Matthew Flamm of Crain’s New York Business writes about the new business news site Quartz, which will make its debut on Monday.
Flamm writes, “Quartz, by contrast, has been designed from the ground up as a 100% advertising-supported, Web-based mobile application that delivers its content for free. Mr. Smith believes the Quartz strategy is best suited to a media economy that is increasingly driven by shared links on Facebook and Twitter—and that The Economist and the FT are living in the past.
“‘Their digital strategies are all about subscriptions, but they’ve in effect limited the visibility of their digital ventures,’ Mr. Smith said. ‘We think there’s a great opportunity for somebody with equally intelligent, insightful journalism, commentary and analysis, but without the friction of a pay wall.’
“Quartz has intrigued observers with its ambitions and its business model, which is relying at first on four sponsors and will later include branded content and nonstandard ad units. But the venture faces stiff competition from larger enterprises.
“‘The whole thing [depends] on whether the content is distinguished enough that people say, ‘I have to read this,’ ‘ said Ken Doctor, media analyst at Outsell Inc.”
