Newspapers can learn from gossip website’s success, with moderation
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on December 11, 2006 at 2:22 PM
Nick Denton, a 40 year-old CEO and dotcom millionaire, formerly a writer for the Financial Times (FT), has succeeded in capturing a large gossip-seeking audience that traditional newspapers can’t target. Without having to follow him directly in his tracks, newspapers may have some things to learn about their readership from Denton’s success. The Guardian got an interview with the founder of Gawker Media – a collection of websites fueled by gossip.
"For me, when I was at the FT, I always thought the most interesting stories were the ones journalists told each other over a drink after deadline,” Denton said.
"But there are also the stories which can't be told because they seem too trivial and therefore they don't meet the rather rigid newspaper standard for what is news. The truth is those are the stories people are really interested in, so why shouldn't those conversations be reflected in a publication?"
Compare these numbers: Gawker attracted 4.2 million unique visitors in the US for the month of October alone, while the most visited American newspaper website, that of The New York Times, counted 9.7 million unique visitors.
Most of Gawker’s readership falls under the 16 to 34 demographic – precisely those people whom newspapers long to attract.
The successful financial model of Gawker can also make newspapers drool: the website is entirely financed by advertising, and there are no marketing costs “because our stories spread by word of mouth or word of email and why would we want to kill that?”
Well, while some aspects of Gawker may make newspapers envious, it would be a mistake to mimic Denton’s venture in hope of rebuilding strong readership. "It's not journalism, it's blogging," explained Jessica Coen, editor for Gawker. "It's putting rumour out there and seeing what sticks."
Traditional newspapers base their credibility on the fact that they are opposed to this non-factual content, and should keep that moral premise, but Gawker’s success gives relevant indications of what the ‘missing readership’ is looking for.
Source: Media Guardian
"But there are also the stories which can't be told because they seem too trivial and therefore they don't meet the rather rigid newspaper standard for what is news. The truth is those are the stories people are really interested in, so why shouldn't those conversations be reflected in a publication?"
Compare these numbers: Gawker attracted 4.2 million unique visitors in the US for the month of October alone, while the most visited American newspaper website, that of The New York Times, counted 9.7 million unique visitors.
Most of Gawker’s readership falls under the 16 to 34 demographic – precisely those people whom newspapers long to attract.
The successful financial model of Gawker can also make newspapers drool: the website is entirely financed by advertising, and there are no marketing costs “because our stories spread by word of mouth or word of email and why would we want to kill that?”
Well, while some aspects of Gawker may make newspapers envious, it would be a mistake to mimic Denton’s venture in hope of rebuilding strong readership. "It's not journalism, it's blogging," explained Jessica Coen, editor for Gawker. "It's putting rumour out there and seeing what sticks."
Traditional newspapers base their credibility on the fact that they are opposed to this non-factual content, and should keep that moral premise, but Gawker’s success gives relevant indications of what the ‘missing readership’ is looking for.
Source: Media Guardian
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