In the wake of the Apple iPhone 4th generation prototype leak and Gizmodo getting their hands on it, I came across the VP / Legal Guru for Gawker Media (parent company of Gizmodo), Gaby Darbyshire.
And I happened to run across this from an interview she did in 2008 about the future of media online:
Print won’t ever die completely, but it will shrink: there will have to be consolidation in news providers simply because print papers can’t afford to maintain large numbers of staff reporters to compete in chasing “commodity news.” Reporting of base facts will be produced centrally by agencies like Reuters, AP, etc., the brand papers will distinguish themselves by the insight they provide in analyzing the facts, and producing in the in-depth editorial pieces specific to their brand. And the best of the writers will be measured and become stars, and the workaday hacks who are interchangeable will be reduced to working anonymously for the big agencies, without the bylines and the perks. That’s why journalists are so afraid of change.
First, I agree with this completely.
Second, it underscores the importance of content, and it delineates this idea of commodity content vs. insightful content.
Commodity content struggles to drive revenues and profit (especially from a subscription standpoint) because you can find it anywhere for free. There’s no incentive to pay for something so widely available.
Insightful content generates subscriptions because it’s not nearly as easy to find. And if you can deliver insightful pieces on a regular basis, that’s where you’re going to find the sweet spot. That’s something people will pay for.
