Here’s a follow up on our earlier story this week that the Puget Sound Business Journal hired away the two top technology reporter/bloggers from the Seattle PI. Instead of just having them report for BizJournals.com and the weekly paper, they just announced a plan to launch a new, standalone technology site. “Our goal is to create the Pacific Northwest’s leading tech news source,” says a splash page announcing the new venture. “Over time, we plan to add many new editorial and community features, and host events around town.” Very smart. You have to wonder, why didn’t the PI do this? Why are traditional media companies hesitant to “break out” their best content into standalone verticals and take on new businesses?
Update: As Tracy correctly points out in comments, the PI has been launching quite a few verticals, from moms to pets to a younger-facing effort called SPI. In fact, the PI has been more aggressive than the average newspaper, and it’s my regional news site of choice (after KING5.com, of course.) Creating a technology site with that talent seemed like a logical choice, yet one could argue it’s not as “core” as the other verticals since it taps an unfamiliar advertising base. But those unfamiliar advertising bases help diversity revenue — an important priority for media these days.
