Download - TKclass News business models 2
News business models 2:Beyond the ordinary
Trends in Communication & Information TechnologyJOUR 4871-003
Online membership model gaining ground
Online membership model gaining ground
Rare for for-profit news siteFree content for anyone:NO PAYWALL!Members get special benefits$50/year ... OR pay $100, $150 to gift membership (students, seniors, etc.)Funds long-form political journalismLaunches Oct. 15, 2012
Invites to live chats with reporters and political figuresMembers-only commenting forumDownloading rights to ad-free mini-ebooks called TPM SinglesNon-members can buy TPM Singles
Member benefits
“If we put those 20,000 words on the front page of TPM, maybe it would get 5,000 views. It’s way too much of an investment of time in revenue terms, because it has to live or die on the pageview model.” -Josh Marshall
Crowd-funding: Platforms
Support crowd-funding: Investment crowd-funding:
Crowd-funding: Reporting projects
Crowd-funding: Photojournalism projects
Crowd-funding: Digital publications
Crowd-funding portals: for start-ups
Stock, not rewardsNot limited to “accredited investors” (up to $10K or 10% of investor’s income)Handles SEC regulations, legalMUCH cheaper than hiring lawyer(s) to do start-up on your ownFixed price: $1,995
Made possible in U.S. by the JOBS Act: Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (signed into law by Obama in April 2012; implemented 2013)Restrictions on investors eased for crowd-fundingCan raise up to $1 million
Allows companies to raise small amounts of money from lots of people through a lightly regulated intermediary
Crowd-funding portals: for start-ups