NY Observer to Add Content to Compete With Blogs

Posted on August 19, 2006

Patrick Phillips at I Want Media has an interview with New York Observer owner Jared Kushner. In the interview Kushner says he needs more daily content to compete with blogs like Gawker and Jossip.

IWM: The Observer is facing competition from blogs like Gawker and Jossip, which have a similar witty, irreverent style -- but are updated several times a day. How do you fight the blogs?
Kushner: Loyal Internet readers have the capacity to read as many sites as they deem necessary. There is much less constraint in this field, whereas in print, people are more likely to subscribe to just one newspaper.
I have great respect for what blogs such as Jossip and Gawker have accomplished in such a short time. I think they understand their clientele better than most in the media business.
I intend to make our Web site edgier and add additional daily content to expand our readership and provide a broader ranging product with something for everyone.

Does "broader ranging product" mean more blogs? The Observer already has several blogs listed in the The Daily Observer section including a political blog and media blog. Kushner didn't bother to mention these blogs in the interview. Adding more daily content and blogs is a smart move for any newspaper. Even smarter is when newspapers reach out to local bloggers and link to their blogs.