Slog Comments
Andrew Sullivan Is Doing It for Himself
2
My subscription took all of 1 minute to do. I read The Dish every day, it was a no-brainer for me. I like he's keeping the front page free and also not counting links to posts for the paywall. My only concern is that the reduction in readership (and some is inevitable) will negatively affect content, since the blog is very reader-driven. On the other hand, most people who contribute are likely hardcore Dishheads who will almost all subscribe, so hopefully any ill effects will be limited.
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@3, Sullivan has a well-paid staff (of three, in the pictures, possibly more behind the scenes), astronomical bandwidth costs, and significant personal income requirements (house in Manhattan) himself.
6
I read Sullivan daily and as soon as I have money in my bank account again I'll be subscribing. $20/yr is a trifle for the amount of enjoyment I get from it, and I think he's going about it the right way.
7
Honestly - I don't know why he would - the blog was just fine at the Beast, ads were present, but they were small and unassuming. It's not like you got bombarded with pop-ups and videos that start playing on their own. Plus I liked the links on the side to some of the rest of the Beast's contents.
I'll still be reading of course, I've checked that site every day for years now.
I'll still be reading of course, I've checked that site every day for years now.
8
Superb political cartoonists Dan "Tom Tomorrow" Perkins and Ruben Bolling, creators of "This Modern World" and "Tom the Dancing Bug", respectively, have been victims of budget cuts at dead-tree publications, and online versions as well. They've each responded by selling memberships to 'insider clubs' where you are emailed the newest cartoon a few days before publication, along with often-interesting personal background information. From what I understand the experiments have done a good job in repairing their livelihood. I subscribe to both of them, at $10./6 months, it's a great way to keep quality independent expression alive.
Obviously, I strongly recommend doing so if you appreciate their work.
Google for "Sparky's List Tomorrow" or "Inner Hive Bolling" for details.
Obviously, I strongly recommend doing so if you appreciate their work.
Google for "Sparky's List Tomorrow" or "Inner Hive Bolling" for details.
9
I'll be passing on it. I go on boycotts of the site every other month as it is.
I prefer an ad-based site. A blogger calling himself (and his team of helpers) hard-working is hilarious, at best.
I prefer an ad-based site. A blogger calling himself (and his team of helpers) hard-working is hilarious, at best.
10
Ooooh a Roman Catholic neo-con pro-lifer who conveniently flips on gay issues because that personally affect him. How much can I pay! Is there a maximum dollars I can give this amazeballs thinker?
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@10, all because he's a shill for the American War Machine and helped enable GWB isn't any reason to be bitter.
But yeah, the only reason The Stranger likes him is because Andrew likes cock and tight boy holes.
But yeah, the only reason The Stranger likes him is because Andrew likes cock and tight boy holes.
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@11 Whatever a guy has to do to get a seat at the table. At least he offers a different viewpoint to a group that might not listen otherwise.
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This news is win-win from my perspective. If it succeeds, then it's more proof that alternate media models can work. If it fails, a hypocritical asshole fails.
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@10, goddamnit, Ph'nglui, click on my Facebook link there and send me your email address. I need to ask you something. Please?
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@16: And I can't believe that The Stranger continues to pimp for him, given that he built most of his career on being, as Dan says of outfits like GOProud, "the house faggot" of the right wing for years.
This is the guy who castigated Tha Librul Media for "making too much" of Matthew Shepard's murder.
This is the guy who claimed that gay rights groups were hurting their own cause by being too vocal.
This is the guy who routinely criticized the "excesses" of gays and was trotted out by rightwingers every other day as a source for why we didn't deserve the same rights and protections as any other citizen...and then got caught trolling for ass online without revealing his HIV-positive status.
This is the guy who's never apologized for any of the above since his ostensible road-to-Damascus conversion.
This is the guy who's very high on my list of "People I'd Slap Were I In The Same Room."
This is the guy who castigated Tha Librul Media for "making too much" of Matthew Shepard's murder.
This is the guy who claimed that gay rights groups were hurting their own cause by being too vocal.
This is the guy who routinely criticized the "excesses" of gays and was trotted out by rightwingers every other day as a source for why we didn't deserve the same rights and protections as any other citizen...and then got caught trolling for ass online without revealing his HIV-positive status.
This is the guy who's never apologized for any of the above since his ostensible road-to-Damascus conversion.
This is the guy who's very high on my list of "People I'd Slap Were I In The Same Room."
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@17 -- For all those reasons and more, I sympathize, but really, why put the energy into slapping him? The shallowest "intellect" in the punditocracy is about to go paywall? Let him drown in the swamp of his own ego without your (or my) help. He's best read in snippets quoted by others anyway, and very infrequently.
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@18 - Oh, I hear you. The previous post is quite possibly the most attention I've paid to Sullivan in the past year.
I just think there's room for the occasional reminder of what an opportunistic little creep he is, particularly on a site that thinks he should be taken seriously and permalinks him...and whose Editorial Director counts him as "a friend".
I just think there's room for the occasional reminder of what an opportunistic little creep he is, particularly on a site that thinks he should be taken seriously and permalinks him...and whose Editorial Director counts him as "a friend".
21
Sullivan has quite a high opinion of himself if he thinks enough people will pay to read his opinions to be a financially viable business model. I periodically have read his blog over the years. I find he oscillates between unbearable and merely annoying, and has nothing to say that I'm willing to pay for. Blog comments show a lot of people agree. I think an advertising supported model would have been a better idea for him.
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