New Matilda returns
New Matilda, the indepedent politics and opinion site which shut its doors in June, is to return – this time funded with a paid content rathern than advertiser funded business model.
Over the weekend , the site posted its first new content in four months – a message to readers telling them of New Matilda’s return. It said:
“We’ve been researching business models to work out whether we can make an independent online media company like New Matilda viable in Australia. We’ve cut costs, found ourselves a tiny office above a pub, and are now running on a skeleton staff. Having crunched the numbers, we’ve realised it would only take a third of our registered users to sign up to become financial supporters of the site for New Matilda to live again. With that knowledge, we are prepared to give it a go.
“We haven’t found a major financial backer but we are currently in a financial position to stay afloat and publish new content until the end of the year.”
Any idea how much it will be? Will it still have some advertising?
Wait, isn’t this the same site that said when it died last time that its costs where cut to the bone and there was nothing else they could cut? or was that another site with the word Matilda in its name? 🙂
“we’ve realised it would only take a third of our registered users to sign up to become financial supporters of the site for New Matilda to live again” – this is a REALLY high conversion rate.
I hope they do convert, but even with amazing communities, getting people to pay for something like this is really tough. Will be watching and hoping!
Duncan: there’s a difference between restructuring and changing your business model, and making cuts, no?
As to whether they’ll succeed, that’s a whole other question. I hope they do, but it’s not the best time to launch another paid publication in the Australian market.
Perhaps Duncan, rather than gloating over New Matilda’s woes you should be busy running your own site?
I imagine playing to the lowest common denominator takes a fair amount of work and would be a better use of your time than dancing on the grave/resurrection of a site that tried to provide something more than mindless, simple mental masturbation?
Duncan, buddy, at least the new matilda editors can spell.
..and Duncan, punctuating a needlessly bitchy comment with a smiley doesn’t make you any less facetious. In fact, i think it makes you more obnoxious.
Lets all give Duncan a cyber wedgie….
I seem to remember Matilda being proudly free to all.
Sites like Crikey manage to deliver both a paid subscription model and advertiser funded content, I can’t see why New Matilda can’t do the same.
Providing they consistently deliver unique and interesting content people will pay for it…