New year, new business model for Andrew Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan is leaving the office he rarely visited and taking his Dish blog rogue. Instead of the blog living on The Daily Beast, Mr. Sullivan and his band of editors will set up an independent company called Dish Publishing LLC and publish without the benefit of a larger publication’s umbrella, he announced in a blog post today.
Mr. Sullivan, one of The Beast’s highest-profile names, is taking the gamble that his brand is strong enough to strike out on its own.
“Here’s the core principle: we want to create a place where readers – and readers alone – sustain the site,” he wrote. “No bigger media companies will be subsidizing us; no venture capital will be sought to cushion our transition (unless my savings count as venture capital); and, most critically, no advertising will be getting in the way.”
As of February 1, The Dish will revert to its old URL, www.andrewsullivan.com and establish a membership model in which readers pay for his content. A yearly subscription to The Dish will be $19.99 a year, although readers are welcome to give more. Andrew Sullivan’s blog will be on The Daily Beast for the next month, and Mr. Sullivan wrote that he has Tina Brown and Barry Diller’s blessing.
“In fact, Tina and Barry have been fully supportive of this decision once we made it, although we’re all sad to part ways,” Mr. Sullivan wrote.
Indeed, Ms. Brown tweeted the news: “Andrew Sullivan boldly strikes off on his own. Sad to see him go, but wishing @SullyDish all the best!”
The move is reminiscent of Glen Beck leaving Fox News and, of course, comes on the heels of Newsweek layoffs and the end of the print publication.
Most importantly, does this mean that Mr. Sullivan–who is not a fan of New York–will return to Washington?
