We already have one thousand year gluts in our key commodities, commercial real estate and soon residential, and now we can add another sector to the abundance: online news. From the AFR:
The Huffington Post is set to launch in Australia on August 19 led by former News Corp editor and journalist Tory Maguire as its launch editor-in-chief.
HuffPost Australia, a joint venture between The Huffington Post and Fairfax Media, publisher of The Australian Financial Review, will have 30 staff based in offices in Sydney’s Circular Quay with all staff expected to produce and write stories.
The US player joins other international news organisations that have recently entered the Australian market, including The Guardian, The Daily Mail and BuzzFeed.
There is also The New Daily, Business Insider and in print The Saturday Paper.
This makes absolutely no business sense to me. There is now a paper for every shade of grey on the political spectrum, all of them with little cut through, bugger all innovation, the same tired commentary and operating in a tiny market. Expect a shakeout.
As for Huff Post, why JV with Fairfax? The Huff Post is a centrist disruptor and it just got into bed with its largest competitor in the same space. Der.
