ian Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:22:05 +0000 http://tropophilia.com/?p=1176#comment-2121 Your pitch seems to be built on Arrington's shaky assumption that private investors will be able to keep a news startup afloat until it reaches profitability. The problem is that there's no plan for profitability, which scares investors away. Online ad revenue (which I believe in, by the way), is down and still uncertain. The subscription model is obviously controversial. Pitch a hybrid plan that includes some paid content, some advertisement and possibly other untapped revenue sources (paid event promotion? ticket brokering? marketing and web development?), and maybe investors will take notice. Your pitch seems to be built on Arrington's shaky assumption that private investors will be able to keep a news startup afloat until it reaches profitability. The problem is that there's no plan for profitability, which scares investors away. Online ad revenue (which I believe in, by the way), is down and still uncertain. The subscription model is obviously controversial. Pitch a hybrid plan that includes some paid content, some advertisement and possibly other untapped revenue sources (paid event promotion? ticket brokering? marketing and web development?), and maybe investors will take notice.

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