You're absolutely right about the benefits of being first to a story. I'd add that the benefit from publishing overall is smaller because online ad revenue does

You're absolutely right about the benefits of being first to a story. I'd add that the benefit from publishing overall is smaller because online ad revenue doesn't make up for lost off-line print revenue. As consumers switch away from one and into the other, which is the other the pie has shrink over the last 10-15 years. I'd argue there is still benefit to getting the story right: outlets like the economist and the FT that do focus on quality content / being right are actually still successful today, and are able to capture some of that added value because some segments are still willing to pay to have access to that content, which complements their ad revenues. (economist group annual report, http://www.economistgroup.com/pdfs/annual_report_2012_final_for_web.pdf http://www.economistgroup.com/pdfs/annual_report_2012_final_...)