Two points:
Point 1: “German media giant Axel Springer SE has agreed to buy Politico. Springer is paying more than $1 billion for the deal. The company is also acquiring the 50% it doesn’t already own in Politico Europe, as well as the tech news website Protocol, it said in a statement Thursday. The deal is set to close in the fourth quarter. Founded in 2007, Politico was a pioneer in granular scoop-driven coverage of politics and policy in Washington, D.C. While much of its coverage is free, it publishes news and analysis for paying subscribers under the banner Politico Pro”. (source) . So, Politico is worth $1 billion.
Point 2: “Forbes, a long-standing media publication, announced Thursday it plans to go public via a merger with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company. The company, merging with Magnum Opus Acquisition, is expected to be valued at an implied pro forma enterprise value of $630 million, net of tax benefits. The deal is expected to close late in the the fourth quarter of this year or early in next year’s first quarter.” (source) So after decades, Forbes is going public and worth $630 million.
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Politico is ranked by Alexa at about 2000 while Forbes’ ranking is about 261. The implication is that Forbes is super popular, well ahead of Politico. So why is that disparity in payment? It comes down to ability to deliver monetizable value, outside the advertising space.
With Facebook and Google capturing most of the advertising value, the future for media falls on unlocking subscription payments from readers. Politico with its brand of journalism provides analytical insights on politics which you cannot find in any other place.
In other words, they do not just live on reporting news, they analyze news, creating value on largely commoditized assets. People pay for such. And because people pay for that, it unlocks leverageable factors over those that just depend on advertising money which continues to decline for media houses.
The summary: command influence, do not just be popular; markets reward that.
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When they said empty barrel make the most noise they never made a mistake.
Being very popular doesn’t equate substance, that is why anyone expecting politicians and entertainers to lead societal renaissance will always end up disappointed.
Popular people are known and celebrated, but when you are in crisis and in need of quality advice, you do not go to them, rather you seek for the wise, those with something extra and uncommon.
Not many people are aware of Politico, but a lot more of them are aware of Forbes, not that they keenly read the latter, but rather it’s also associated with ‘billionaires ranking’, and more people want to hear the sound of the names of the latest rich guys…
News analysis requires a level of intellectual rigour you do not deploy in reportage, and those who know the value of the former will be glad to pay for such.
Be more than ordinary.
“Be more than ordinary.”- More than words