[lbo-talk] sketching an "anti-economist"

[J Cullen]

>  >
>>  When we started The Progressive Populist 12 years ago the Web was in
>>  its infancy.  We started it as a monthly tabloid in 1995 with less
>>  than $60,000 in capital and switched to twice-monthly in 1999, but I
>>  didn't draw a salary for seven years. (We expected it to be
>>  profitable within two years.)  We had one advantage, that my brothers
>>  operate a twice-weekly newspaper in northwest Iowa so they were able
>>  to handle the printing and circulation, so we maintained low overhead.
>>  <snip>
>>
>>  As for how much it would cost to do it right, I agree with Doug that
>>  $750,000 to $1 million a year would get a new publication started.
>>  Building circulation is painfully slow, and you would not get the
>>  serious attention of advertisers probably until you were over 300,000
>>  circulation, but if the AFL-CIO would just let you send it to its
>>  members for the first couple years, you could claim a circulation
>>  base up to 15 million.  That would be the third-largest magazine in
>>  the country, behind the AARP publications.  It would cost a lot to
>>  print and mail each issue to millions of people, but you ought to be
>>  able to sell ads to pay the bills with that kind of base.
>
>
>Very interesting. Thanks, Jim.
>
>Pointing to the AFL-CIO is especially intriguing. I just don't know if they
>could get away with turning people like us loose. But maybe they could, if
>we're targeting what I think we're targeting.
>
>j

United Auto Workers under Steve Yokich was interested in developing 
left media and started a magazine, the National News Reporter, about 
the time we started the Populist.  I don't know what, if any, appeal 
they made to the UAW membership, but the magazine folded after a few 
years.  UAW also operated a radio network from the late 1990s until 
2004, shortly before Air America went on the air.  By that time, I 
think new UAW President Ron Gettelfinger was just trying to cut 
losses.  So the UAW and other unions might be gunshy about putting 
any more money in progressive media but they might let a 
labor-friendly mag with the right backers use their membership for 
controlled circulation.