It's a Vertical World

I can remember the sarcastic comments from some journalism buddies in Washington when word starting spreading about a start-up political publication. Wow, political news! Focusing on the Beltway! What a novel idea!

The market's too crowded, we agreed. Even if top dawgs at the Washington Post were coming to start this venture, how would this Web site plan on beating the Post at its own game?

Two years later, the joke's on us. Politico is a powerhouse of political journalism, shining brightly with strong traditional reporting and insightful blogging. During the political conventions last month, its editors helped set the news media's agenda.

What's to learn from Politico's success story? Web journalism is thriving? It's an election year; timing is everything? People really do care about political minutae? Sure. But that's not seeing the bigger picture.

Politico is an example of what's called a vertical publication. One subject. A targeted audience. In other words, a news organization that's not trying to be everything to everyone. And that might just be the future of journalism.

At newspapers and magazines across the country, resources are spread thin. Institutional knowledge is leaving the newsroom with every buyout or layoff. In-depth reporting suffers. But at vertical publications -- mostly Web sites these days -- reporters have well-defined jobs. Editors can focus on their favorite kind of copy. It's perfectly acceptable for a site to post 20 articles in a day. It's fine to post five stories. There's no convention.

Staffs can be lean. Advertisers know what kind of readers they're reaching. Experts in the field can engage with each other on message boards and write op-eds.

There's certainly still room for smart journalism at jack-of-all-trades publications. But as the media come to grips with an increasingly fragmented audience, it makes sense for journalists who are passionate about a topic to coalesce. Of course, there have long been niche publications on everything from gardening to fantasy sports. But many haven't moved online in earnest -- and they certainly haven't embraced interaction with readers.

Vertical start-ups have done well covering higher education, health, sports. There's room for so much more.