Will Renai LeMay’s new media business model work?
I’ve been curious for a few days now on what Renai LeMay’s plans are.
Since announcing he was leaving ZDNet, he’s been coy about what he’d be doing next.
Which of course made it all the more interesting.
As we report today, he’s starting a tech website – Delimiter.
You need to fix a typo Tim – it’s Renai Lemay NOT Renaile LeMay 🙂
I wish Renai well.
Yes there are benefits like low overheads and freedom to cover the topics of your own choice but on the flip side constantly producing quality content all year can be tiring at times
Ta, neerav – fixed…
… not to mention being ‘signle minded’ … about the typos.
Tim, you raise some very valid issues paricularly around illness and holidays. Being a solus trader myself these are issues I am very aware of. Fortunately I have a very understanding client base when I feel the need to go trek or climb something.
However, the prospect of a network of freelancers all specialising in a specific area I find very appealing. Not only would they provide a more compelling read with opinions, backgrounders and genuine journalism beyond a PR release re-hash, but just imagine if they pooled their syndicated copy under a common masthead. Now that I would like to see!
>You need to fix a typo Tim – it’s Renai Lemay NOT Renaile LeMay
I know what inspired this – it’s Renai’s Twitter name. Even when you know his real name, it tends to read as “Renaile May” for some reason. Probably because that’s a more recogniseable English split than a word ending in “-ai”?
Either way best of luck to him. Technology is still regarded as far too much of a niche beat, let’s hope Renai’s service increases coverage.
tech coverage from the feed junkie masthead titles is pretty dire .. this can only improve it.
however, this sort of business will face some difficulties with media outlets that think their role is to aggregate and summarise the news that others report rather than invest in it themselves. crikey does this locally at times and it’s very common in the US.
Some very salient points, Tim — I think you have analysed the situation very well. It will be fascinating to see how it all plays out. If nothing else, I’d like to see some more innovation in new media — in my opinion we’re only at the beginning of the revolution.
Cheers,
Renai LeMay
Publisher
Delimiter
Such news needs to be independently sourced. What publisher will pay money to subscribe to a feed composed of rewrites of what other news outlets have already published?
Back even before the web there was a tech IT newswire service called Newsbytes. The tech wire that started as a BBS in 1983 was bought 14 years later by the Washington Post that shuttered it on May 31, 2002.
It sourced its stories independently from a score of freelancers from Melbourne to Washington DC and was subscribed to by the likes of Fairfax in Australia. It was preferable to established newswires because the journos were nerds and the coverage informed. Stories ranged from briefs to more detailed pieces. Often it picked apart the IT angle behind other, grander yarns.
I wish Renai every success in his venture.