Blendle has been selling news by the article for nearly a decade, but “very limited” demand and the rise of digital subscriptions have done the idea in.
Want to offer a special introductory rate for students and educators? Superfans of your local football team? People who’ve hit your paywall five months running? You now can through the App Store on iPad and iPhones.
Instead of taking 30% of new subscribers’ payments, it’ll take 15%. The money’s welcome, but it’s also a reminder of how little control publishers have over the terms they get from tech giants.
When McClatchy declared bankruptcy in February, its debts were crushing, but its operating numbers weren’t so bad. But the coronavirus ripped away more than a quarter of its revenue in just a few weeks.
A focus on big-swing stories and “high-intensity, highly fraught journalism” let the magazine put up traffic and subscription numbers more expected from a top national newspaper.
Two companies with similar editorial values and brands that mostly complement instead of overlap. This is the kind of smart merger we should see more of.
Benton, Joshua. "Vox Media and New York magazine isn’t a marriage, but it’s a deal that makes sense." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 25 Sep. 2019. Web. 3 Oct. 2023.
APA
Benton, J. (2019, Sep. 25). Vox Media and New York magazine isn’t a marriage, but it’s a deal that makes sense. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/09/vox-media-and-new-york-magazine-isnt-a-marriage-but-its-a-deal-that-makes-sense/
Chicago
Benton, Joshua. "Vox Media and New York magazine isn’t a marriage, but it’s a deal that makes sense." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified September 25, 2019. Accessed October 3, 2023. https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/09/vox-media-and-new-york-magazine-isnt-a-marriage-but-its-a-deal-that-makes-sense/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/09/vox-media-and-new-york-magazine-isnt-a-marriage-but-its-a-deal-that-makes-sense/
| title = Vox Media and New York magazine isn’t a marriage, but it’s a deal that makes sense
| last = Benton
| first = Joshua
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 25 September 2019
| accessdate = 3 October 2023
| ref = {{harvid|Benton|2019}}
}}