Vox Solicits Reader Contributions to Keep Its Content Free Amid Ad Declines

The near-simultaneous rush among publishers with subscription businesses to loosen their paywalls and provide free access to reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic has reignited long-standing debates about whether the news should fundamentally be free, even as ad-supported journalism (with some exceptions) becomes an increasingly difficult proposition. This week, rather than erecting a paywall, Vox says it's looking to make up for declines in its advertising business by soliciting contributions from those readers who can afford it, in order to preserve free access to its journalism for those who can't. "Our dedicated team of journalists has boundless ambitions—and feels a great sense of responsibility—to bring you more of our distinctive coverage, in new and different ways, and to continue doing so for free," wrote editor-in-chief Lauren Williams and executive editor Allison Rockey in a note to readers Wednesday afternoon. "But even with record audience growth, the media business is not immune to the effects of economic downturns. In fact, right now, when audiences need quality, accessible journalism the most, ad revenue is on the decline as companies move to save money and shrink their marketing budgets." While not a tax-deductible charitable donation, Vox says recurring or one-off contributions, ranging from $7 to $250, will help support its science explainers, its coverage of the challenges being faced by the U.S. health care system and its YouTube and Facebook videos... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-04-10 16:17:19 UTC ]

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Connect Meetings Acquires BizBash

BizBash, the 19-year old B2B media company for events organizers, has been acquired by Connect Meetings for an undisclosed sum, both sides announced. A subsidiary of the UK-based, global tradeshow company Tarsus Group, Connect serves meeting planners—in particular, those who organize corporate,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-12-17 20:01:44 UTC ]
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Bluemoose launches subscription model for its women-only publishing year

Bluemoose Books is launching a subscription model for the first time, to accompany its year of only publishing female writers over 45 in 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-18 08:25:36 UTC ]
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Lionel Barber to step down as editor of the Financial Times

In May, Jim Waterson, media editor at The Guardian, reported that Lionel Barber, the editor of the Financial Times, was on the way out, and that the search was on for his replacement. In the summer, when Amber A’Lee Frost, who was interviewing Barber for CJR, mentioned that he was retiring,... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-11-12 13:03:08 UTC ]
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Digital Media’s Future Lies Beyond Ads and With Direct Consumer Revenue

The long-predicted digital media consolidation has finally come to pass. More than 100 online publishing companies are on pace to be sold this year, highlighted by the recent purchases of Refinery29, PopSugar and New York Magazine. The impetus for the sudden deal velocity is the direct result of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-11-11 16:49:21 UTC ]
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Publishing Trends to Watch in 2020

The weather is cooler, the pumpkins are here, and it’s time for people with opinions to start publishing articles announcing what to watch for in the media and publishing industry in the coming year. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. The media industry is experiencing a flood... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2019-10-24 12:50:31 UTC ]
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Apple News+ Launches in the UK with The Times and Hearst on Board

Apple has rolled out its publisher subscription service, Apple News+, to the U.K. some six months after announcing it in the Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-10-01 19:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Is Ready for Its Next Chapter

David Haskell on the Vox sale, succeeding Adam Moss and prioritizing journalism in a time of change. The post New York Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Is Ready for Its Next Chapter appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-09-26 17:21:35 UTC ]
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Six months in, sports app Otro pivots away from subscriptions

By forgoing a subscription model for a digital content studio model, Otro is opening up for more audience scale and revenue options. The post Six months in, sports app Otro pivots away from subscriptions appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-07-31 04:01:04 UTC ]
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Another Blue Bell ice cream licker: Tuesday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. You can get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device; sign up here. What people are talking about today This summer’s gross-out viral video—which showed a Texas teenager opening a... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-09 10:00:00 UTC ]
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Carl Landau’s Niche Media Sold to Audience Platform Provider Second Street

Carl Landau has officially sold Niche Media—the conferences and professional services network he founded over a decade ago to serve B2B, city/regional and special interest magazine publishers—to Second Street Media Solutions, a St. Louis-based provider of audience engagement software to... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rolling Stone’s Publisher and CRO Exits After 12 Months in the Role

Publisher and chief revenue officer Andrew Budkofsky is out at Rolling Stone after just one year in the role, parent company Penske Media Corp. (PMC) has confirmed. "Rolling Stone and Andrew have agreed upon a mutual separation," says a rep for PMC, the publisher of Variety and WWD, among... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google News Initiative and McClatchy Will Fill a Local News Void in 3 U.S. Markets

Google News Initiative, the search-engine giant's program to work with publishers in the media industry, teamed up with newspaper publisher McClatchy on an initiative to bring local news coverage to three small and midsized communities in the U.S. that are currently lacking local sources of news... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook in 2015: Pivot to video! Facebook today: Local news is dead!

Facebook paints a bleak picture for the media industry, while ignoring its own role in publishing’s demise. Benevolent Doctor Facebook today gave the country a very grave diagnosis via a blog post. The company has found that–wait for it–local news is dying. In fact, Facebook says that about... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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All the Magazine Brands That Moved Away From Print This Year

It's a tumultuous time in the media industry, and this year saw multiple publications change ownership and some--including, most recently, conservative magazine The Weekly Standard--shutter operations entirely. So it perhaps came as no surprise when a number of brands across three leading... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazine Media Has Positive Outlook For 2019

SPECIAL SURVEY REPORT [caption id="attachment_139065" align="alignright" width="300"] SPONSORED BY:[/caption] One might expect recent layoffs, consolidations, frequency reductions, and closures in magazine media would have the industry feeling gloomy about its future, but a new survey of Folio:... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hansen: radical textbook subscription service could transform US market

Cengage c.e.o. Michael Hansen says his firm’s new "Netflix for textbooks" subscription model is "a radical solution" for the US market which he "hopes and believes" others will emulate. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AC Business Media Sold to Private Equity

Anil Narang and Carl Wistreich—chairman and CEO, respectively, of AC Business Media—have sold their majority stake in the Wisconsin-based trade magazine publisher to Florida-based private equity firm Boyne Capital, the two sides announced Thursday. Concurrent with the sale, former Grand View... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former U.S. Ambassador and CNET Exec Buys Louisville Magazine

Louisville Magazine and its website Louisville.com have been purchased by former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Matthew Barzun, for an undisclosed amount. The monthly publication, which is known in its community for shedding light on often-ignored neighborhoods and stories, will be under... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CommonWealth Magazine Shutters Print Edition

CommonWealth magazine, the 22-year-old quarterly published by Boston-based nonpartisan think tank MassINC, is going all digital. The Summer 2018 issue, out today, will be CommonWealth's last, editor Bruce Mohl revealed in the issue's editor's letter, arguing the magazine will more effectively... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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