Digital publishing news for October 1, 2013
Capital New York is reporting that Business Insider will be investing in longer format articles. Business Insider founder and editor-in-chief Henry Blodget told Capital New York they plan on investing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in long form content. Joe Pompeo writes, “A chunk of that money will go toward hiring an editor whose job will be ‘to decide the best frequency, length, and approach of these stories, as well as the time and resources invested in each one,’ said Blodget over email. The rest will be poured into a freelance budget, as Business Insider will be commissioning outside writers and reporters in addition to assigning long-form stories to staff.” Do you have a staff member dedicated to long format pieces? Do you think it’s a worthwhile financial investment?
Dallas Morning News Ditches the Pay Wall
Starting today The Dallas Morning News no longer has a paywall. Paid Content’s Matthew Ingram has all the details. “Much like the SF Chronicle, the Dallas newspaper said it will continue to offer a premium service to paying readers, and it hopes to add more unique features to that service in the future, such as customization and access to events.” There wasn’t enough interest in digital subscriptions for the regional newspaper. CMO for the paper Jason Dyer stated, “The pay wall solution hasn’t worked. The pay wall didn’t create a massive groundswell of [digital] subscribers.”
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Domino is Back…
The New York Observer has the latest on the resurrected Domino magazine. Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke writes, “Design*Sponge, a design blog run by former Domino contributing editor Grace Bonney, posted a photo of what appears to be the resurrected magazine’s cover on its Instagram feed this afternoon.”
“The Condé Nast shelter magazine, which closed in 2009, was rumored to return “as early as September.” But judging from the photo, it looks like the issue will be more holiday-themed (it is October). According to Design*Sponge’s Instagram post, a subscription to the magazine will run $12.” No official word from Conde Nast.
New Beauty Editor For The Cut
Fishbowl NYC is reporting that New York Magazines fashion lifestyle blog The Cut has named a new beauty editor. Chris O’Shea writes, “Kathleen Hou has been named beauty editor of New York’s fashion/lifestyle blog The Cut. Hou will oversee all trend pieces, news, and product reviews that fall under the beauty umbrella. Hou was most recently the beauty and wellness editor at The Upswing. She was also a fashion and beauty contributor to Fashionista.com. Hou’s appointment is effective immediately.”
What Are Publishers Doing on Instagram?
DigiDay has a new report on what publishers are up too on Instagram. Josh Sternberg writes, “National Geographic’s Instagram feed is a digital passport across the planet, taking followers from the heights of the Atacazo volcano in Ecuador to the depths of the underwater cave system near Tulum, Mexico. It updates with new images about five times per day to its 2.4 million followers. Posts typically get in the tens of thousands of likes. Some can get six-figure likes, like this picture of a polar bear walking on ice as the sun sets. The outlet also takes pains to highlight the photographer who snapped the image, putting his or her Instagram handle into the description of the post.” Instagram is a fantastic opportunity for publishers to connect with a new audience.
