What are your thoughts on the Athletic as a journo Tolm?
I don't quite get the model to be honest, from a business front, anyhow.
I understand most of the guys are on short term contracts and have to accumulate a set amount of followers and subs inside the first six months.
The Sun had to come from behind a pay wall, even with their vast resources, so I'm not sure people in this country are willing to pay for content which might be considered more left field.
Ultimately, people want news and stuff they didn't already know.
A number of the guys who have joined were local patch journos, so were privy to briefs and sharing amongst the wider group.
There is no way the local pack will agree to that continuing for people who are now having to charge for 'privileged' steers.
Especially so, when the pack will still be obtaining and sharing that news for free.
When the organisation makes the journo the centre of the story, it shows you how far standards have fallen and how personality-driven things have become.
The Athletic are paying big salaries but I am interested to see how long that will be sustained if not aligned with big subscription numbers.
Quality journalism doesn't hold any guarantee on revenues.
The Guardian (if that's your bag) sells tiny numbers and has financially been on its arse for years.
