Great point about editorial vision and publishing. This can also be said about the digital media and platforms as well. Every decision by publishers to embrace the social media platforms is an abdication of editorial vision in serving a community.
Great column and great point. It'd be interesting in a future column to examine the nonprofit newsrooms losing their editorial vision in the pursuit of donors. Same dynamic-- but sustainable for even longer bc there is no bottom line except perception of advancing the donors' agenda.
"Now Vice feels and sounds mostly like a business, delivering to advertisers eyeballs from a niche audience. That is almost never the route to success in publishing. If you don’t begin with editorial vision, and maintain it, you eventually go astray."
yes, I have several in mind across a range of different issue-driven newsrooms where donors are motivated more by supporting coverage of a specific issue than by supporting independent journalism. I also have some thoughts about how to introduce better and more balanced incentives for founders. Propublica's tracker is (i think) the best transparency tool out there, but nonprofits out to be way more transparent than just what 990s require.
Elle Reeve's groundbreaking Charlottesville coverage, which won a George Polk Award, might have been a turning point for Vice to claim a larger and more mainstream audience. Instead in appears to have been something of a blip.
I'd like to talk to you about a writers’ retreat I'm holding next year. I'd like to feature Substack. Www.okobojiwritersretreat.com will be an annual event.
Great point about editorial vision and publishing. This can also be said about the digital media and platforms as well. Every decision by publishers to embrace the social media platforms is an abdication of editorial vision in serving a community.
Terrific column, Dick.
Great column and great point. It'd be interesting in a future column to examine the nonprofit newsrooms losing their editorial vision in the pursuit of donors. Same dynamic-- but sustainable for even longer bc there is no bottom line except perception of advancing the donors' agenda.
"Now Vice feels and sounds mostly like a business, delivering to advertisers eyeballs from a niche audience. That is almost never the route to success in publishing. If you don’t begin with editorial vision, and maintain it, you eventually go astray."
Have any particularly in mind?
yes, I have several in mind across a range of different issue-driven newsrooms where donors are motivated more by supporting coverage of a specific issue than by supporting independent journalism. I also have some thoughts about how to introduce better and more balanced incentives for founders. Propublica's tracker is (i think) the best transparency tool out there, but nonprofits out to be way more transparent than just what 990s require.
ought to be
Elle Reeve's groundbreaking Charlottesville coverage, which won a George Polk Award, might have been a turning point for Vice to claim a larger and more mainstream audience. Instead in appears to have been something of a blip.
Thank you.
I'd like to talk to you about a writers’ retreat I'm holding next year. I'd like to feature Substack. Www.okobojiwritersretreat.com will be an annual event.
Happy to discuss. Please send a note to dick.tofel@gallatinadvisory.com