Last week I had written a piece on Gimlet and how co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber had to go through hell and back to get the company on it’s feet. Gimlet, a network of podcasts focusing on narrative journalism and storytelling, now belongs to Spotify. Alex and Matt sold the company for 230 million… Continue reading Media is Still Profitable
When it comes to print journalism, reputation means everything. With local news disappearing, and magazine or newspaper staff declining, the big names may be the lone survivors of the industry. How does a major name like Fortune Magazine, for example, stay alive during this deterioration of magazines? For starters, they’ve used their reputation in the… Continue reading Navigating the Stormy Seas of Media
Although there are currently over 660,000 podcasts on the market, many shows still struggle to monetize their content. Most podcasts relied on advertising and sponsorship revenue, but that’s even somewhat limited. There are currently severe limitations on the analytics podcasts can provide to their advertisers to prove their worth, at least on popular platforms like… Continue reading Where Do You Grow Growth Businesses?
A few weeks ago I was listening to Alex Blumberg botch his first-ever pitch to an investor to get funding for his podcast startup. Now am I listening to him talk about selling that startup, also known as Gimlet Media, for $237 million. What a turn around. In my last blog I detailed some of… Continue reading What goes around comes around (for $237 million)
We’ve talked a lot in JRN 450 about podcasts and how successful they are becoming. Recently, Spotify bought Gimlet Media for around $230 million. That’s a lot of money. In a Vulture article first announcing that the deal might happen, it’s said that acquiring Gimlet will help in Spotify’s push into podcasting. Because there is… Continue reading Money might be important, but it’s not the ‘driving factor’
Here in East Lansing, we all know what a Coney Island is. They all seem pretty much the same…but how similar are they really? Let’s dive into these diners.
Coneys are a staple here in East Lansing and throughout Michigan. Determined to understand how so many diner joints survive in a fierce marketplace, @katiekalass, @bigtee724, @riannamiddleton, @jingqiangniu and I took a look at three of the ones located here in East Lansing. Most Coneys feature reasonably priced food and a strong sense of community.… Continue reading Is it possible to distinct Coney Island competition?
This past week, our media entrepreneurship class at Michigan State was tasked with quite a strange (but very helpful) project: visit and eat at three different Coney Islands. At first, we were a little confused. Why would we visit three of the same restaurants just to eat the same thing: A classic Coney dog? But… Continue reading The Coney Quest: How visiting three Coney Islands taught us about branding
Michigan is known for a lot of things – the Great Lakes, the automotive industry, its iconic mitten shape… and Coney Island Restaurants. The history starts out in Detroit with American Coney Island in 1919, founded by William and Constantine Keros. The two, however, had a falling out, prompting William to open up Lafayette Coney… Continue reading Coney Island (without the Coney Dog)
Like everything in media, we try and stay away from things that are new and scary, then they become popular, and then we are late to the game. I started hearing about podcasts a lot about a year ago, but they have been around way longer than that. I remember being in high school and… Continue reading Podcasts: The new thing we used to be scared of
Spartans Innovate 