The pioneering American media blog Mediaite turned 15. this week Founder Dan Abrams reflected on the time in a post on Monday and commented on the rather hostile reception his site received. He recalled:
Why the hell do we need Dan Abrams’ Mediaite?” queried Fast Company. Slate declared, “The fledgling media Web site leaves an acrid aftertaste.
However, he said that “the early resistance from the media became a part of the site’s DNA, helping fuel its success and enhance its endurance. In fact, the criticism made me even more steadfast”. I can’t say I’ve encountered too much resistance per se since starting The Addition, but there is certainly something awkward about being a journalist who reports on other journalists and media companies.
That is not a reason not to do it though. Sites like Mediaite prove that we should do it. At the risk of sounding too grand, journalism is about holding power to account and the media industry is powerful. Let’s be honest too though. Covering the media is quite a lot of fun. Mediaite is good at finding this balance and, as you can imagine, is something of an influence on what I do here.
It is also great to see that a website continues to thrive in this age where we are told everything has to go on a platform. Abrams wrote:
Our audience has grown exponentially with the site often drawing a whopping 80 million page views per month with a still comparatively small team. Maybe most significantly, about 50% of that traffic comes in via the front page of Mediaite.com.
So, maybe there is hope for the rest of us. Happy birthday Mediaite. Here’s to the next 15 years!
