The only way to get a copy of the newspaper was to physically pick one up from a newspaper box that they had "repurposed," located in the famed Dimes Square, but luckily for all the out of towners they have begun to ship nationwide. The contents (fiction, scene reports, interviews, classified ads, poetry) were from a tight network of contributors who were given a long leash to do as they please. A mix of the alternative weeklies of the 90s and early aughts mixed with a liberal arts school newspaper. Something niche and tangible for a generation who has grown up online, it is refreshing, voice-y, and irreverent. Accessed March 31, 2023.During the pandemic, Michelle Guterman, aka Gutes, and Claire Banse created The Drunken Canal, "a biased news source" newspaper made for and by a particular set in downtown New York City. "The Awl gets a sister site, Splitsider, which will be its “newsy-voicey” compliment in covering comedy." Nieman Journalism Lab. The Awl gets a sister site, Splitsider, which will be its “newsy-voicey” compliment in covering comedy. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 1 Sep. The details on the other sites are under wraps, but Cho did say “in a lot of ways, this site is a pilot.” He’s keeping his eye out for interesting ideas and great writers to lead them. “Basically, it makes it possible to do.” Cho says he “can get him a significantly higher CPM than if he were trying to do it on his own.”Ĭho told me back in June that he hopes to launch several new sites this year. Why launch with Cho and share revenue rather than go it alone? “I have no experience launching a site or selling ads,” he told me. “That’s the type of person whose going to get burn out.”įrucci mentioned his idea for the site to Cho, who had his eye out for talented writers and good ideas for sites. If you’re looking for stability, “I don’t think that’s the type of person we’d want for a job like this,” Cho said. He added that you pretty much need a sink-or-swim personality to make this kind of project work. His old job at Gizmodo paid him a base plus bonuses for big traffic.Ĭho agreed there’s a risk, but said he wouldn’t push him into something he thought would definitely fail. But, if the site doesn’t take off, there’s no base salary for him to rely on. Frucci’s contract offers him the perks of getting to build and shape the site, plus a share of site revenue. (When I asked if he can guarantee book deals, like the kind Awl contributor Chris Lehmann landed for his unpaid column called Rich People Things, Frucci deadpanned, “I promise 100 percent if you contribute, you’ll get a book deal.”) He says the core of the site will be a running stream of newsy posts from him about things like which shows and writers getting deals, plus columns on specific topics.įrucci and Cho are optimistic, but there’s obviously risk involved. “I want people to be excited about what they write about.” Contributors will be unpaid, at least at first. “It’s been a lot of back and forth with writers,” he says. He’s in the process of sorting out what kinds of posts he wants to write himself and which contributors he plans to tap for regular features. “I’ve been at Gizmodo for four years,” he told me, “but I was never going to run Gizmodo.” I spoke with Frucci about why moving on to Splitsidder was so appealing, considering his success at Gizmodo. Reflecting on his four years there, he asked: “What other job pays you to test drug paraphernalia and sex toys, to create goofy videos and unscientific quizzes? No other job, that’s what.” But there is still plenty in store for him at his new gig, where his colleagues will include Gawker veterans Choire Sicha and Alex Balk. Last week Adam Frucci, who is going to head up Splitsider, said goodbye to his readers at the Gawker Media site Gizmodo. (It’s password-protected for now it’ll be public next week.) It’ll cover the comedy industry for a ready audience of comedy nerds/lovers, and it’s the first evidence of the Awl expansion plans we wrote about in June. The folks behind The Awl hope they’ve found one in a new site up in beta today called Splitsider. It sometimes feels like all the good topics are taken online - it’s uncommon to find a promising but untrampled niche for a new website.
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