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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New York Magazine digs into Hawaii media owner Pierre Omidyar, Civil Beat digs on buying nice things

New York Magazine has just come out with an in-depth profile of the intensely private Honolulu resident Pierre Omidyar. It quickly gets beyond the basics—"the programmer who created eBay, is one of America's richest men, a 47-year-old philanthropist intent on giving away the fortune he made when... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The FOLIO: 100

Welcome to the 2014 FOLIO: 100 and 20 in Their 20s, our annual list of the magazine and media industry's innovators, entrepreneurial thinkers and disrupters. As it does each year, the list represents every facet of publishing from every corner of the industry—big and small publishers in the... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon appears to be testing an unlimited Kindle ebook subscription

Amazon.com appears to be testing a new subscription model that would give members all-you-can-read access to more than 600,000 ebooks for $9.99 a month.  Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buyer's Guide: Diversifying Revenue with Video, Webinars, and Events

By John Parsons This article is from the  Publishing Executive  Buyer's Guide   which is a publisher's reference on emerging technology in the media industry. You can find other Buyer's Guide Sections here: ... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2014-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buyer's Guide: The Growing Importance of Audience Data Tracking

By Denis Wilson This article is from the  Publishing Executive  Buyer's Guide   which is a publisher's reference on emerging technology in the media industry. You can find other Buyer's Guide Sections here: ... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2014-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: Subscription Model Takes Center Stage at Making Information Pay

"Subscription has arrived in a really big way for media," noted Len Vlahos, BISG executive director, in his opening remarks to the 2014 Making Information Pay conference at BEA. And for those who question whether the subscription model is coming to the publishing business, Ted Hill, president of... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Bustling BEA 2014

The dispute over terms between the Hachette Book Group and Amazon, the viability of the subscription model, and the arrival of BookCon were three of the most discussed topics during BookExpo America which had its 2014 run from May 29 to 31 at New York City’s Javits Center. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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People Tries New Tiered-Subscription Model

People is revamping its subscription model, putting a premium on its digital products and adding new entry points. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robot News Curator NewsCred Launches Human Editorial Team

NewsCred, a tech-intensive news aggregator, is an up-and-coming player in the media industry thanks to licensing agreements with elite publishers like the Economist and Bloomberg. The company relies on these partnership deals and its own algorithms t ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Is How You Write a Memoir

There has lately been a rising backlash against the ubiquity of personal writing. Hamilton Nolan’s anti-confessional diatribe in Gawker claims that journalism students are now taught only to write about themselves, which I can say as a full-time faculty member at a journalism school is patently... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2013-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print, Digital, Tablets and More: World Publishing Expo (IFRA Expo) Announces Conference Schedule

Already the world’s largest global trade exhibition for the news publishing and media industry, the World Publishing Expo is expanding the conferences and seminars that accompany the event, making it even more attractive for the thousands o ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Flipboard Rival: New York Times Deal is Good News for the Media Industry

Publishing giants The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal firmed up exclusive deals with Flipboard and Pulse earlier in the week for exclusive content to go out to these third-party mobile apps, but as one Flipboard rival explains, this news c ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Magazine Raises Cover Price $1 to $5.99

At a time when many magazines are lowering prices or giving content away, New York Magazine is choosing another route. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Commerce News: New York Magazine To Launch Curated Deals Newsletter in May

Joining the line of publishers who are entering the e-commerce space is New York magazine and NY.com; they’ve announced a New York City-specific online deals program that is set to launch in May. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report: Media M&A in Q1 2011 Surpasses All Individual Quarters in 2010

After a disappointing fourth quarter of 2010 (with $2.4 billion in transaction value) in the media industry, investment bank Berkery Noyes reports an upswing for first quarter 2011, to the tune of $13.8 billion in transactions. Berkery Noyes identified the largest transaction in the first... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple's New Subscription Model: Pros and Cons

Apple's move may force digital publishers and content providers such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu to think long and hard about continuing to offer apps for iOS devices. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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