Niche Media: Bigger Than You Think

When I first attended, Appalachian State University, I always heard how the print media was dying. We were already beginning to find new ways to deliver the news, that deviated from the typical newspaper. While working at ASU's school paper The Appalachian, we were already looking at enhancing the Online section, and attracting more than just the student body. It might have helped us, but how could that help in the real world?

As I began to look into niche media, I thought it was something completely different to what I knew came from newspapers, or commonly known as mass media. Actually, they are similar. Just niche media is focused on precisely one field, rather than covering a multitude of areas.

One of the sticking points to helping me understand the idea behind niche media came from, "The Nichepaper Manifesto" by Umair Haque:

"Nichepapers aren’t a new product, service, or business model. They are a new institution. They’re a living example of the institutional innovation that is the key to 21st century business. They’re not the same old newspaper, sold a different way. They are 21st century newspapers, built on new rules, that are letting radical innovators reinvent what “news” is."

From that point on, I understood. Niche media, is simply where the topic discussed is centered around one specific area, and master it. It might be a trade magazine, or blog. Personally, I viewed it simply as, a newspaper has an entertainment section. In niche media, the entertainment section is the entire paper.

What makes one better than the other? The problem with mass media, is everyone talks about the same issue. If a big event happens, everywhere one looks, the same story is being told. There's a commonality to it. Additionally, open up a newspaper. 60-70 percent (or more) are advertisements compared to news. Niche media, focuses on one topic, and on occasion will pull in a bigger happening - if it relates to the central idea. It is not the goal to get the money for ads, but rather provoke thoughts, leading to donations or tips from the reader.

While it sounds good on paper, it does beg the question: How much is too much? Are we ever going to near a point where over-saturation can happen? NY Times' Frank Bruni commented that media, at times, 'out-clever' each other, resulting in little more than performance art rather than contributing to any real debate.

So, is there a risk of littering the news with irrelevant issues? False stories? Could it be covering up reliable stories, that should have more exposure? I'd say so. This week, The Huffington Post, ended their contributors platform, or unpaid blogger platform.

The interesting part in the announcement, was how it was presented. Essentially, HuffPost buried the lede. The contributors platform, which according to the Web site had 10,000 bloggers, helped launch the Post. Would seem that over-saturation played a key in causing them to close a staple.

It seems there are both good, and bad, parts to niche media. There's the chance of branching out and striking it big. That comes down to luck, like Henry Abbot. Abbot started a blog, TrueHoop, as he dreamed of covering sports. Now? TrueHoop focuses on the NBA for ESPN. Unfortunately, Abbot was a part of many of the layoffs by the company last year.

Working in niche media, comes with the same risks any job offers, the chance at success and failure. It ultimately comes down to how hard, and dedicated one person is to making it successful.

One thing is for certain, as Journalism continues to evolve, niche media continues to make a place at the table.

Jay Rosen, a Journalism professor at New York University, said it best.

"There has always been a trade press that carried “niche” news, so that’s nothing new. But in 1994 we would not have advised beginners in journalism: start your own trade magazine! In 2014 I do advise it: a niche site that serves a narrow news interest well."

The niche is out there for you to discover. It is your job to go deeper than a typical news story, and present thought provoking ideas. Are you up for the challenge?