CNN+. Ozy. The Correspondent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their post-mortems uncovered many dramatic, even peculiar details, like a COO getting caught in an impersonation ruse<\/a> and a pair of unscrupulous founders being accused of \u201cbetrayal.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But idiosyncrasies aside, there\u2019s a simpler explanation for these media flops, as well as many other failed startups in the news industry and beyond<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t understand their target audience<\/strong>, and as a result they built products that didn\u2019t meet that audience\u2019s needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CNN+ spent millions on staff and marketing only to shut down amid comparisons to Quibi<\/a>. Ozy talked a big game about reaching millennials<\/a> but never figured out what they actually wanted. And The Correspondent lined up plenty of big-name ambassadors but couldn\u2019t get even 30 percent of its initial paying members to renew<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The irony is that many of the companies and leaders behind these failed efforts are no slouches in the mechanics <\/em>of growing an audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CNN has built a global media empire, of course, and The Correspondent\u2019s sister publication in The Netherlands has one of the most successful paid membership programs<\/a> in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even Ozy founder Carlos Watson can plausibly claim to be an expert in media growth, at least of the paid variety<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, these businesses had access to the kind of audience development resources and talent that most news startups could only dream of \u2013 and yet they failed anyway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The takeaway: No amount of marketing savvy, tech wizardry or personal charm can save a news business that doesn\u2019t understand the audience it\u2019s trying to serve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why we\u2019ve decided to start our new content series at LION<\/a> with a focus on knowing your audience and what they need from your news business.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that audience growth is a top priority from LION members, and our hypothesis is that learning how to execute a user survey or conduct interviews with subscribers is a foundational step in that process, paving the way for future growth tactics like referral campaigns and paid marketing to pay off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To kick off this month\u2019s focus on audience research, we talked with The Green Line founder Anita Li and WhereByUs co-founder Rebekah Monson about their lessons from the field. Hear that conversation in the season 2 debut<\/a> of News Guest<\/a>, our podcast offering practical advice about how to build a strong, more sustainable news business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n