A former long-serving Journal editor in Newcastle has launched a weekly, subscriber-based website covering the north-east of England.
Brian Aitken, who led the daily from 2003 to 2014, told the Press Gazette that the QT was “effectively a quality local Sunday newspaper that is not a print publication and not even a Sunday.”
He partially compares this to Tortoise's original “slow journalism”, which has a different output model than Manchester Mill and its associated newsletter-driven titles, but they are “mentally in the same place”. “It's there,” he said.
The QT website is updated every Wednesday at 12pm. The team is made up of five people, four of whom are former Journal colleagues, including Aitken, and already has 30 columnists, contributors and commentators.
The website will not feature breaking news, instead focusing on politically neutral “issue-driven campaign news, features and commentary.” Its first edition began with an exclusive interview with the Chief Constable of Northumbria, written by Chris Jackson, former presenter of BBC Inside His Out.
Mr Aitken, the site's founder and editor, said: We don't intend to do only blue light coverage. We do not provide breaking news. I think we're a bit like Tortoise Media in that respect… come visit us. That way, you can read articles with a specific style. ”
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It is funded by subscribers and sponsors, and there are no ads on the site.
Subscriptions cost £7.99 a month, or £79.99 a year, and Mr Aitken said on Friday afternoon that the number of subscribers had already increased, even though the website had only been up for two days and the first reading was free. The number is now in the low hundreds, he said. week. A limited number of articles and event listings are usually available for free.
When asked how they decided on this model, Aitken said: “In short, when journalists get together and we always talk about the good old days, I can only imagine that my subconscious must have been looking for solutions to problems that I couldn't solve on my own. “I don't know what you were trying to solve. Well, this is what it was all about. If local newspapers are slowly dying and circulation is declining, if that's the case, then what can be done? Because so many people are dissatisfied with online services.
“I'm not saying that mainstream media companies are getting it wrong. I understand the business rationale behind what they're doing. I'm not trying to say that mainstream media companies are getting it wrong. I came to the conclusion that it was worth watching.
“They give you free news 24/7 on the web, but don't do that. Make a commitment to watch it once a week. It's not free. There's also a newspaper. Well, there's a print version on the website. Let's not make it an adjunct. It was just a matter of trying things the other way and seeing if it works.”
Mr Aitken is backed by Fiona Cruikshank, a Newcastle-based entrepreneur and chair of the board, and six other angel investors, who Mr Aitken says are “all local and all from the region. “We all care about them, we all think we need something like QT, and they're supporting them.” We would like to support you in making this a reality. ”
With a six-figure investment, Aitken will develop the platform and lead a core team of features editor Sam Wonfor, associate editor Simon Rushworth, senior writer David Whetstone and staff writer Sarah Jane March. I was able to build a team and join Cultured.NE, a regional arts and entertainment company. The site was founded by Wonfor and will remain branded in QT's “What's on” section.
Mr Aitken had intended to wait to secure further investment before launching, but has been subscribed almost from day one and raised a £350,000 seed round from an investor list that includes current CNN boss Sir He said he was inspired by The Mill, who won Mark Thompson launched the product last summer, hoping to grow it as subscriptions and more investment come in. QT is part of the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, an HMRC scheme that encourages high net worth individuals to invest in start-up businesses. Launch a business.
The Reuters Institute for Journalism's latest digital news report shows that people in the UK continue to be reluctant to pay for news: 9% of 2,000 people in the UK surveyed 65% said they paid for online news, up from 7% in 2016, a slight increase from 7% in 2016.
But Milmedia's growth since its launch in 2020, with more than 5,500 paying subscribers across three titles as of October, and market research conducted by QT shows that people It seems to indicate that you will pay for quality content. Mr Aitken said 32 per cent of people in a “solid” sample of people planning The QT last year said they would pay for it.
“We and the board said, “This is something worth paying for, and what's the point in giving away three, four, five articles for free before we charge you?'' I think they're taking the view, because my understanding from talking to other people is that so many people do that, “Do that, reach your limit, and then stop.'' Mr Aitken said. “So let's actually be a little braver.”
He looked at examples of subscription models in the United States and Europe, and said, “What seems to be doing well are high-quality publications or publications that are doing very well in niche areas.''
He cited Spain's El Diario, which has a strong membership base despite offering it to people for free, and The Athletic, a sports brand now owned by The New York Times. Stated. I would also like to do national and regional news. ”
Market research also contributed to the decision not to run advertising on the site.
“As part of our market research, we asked people what was important to them,” Aitken added. “Quality was important, independent and unbiased reporting was important, and the third thing he found was that they didn't want pop-ups or clickbait.
“We all look at media websites and know what's on them. And we made the decision not to post anything that would disrupt the reading flow.”
QT was a name chosen by Aitken on a whim, with no further meaning, and was incorporated at Companies House as QT Regions Limited. The rationale, Aitken said, was: “If this kind of thing works in the Northeast, then we can do it.” Please take your job elsewhere. ”
However, Mr Aitken himself is focused on leveraging his network, having worked in the North East for more than 20 years, and has no plans to expand into other regions at this time.
“That’s not to say we won’t consider the geographical spread of QT, but over the next few years our focus will be on establishing QT in the north-east of England… which will enable subsequent geographical spread. It's easy to achieve, but it's not on the agenda for now. ”
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