Long time Pittsburgh reporter leaves paper to start own site

[Riptide]

At that point, he can get a couple of those free interns. Right?

 

[tapintoamerica]

I think what gives me pause about this is the part when he says he only began thinking about doing it while on vacation a couple of weeks earlier. That doesn't sound like doing one's homework. Perhaps he's exaggerating. But if you're an advertiser, shouldn't that make you wonder about a long-term contractual relationship?

 

[Den1983]

Rooting for him, and watching closely. Have thought about venturing out on a similar project on my own but have plenty of reason to hold back.

 

[JayFarrar]

I don't know what his business model is going to be but travel, at least for football, isn't that terribly expensive and if his sponsorship(s) and advertising cover his overhead, you can get it where the subscriptions sold pay for personnel with anything left over being profit.

A person could make that work at least for the short term.

It is foolish to say that it is doomed to failure when you don't know what he has already lined up but hasn't revealed.

If something major, like say UPMC is the sponsor, then he's got a running start.

 

[Walter Lippmann]

A major sponsor is not just handing over cash for ads. He's using PayOal so there is little work in getting paid. Noticed his paywall will be a bit leaky, as he's letting visitors read a handful of stories for free per month. He also needs to up his game with video. YouTube clips of him pointing a camera at his subject won't cut it.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

Perhaps the goal is to survive long enough to get bought out. Isn't that the way startups make money?

 

[boundforboston]

Perhaps the goal is to survive long enough to get bought out. Isn't that the way startups make money?

Why not just be "bought out" by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review?

 

[old_tony]

I hope he is very successful.

I like others on here have doubts. I've seen writers try to go on their own online only to return to paper/radio/TV in a few years after having no success.

I'm not familiar with him at all. However, I do live in the region and I know Pittsburgh fans (especially Steelers) are more diehard than most. If he has much popularity in the market as he and others claim, I think he could get a modest 5,000 subscribers. At $24 bucks a year, that's $120,000. I'd love to have that salary.

He says he's going to travel. Airline tickets, cabs or rent-a-cars, hotels and meals on the road will eat away $120,000 in no time at all. The company credit card is going to take on a whole new meaning for him.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Wow. As someone previously indicated, I hope he has a sponsor lined up to cover those expenses.

 

[old_tony]

So let's think this out even more. Suppose the Pirates make the post-season. The Steelers are going full-bore. The Penguins are now in the first month of their regular season.

Covering one of them is a full-time job. How's he going to cover all three? And if you're a Pirates fan and a subscriber and he opts to be at the Steelers game instead of a Pirates playoff game -- or vice-versa -- how much value are you now getting? And if he picks one of the others over your favorite, do you stay a subscriber?

I wish something like this could work. Sadly, if I was a betting man, I'd bet the house it doesn't.

And I'd have go guess he's never planning on having an off day and he and the wife are never going to have a vacation.

Realistically, the only one of the three major sports in Pittsburgh that he could travel on is the Steelers. No way can he take on the expense of baseball travel. And what about spring training while the Penguins are playing?

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

The ambition is admirable, if at the expense of pragmatism.
Everyone has a moment where they have bitten off more than they can chew.

 

[JakeandElwood]

Do the Pittsburgh papers have pay walls?