Crowdfunding: Rise of the Talent

Andrew Sullivan, former blogger for The Atlantic who now uses The Daily Beast over at Newsweek as a platform, recently announced a new, and independent, business model where he will go off on his own (with his team), spurn advertising and request that his somewhat abnormally loyal readers donate to the effort subscribe. As Sully himself pointed out, Jay Rosen has an insightful and well-written take on the move. Rosen suggests:

In other words, core users have been “giving” to Sullivan’s site for years. They have been giving their time, their persistent attention, their loyalty (meaning: a bond strong enough to withstand the moments when Sullivan offends the user with his opinions and unruly emotions) and such other contributions as can be seen only by sifting though the inbox. 

I think that he is correct in that assertion and that the actual $20 yearly subscriptions only make that investment explicit. Further, investment seems like the right word here. As Sullivan has stated on his site, one could still visit the site and will not trigger the meter used for the non-subscribed if they do not click the "Read On" expansion link for articles. Thus the money pouring in seems more analogous to a media kick starter where those subscribing probably now feel a sense of ownership of the blog. Or, more accurately, are now validating the sense of ownership they have felt all along (although Sully mainly sidesteps sports, think of the fan ownership of the Green Bay Packers).

Though, as some have already rightly pointed out, I think the Louis CK comparison is closest to the mark. Both men have a tremendous fan base who appreciate and, more importantly, respect what they are trying to do in throwing of the yolk of their respective traditional media models. Louis CK's forays have already been wildly successful and, from the initial 1/3rd of a million subscriptions received in the first day, it appears that Sullivan and the Dish crew will be too. 

At least, I sure hope so. Louis CK has already got some of my money and Sully will be seeing his taste very shortly as well. If you truly appreciate independent commentary, you should think about investing on the Sully ground floor too.


IMAGE: TheDailyBeast via Google Images

Nobody Likes The Color Purple Anymore, And We Ain't Talking Oprah

Dick Lugar, a six-term Republican Senator from Indiana, just recently lost a primary battle to new Tea Party (side note: I thought that whole thing had run it's course...) darling Richard Mourdock. Many supporters of this move, as Teabaggers are wont to do, state that Lugar has simply been part of the Washington establishment too long, is in the District more than he is in Indiana, and has lost touch with his constituents. Certainly, there is more than a small kernel of truth to this. However, the responses of many more, not least of which was Mr. Mourdock, lent credence to the idea that Lugar actually lost because he was not properly awash in the glorious flames of ideological purity and had the audacity to reach his hand across the aisle to attempt to deal with the other party. According to Mr. Mourdock, the opposite day definition of bi-partisanship, and the only way that he would be involved, was when Dems had the good sense to come to whatever crazy ass position he decided to grab a hold of. Additionally, as Jonathan Chait points out in the above linked article, one of Lugar's sins was voting for the very qualified Justices Sotomayor and Kagan after President Obama nominated them. As Chait points out that, outside of extreme circumstances, the practice of voting for the other party's Supreme Court nomination, much like votes to raise the debt ceiling, was quite commonplace until very recently. 

This primary, however, is just a symptom of a much larger and a much scarier ailment that is oft discussed, but without any serious worry about the future repercussions... the increasing partisanship acrimony between the parties. Lugar's end is one of many recent examples of relatively more moderate (cannot stress relatively more) Republican Senators getting labeled Republicans In Name Only, or RINOs, and then getting attacked by the fringier parts of the GOP. In fairness, there are also the pols formerly known as Blue Dog Dems Democrats In Name Only, or DINOs (RINOs and DINOs... totes cute, amiriight?), who are also getting weeded out, but to a much lesser degree. This level of polarization will increasingly become a problem if it continues. During the debt ceiling debates, the US' credit rating was threatened because people around the world are starting to think our political process is too dysfunctional to get anything done. And they are not far off. This whole development, which seems unique to the aughts in my mind, makes me more and more worried about the future each time it rears its ugly head. One can almost picture a post-apocalyptic political future where there are literally two America's with the Red team having a firm grip on the amber waves of grain, the Blue team holding it down from sea to shining "whatever demarcates the end of each coast," and not a majestic purple mountain to be seen because, as everyone knows, red and blue don't mix.

Such a future makes me sick to my stomach so I can only hope that those representing us wise the hell up and realize that the only litmus test that truly matters is if they are doing what is best for their country. Though many who hold similar political beliefs as me gripe about President Obama being too moderate or even GASP a bit conservative for a Democrat, I hope he continues to let his Purple freak flag fly. Pretty soon he might be the only one left.