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Digital Media Is In a Total Meltdown

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Just look at the headlines this week: Mashable sold itself for a fifth of what it was valued at two years ago. Vice and Buzzfeed missed their revenue targets by a wide margin.

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo summed up what’s happening this way:

We’re actually in the midst of a digital news media crash, only no one is willing to say it. I’ve mentioned before that digital news media in the midst of a monetization crisis. But again, it’s a full blown crash.

The problem is that so many news sites are confused about their customer. Is it the advertiser or the reader?

If you’re an advertiser, you’ll do much better placing ads on Google and Facebook. A digital news site just cannot compete with their ability to target customers.

That’s why I moved Political Wire to a membership model a couple of years ago. I want this to be the best site for readers. But it relies on your direct support. Those who support the site get new features, a cleaner reading experience and no ads.

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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