DeadlineDetroit Dying?

[Lowell]

Say it ain't so. I was disappointed to read this while flipping through my favorite Detroit news aggregator site deadlinedetroit.com.

Audience Up But Revenues Lag; Deadline Detroit Plans Layoffs

Despite building a large audience in a short time in the demanding business of digital journalism, Deadline Detroit announced today it will undergo a reorganization next month that includes layoffs and payless paydays as it continues to talk to investors.
...
Deadline Detroit has attracted more than 330,000 unique visitors a month.

Hopefully they will get investors but it has to be a challenge.

Those are impressive numbers especially considering that they started from zero just two years ago - almost 4x DetroitYES traffic. But knowing how little revenue this site earns and when I do the math there's a problem. There's not a lot of money in giving it away free unless you are Craigslist big.

The concept is good as is their growth trajectory. Hopefully someone can see that and back it.

[gnome]

This is unfortunate news. I have admired their work but was never able to figure out their revenue stream. Did Pete K get a case of alligator arms?

[belleislerunner]

This is hardly shocking.

Just go to their main webpage - every article is doom and gloom, a rant or sensational reporting. It's fun to check once a week for shock value - but just too depressing to read every day.

It's much more encouraging to read sites like DetroitYes, Hellyeah Detroit, Curbed, Eater, Model d, metromode etc.

Metro Times has the same problem. You can sense the anger in the words.

[windexgirl]

Exactly what BelleIsleRunner said... Look at the first five out of six top stories on their homepage. The only positive one is the sixth story listed about Verlander slated to start on opening day!

[Eber Brock Ward]

Co-signed. Their columns / op-eds are particularly critical and negative, too. Just not worth my time when I can get the aggregated news elsewhere without the snark and negativity of their original content.

[313WX]

This is hardly shocking.

Just go to their main webpage - every article is doom and gloom, a rant or sensational reporting. It's fun to check once a week for shock value - but just too depressing to read every day.

It's much more encouraging to read sites like DetroitYes, Hellyeah Detroit, Curbed, Eater, Model d, metromode etc.

Metro Times has the same problem. You can sense the anger in the words.

Heaven forbid stories are ever reported that aren't all sunshine and roses.

So apparently, according to some now, journalists are only supposed to report stories that make one feel all warm an fuzzy inside.

[313WX]

For the record, I appreciate the work by the Metro Times and Deadline Detroit. So I hope they're able to pull through.

They report [[sometimes unpleasant) sides of a story you don't typically read in the big corporate/suburban-owned News and Free Press. I WANT to be presented with all of the facts when forming my opinion on a subject.

[kryptonite]

Co-signed. Their columns / op-eds are particularly critical and negative, too. Just not worth my time when I can get the aggregated news elsewhere without the snark and negativity of their original content.

I have to agree with you guys. when I see a Headline Detroit post I usually avoid it since it does not often seem to emphasize anything but negatives. I follow their facebook page but ignore most of their posts due to the headline alone.

[Eber Brock Ward]

Heaven forbid stories are ever reported that aren't all sunshine and roses.

So apparently, according to some now, journalists are only supposed to report stories that make one feel all warm an fuzzy inside.

Straw man. You can report negative news without coming off like an asshole or a snarkmonster. In fact, I'd love it if they did that.

But they don't.

[313WX]

You can report negative news without coming off like an asshole or a snarkmonster.

I never got that vibe from Metro Times nor Deadline Detroit.

Maybe it's your perspective that's the problem.

[Eber Brock Ward]

Nope, I could pick it apart and post tons of excerpts, but their phrasing and syntax just drips with cynicism and jadedness/snark.

Metro Times is an alt-mag, not traditional media like DD, so it's cool if MT does it.

[Honky Tonk]

Heaven forbid stories are ever reported that aren't all sunshine and roses.

So apparently, according to some now, journalists are only supposed to report stories that make one feel all warm an fuzzy inside.

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!", "C'mon, turn that frown upside down!" "Ho' Foods is coming!" No wonder people do things like leave their cars in front of the Packard Plant with a few grand of photography equipment in it. Deadline Detroit is [[was) the closest thing to having all the news in one spot that I could find, and they actually encouraged "reading". It saved me from having to watch the news on TV and look @ some bimbo nodding her head like a bobblehead in the back of a lowrider. If they do go, I for one, will miss them.

[Islandman]

Agreed. Just look at their FB page. Almost every story has this passive/aggressive undertone.

[Wesley Mouch]

I respect several reporters at DD, but the site has turned quite sensational and shallow. I guess that's what the 'masses' want. I've stopped reading, as there's almost no content depth. IMO.

[rjlj]

I agree with the vibe that was given off in the stories by Deadline Detroit. I don't get that vibe from reading Metro Times. Agreed

Nope, I could pick it apart and post tons of excerpts, but their phrasing and syntax just drips with cynicism and jadedness/snark.

Metro Times is an alt-mag, not traditional media like DD, so it's cool if MT does it.

[brizee]

I'll miss if it goes under.

Some writers [[Dawsey) I prefferred much more over others [[Wattrick). But they were at least interesting.

As for the negative slant I disagree. The Freep/News/Letter stations pander and fear monger and coddle. DD seemd to save their venom for the powers that be.

Who are absolute dogshit and deserve what comes their way.

[Lowell]

This from Crain's somewhat confirm's my suspicions that DeadlineDetroit was a casualty of the recent takeover bid. To fight the bid Compuware had to pull in its belt. Pete Karmonos, sugar daddy of the venture, was also maneuvered out around this time.

DeadlineDetroit.com launched in April 2012 with an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Detroit-based Compuware Corp., which also provided office space and equipment.

In February 2013, the companies in the portfolio of Compuware Ventures LLC, which invested in startup technology companies, were told that it has halted its investment activities and won’t be participating in their future funding rounds.

That stemmed from Detroit-based Compuware Corp.’s fight for control with a New York City hedge fund, Elliott Management Corp.

The halt in activity by Compuware Ventures came after the parent company announced a three-year, $60 million cost-cutting campaign. The cost-cutting was a response to charges made by Elliott that Compuware, a computer services company, was poorly run and underperformed its peers in information technology.

Elliott halted its takeover bid earlier this year.

[brizee]

Get a load of this horeshit. In what other town could this sort of arrogant and condescending nonsense be ok?

Could you imagine if the Free Press and News were the only disseminators of news in this region.

Ugh. Just UGH!

Nolan Finley on one hand and Stephen Henderson on the other. Jesus Christ.

Terrible for different reasons but nonetheless both complete .