Blogger Andrew Sullivan has announced that he’s parting ways with the Daily Beast and launching a subscription-based blog, a move that ratings-challenged CNN host Piers Morgan has called a “deluded vanity flight into obscurity.” We’d love to think that Morgan was speaking tongue-in-cheek, but his recent “look at me!” Twitter rants have proved that he’s apparently totally self-unaware.
In a lengthy post at the Daily Beast, Sullivan thanked his readers for sticking with him “through the horrors of 9/11 and the Iraq War, past the Obama miracle and the odd lies of a former half-term governor whose name now escapes me.” So, just what is lurking behind that curtain that $19.99 a year will buy?
Hence the purest, simplest model for online journalism: you, us, and a meter. Period. No corporate ownership, no advertising demands, no pressure for pageviews … just a concept designed to make your reading experience as good as possible, and to lead us not into temptation.
https://twitter.com/rsmccain/status/286601367387271168
Speaking of temptation, who’s reaching for the credit card?
Hey Andrew Sullivan @sullydish! Proud of you choosing independence in your new media venture! We need more. Count me in as a subscriber.
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 2, 2013
Bought a membership at @sullydish. Link to Andrew too much—and rely on his crew too much, and Catholic (like him) too much—not to pony up.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) January 3, 2013
I just put down $19.99 for subscription to @sullydish. Will demand refund if he changes his mind about the Iraq war again.
— Robert Wright (@robertwrighter) January 2, 2013
Others are not so anxious to know what Sullivan is up to, now that he’s free from corporate obligations.
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Yeah, so, nothing Andrew Sullivan says is worth $20/year imho.
— jillian c. york (@jilliancyork) January 2, 2013
Who would pay $19.99/yr to listen to Andrew Sullivan? I would much rather pay $30/month to listen to my cat talk to me.
— Joe Brooks (@joebrooks) January 3, 2013
https://twitter.com/thegoldfarb/status/286519791953526784
Subscribe to Andrew Sullivan's new site, get exclusive photos of his mashed potato model of Sarah Palin's uterus!
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) January 3, 2013
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/286563321803591680
Still, the venture must be taking off. Sullivan reports that he’s taken in more than $100,000 already. What’s he going to do with all that money (after paying his staff, and paying for expenses and paying taxes)?
Last I heard @sullydish pushing $100k in revenue today
— Ben Smith (@benyt) January 2, 2013
@sullydish Hey man, at least this will give you the funding you need to track down Trig Palin’s real mother….
— J (@smorkingapple) January 2, 2013
Will your new venture raise money to pay for a private investigator to examine Palin's hoo-hah? @sullydish inquiring minds and all that.
— (((Aaron “Worthing” Walker))) (@AaronWorthing) January 2, 2013
We’ll hang on to our 20 bucks for now, but the whole venture does raise an interesting question: who are we rooting for in the Piers Morgan/Andrew Sullivan cat fight?
Piers Morgan actually made me sympathetic to Andrew Sullivan. For about a minute. When will @CNN end our long, national nightmare?
— Brian Hecht (@brian_hecht) January 2, 2013
Why Piers is lucky @CNN isn't a pay channel… MT @piersmorgan Why on earth would anyone pay $19.99 to read the bitchy whines of @sullydish?
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) January 2, 2013
https://twitter.com/NathanWurtzel/status/286556544043192321
https://twitter.com/DanSMiddleton/status/286578401291153409
My money is on Sullivan if he can get in the clinch, Piers if it’s a duel with pistols at 20 paces @aburnspolitico @piersmorgan @sullydish
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 2, 2013
A duel, huh? Do you have any idea how quickly Piers Morgan can reload a musket?
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