False choices

Niche or scale. Niche is often used as a backhanded compliment. It is a polite way of saying small. That’s changing. The most successful publishers have a tight focus on communities. That means even large publishers are looking to nail niches. Add up enough niches and a media company isn’t necessarily small..

Subscriptions or advertising. The pivot to paid is overall a healthy trend for many publishers, but subscriptions aren’t a savior. Ads still have a role, sometimes as the main plank of media business models. The success of Axios, Morning Brew and Dotdash prove that. And ads can work with subscriptions -- look at the success Bloomberg is having in t... See more