He's probably a bit optimistic if he means that there's a huge, mass-media-proportioned market for it. But he's not wrong if he means a small publication (or mo

He's probably a bit optimistic if he means that there's a huge, mass-media-proportioned market for it. But he's not wrong if he means a small publication (or more likely, an individual journalist) can make a successful go of it. Consider the "1000 true fans" business model. It is entirely possible to earn a respectable, six-figure income doing independent journalism for a small, but loyal base of subscribers. It's extremely hard work. The payoff/effort ratio is probably lower than the ratio on the kind of corporate job that someone smart and hard-working enough to pull it off can take instead. (And this is probably why you don't see legions of smart, hard-working people trying to do it.) But it's doable, and some people are doing it. They're doing it on a small scale, to a loyal niche. I have my doubts as to the scalability of the model, i.e., building it out to support a multi-million-dollar business. Plenty of well-connected and well-funded people have tried. Some of the best journalists in the business have tried. A few of these people have very publicly failed. But I am inclined to think that there's a decent sweet spot out there. It's not big, but it exists. Stranger things have happened, though. This is a crude analogy, but consider the success of a show like The Walking Dead. Ten years ago, if I'd have told you that a show about zombies on basic cable was going to be one of the most watched shows on all of television, you'd have told me I was insane. And all available data at the time would have supported your position. The truth is, TWD could not have been a hit 10 years ago, much less on AMC. Various supporting technologies make its success possible: Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, VOD, and so forth. (Even DVR was in its early-adopter phase a decade ago.) Game-changers happen when the supporting infrastructure is in place to enable bright, risk-taking people to put the pieces together. For all I know, the conditions are in place to let someone find, address, and serve millions of people who are ready for "slow" journalism. It's an uphill battle, but I sincerely hope more people will strap on their climbing gear.