Revenue strategies
Corey Ford: Using a Collaborative Experimental Culture to Drive Innovation
Corey Ford, Matter Corey Ford is the co-founder and managing partner of Matter, a startup accelerator for entrepreneurs building scalable media ventures that create a more informed, connected and empowered society. Matter invests seed capital and provides intensive support through a human-centered, prototype-driven startup accelerator in San Francisco. Prior to Matter, Ford built Runway, a pre-team, … Continued
Khari Johnson: Crowdfunding Beyond the Money
Khari Johnson, Through the Cracks Khari Johnson is a staunch believer in journalism, community, entrepreneurship and bringing underreported stories to light. He’s founder and editor of Through the Cracks: Crowdfunding in Journalism, a news website that monitors crowdfunding platforms to share stories that enable reporters and storytellers. Through the Cracks is a social enterprise whose coverage … Continued
Structured journalism puts consumers in control of news
In September I wrote about the economics of structured journalism, highlighting the potential for newsrooms to rebundle news as value-accumulating networks of structured information. But what is the market for structure? Why would news consumers want such a radically different way of formatting and consuming news? Why would customers care? Choice. Article-centric journalism has traditionally … Continued
Undergoing the great entrepreneurial pivot
Many entrepreneurs find themselves pivoting at some point during their entrepreneurial journey. Even some of the leading tech companies today pivoted in their early days: Instagram initially was a check-in service called Burbn; Facebook was FaceMash, asking users to rate which person was hotter; and YouTube was a video dating site. Whether pivoting sales strategy, … Continued
Alphabet-soup roundup of fall industry events, part one
The fall rush of industry meetings (ONA, LMA, NNA, SNPA and ASNE/APME) got underway in late September and ended Oct. 18, giving you only a one-week respite before heading into Inland. Whew! Missed one or more of these meetings? I’ll offer a brief recap of themes, noteworthy statements and observations, plus links to additional coverage. … Continued
Online news startups explore revenue sources beyond advertising
Revenue was very much on the agenda when more than 100 local news entrepreneurs gathered at the LION Summit in Chicago Oct. 1-3. There were encouraging, if fledgling, signs that some sites are looking beyond banner display advertising. Supplemental sources include crowd-funding, membership programs, sponsored content, and events. For now, however, banner display advertising is … Continued
The economics of structure: Could structured journalism make quality journalism sustainable?
Structured journalism, an emerging and somewhat obscure approach to digital news, has been getting a lot of attention lately. The last three months have seen articles in the Columbia Journalism Review and on the websites of The Poynter Institute and Nieman Lab. BBC News Labs published “A Manifesto for Structured Journalism,” and pilot projects are … Continued
News startup survey: Revenue growth, capacity challenges
In the chaotic world of online news startups, I think it makes sense to take a long view. Whenever someone asks whether a big breakthrough is coming, I scratch my head. That’s because progress at this time is so incremental — a game of inches, feet, maybe yards but rarely miles — a marathon with no … Continued
Washington Missourian: Print or be printed
I did a “press check” with Washington Missourian Publisher Bill Miller Sr. and General Manager Bill Miller Jr. during a recent Friday afternoon press run and it brought back decades-old memories to this old newspaper guy. But the technology involved in the Missourian’s printing process — electronic transfer of information directly from computer screen to … Continued
Seattle’s Best: Mary Bruno
Don’t overlook the home of Microsoft, Amazon, Zillow and other innovative companies large and small when looking for voices in media thought leadership. Below are observations and insights from a handful of the city’s media leaders that I collected while accompanying a Missouri School of Journalism innovation and entrepreneurship class as they visited each venue.