Two Websites, Two Revenue Streams

When the Globe split up its web properties in two last fall, launching BostonGlobe.com alongside its mainstay Boston.com, most of the attention they received was about how sleek and easy the new site is to read (it is quite lovely) and whether the paywall would work. Boston.com, meanwhile, got little afterthought; without all the big news stories, it seemed to be left to its fate as the place where all of the photo galleries and other linkbait would reside. But the Neiman Journalism Lab recently checked in with the Globe, and says that the split has allowed the paper “double down” on their efforts to make Boston.com an information hub, and explore opportunities to develop new revenue streams:

Making BostonGlobe.com the primary home for newspaper-style journalism and reporting has left Boston.com to further explore its role as a pageview-hungry website — one that can try out revenue ideas that some newspaper brands might not be okay with, just as it presents a mix of content that wouldn’t be a perfect fit for the more serious BostonGlobe.com.

They’ve already added Groupon-style deals, and just recently launched a sports ticketing site as well, which they’re promoting at the bottom of the articles previewing the games. The Lab asked them about seeking a balance between being a commercial site and a journalistic outlet, and Globe webfolk said they struggled with it, and are still looking for the best way to serve their users without throwing ethics out the window. They may be working out the kinks, but so far, the divide and conquer plan seems to be working.