On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 7:35 PM, Jason White <jason@jasonjgw.net> wrote:
Brent Wallis <brent.wallis@gmail.com> wrote:
A start up doesn't have to hold on to their profitability like the incumbents do. Starting a news site in competition with an on line only Age would not cost much. All that would be need is good content born of good journos.
It needs to make enough revenue to be sustainable, from advertising, subscriptions or another source. The main costs would be:
Let me preface the answers below with a truth. If Fairfax went to (jest say) Melbourne IT( or some other large incumbent hosting provider) and asked them to host their websites. The cost (and lockin gazillion year contract) to them would be far greater than a new group shopping around any number of VPS providers now in this country. The negotiation would go something like this: Fairfax Knob: How Much? MIT Salesperson : One billion dollars *left pinky placed in corner of mouth* Fairfax Knob: Give me a break man, can;t go back to share holders with that price....I'll lose my job and our weekly date at that restaurant you like will be history. MIT Salesperson : OK, Cos your big and cos we like you....10% off. Fairfax Knob to Board of Directors: "I negotiated the price down 10%!! Am I great or what dudes? Fairfax Board : We love you man....great deal, can not wait to tell shareholders!!! Business at such a high level is a joke. I have personally made great gains by exploiting such stupidity. At such high levels, companies lose site of value for money. It is very hard to break this without losing more than one gains...but it is possible if care is taken.
1. Employment of journalists and covering of their work-related expenses.
Quality Journos bring readers. I would spend the most there because without them, nothing else happens. High work related expenses IMHO are a result of the current broken model. This would be an area to attack and cost cut.
2. Server capacity and bandwidth.
Big cost in this country as you no doubt already know. I hate the current government but hope that the NBN stays when they get kicked.... Big problem TBH...heaven help us if slippery Turnbull gets in.
3. Web development, system administration, etc. Another place to spend big I would think.
4. Administration, legal and accounting costs, etc. That is a tough one to answer quickly. But a problem just looking to find a solution. Admin can be designed to be cost effective...but legal?
5. Optional: office space - not really essential if meetings can be conducted online and employees can work from home. This doesn't suit everybody, but preparedness to do this could be a selection criterion.
Agreed, who needs an office any more.
I've probably neglected something important.
Recognising such means any starter is half way to a solution.
How does this compare with running a (print) newspaper?
Hence my preface to this post. :-) Starting out is cheaper....always! BW