David, That sounds a lot like the HuffPo, whose big problem is that it doesn't compensate the vast majority of its contributors. For purely selfish reasons, that's not a model I'm going to advocate for ;)
As for my omission of the business section, you're absolutely correct. I think most business sections could probably become completely independent titles and charge a lot more for what they produce. The WSJ.com example proves that business is a niche that pays.
I'm also going to clarify one point on my blog: the template I suggested on that post was only an example. The point is each newspaper would have to gauge its own strengths and readerships and stagger printing schedules and vary costs accordingly. For example, if you were to cut apart the Globe, the business section would probably stand alone and do quite well as a daily section. At the Star, the business section would probably just get canned.
All Comments
That sounds a lot like the HuffPo, whose big problem is that it doesn't compensate the vast majority of its contributors. For purely selfish reasons, that's not a model I'm going to advocate for ;)
As for my omission of the business section, you're absolutely correct. I think most business sections could probably become completely independent titles and charge a lot more for what they produce. The WSJ.com example proves that business is a niche that pays.
I'm also going to clarify one point on my blog: the template I suggested on that post was only an example. The point is each newspaper would have to gauge its own strengths and readerships and stagger printing schedules and vary costs accordingly. For example, if you were to cut apart the Globe, the business section would probably stand alone and do quite well as a daily section. At the Star, the business section would probably just get canned.