Slate's Political Gabfest: Marketing in New Places
I was introduced to Slate through the Slate Political Gabfest, the magazine's first podcast. I listen too it every week and love it. At the risk of making this blog post an advertisement for the podcast, I'd like to talk about its use as a marketing tool and revenue producer.
The Gabfest was the first in a series of Slate podcasts, which won "Best Podcast Series" from the Media Vanguard Awards last year. The podcast consists of a roundtable discussion of the major news topics of the week by journalists David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson. Plotz is the editor of Slate Magazine, while Bazelon and Dickerson both write for Slate. The Gabfest is informal. It's funny. It isn't terribly serious, but gives listeners an overview of major issues in the U.S. any given week.
These podcasts are free. Aside from a short, informal sponsorship note each week, The Gabfest is purely original content. The fact that a news organization creates revenue by providing free content is a symbol of the new media age. These podcasts help create a brand, and create a readership that is loyal Slate's authors and editors.
Many itunes reviewers critisize The Gabfest for left-leaning views, but hearing the personal opinions of the Magazine's editors
and writers builds a bond between the consumer and the product. After
listening to these three writers for years, I know their personalities
as if I new them in person. I am, therefore, attracted to their writing.
I can also form opinion about possible biases in the reporting and editing choices within Slate.
Once listeners are hooked on the podcasts, they are able to access Slate's exclusively online content without paying a subscription fee. Plus, the content is all original pieces, and Plotz, the editor, encourages each writer to spend weeks out of the year pursuing long-form journalism.
This approach is an experiment, and the result is still unknown. In 1998, Slate was one of the first online content providers to charge a subscription fee. Like most plans of this nature, it failed, and Slate returned to a free-content business model. About five years later, in 2003, The New York Times reported that Slate made a profit for the first time. It was the first online magazine to do so. In 2010, however, State of the Media reported that Slate publishing was not profitable.
Years 2011 and 2012 are looking to be better years for the magazine, according to Bloomberg. All appearances show the company prospering, with new podcasts, and expanded content. I hope it does. Consumers would benefit if all news outlets thrived by providing free, online content.
