Blogs and Money

     I just read Josh Marshall's keynote lecture at Ithaca College and it was striking for a number of reasons. The first point that was noteworthy was that TPM was basically an accident. Though his blog began in 2000, it really got going in early 2003, and at some point a friend of his suggest that he charge advertisers to be on his blog. By 2004 that was his primary revenue.  In the following years he had a staff and a wildly popular and innovate news site.
     Innovation was the next point that I want to highlight about TPM.  He began doing something called collaborative journalism which is when you ask your readers to not only view, but contribute to the discussion that your article, video, or image brings up.  Collaborative journalism is beneficial for a small blog in a few ways.
     Firstly, any mistakes that are made are quickly corrected–something that would be a near impossibility in print journalism.  Secondly, another advantage over print that TPM utilizes is the ability to make the readership feel like they have a functioning relationship with the paper. From a PR point of view, the best thing you can do is get your customer to identify with the brand.  In less perverted corporate terms, the readers feel like they are a part of a community doing something special – and they are.
     With a staff of roughly 6-10 individuals, and a monthly revenue of 45,000 dollars, TPM is a wild success in terms of the money it is making. This can have a couple of interesting effects on not only TPM, but other comparable blogs. With that much money, employees can be paid a living wage, not only that TPM can afford the best employees for the job.  Complimentarily, the content can improve due to the funding behind stories/reporting.
     I think one of the best points of his lecture was the comparison between independent media and mainstream media.  Whereas mainstream media are preoccupied with a conception of balance, independent media can prioritize around accuracy. He gives a number of examples were these two principles seem to be in conflict in ways that I had not thought about before.