Pharmalot – A Model for the Future?

How a newspaper blog became profitable

Ed Silverman (whose head is pictured above) was a graduate of NYU’s journalism school and then went to work for the Newark Star Ledger covering the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmaceuticals are a big business in New Jersey, and in a very short time, Ed became something of an expert in the pharam world.

John Hassell, who was managing the online part of the Newark Star Ledger, and who we got to know when we took the paper into video, gave Silverman his own blog – Pharmalot

Pharmalot became a very successful blog according to Hassell, and Silverman soon became one of the best informed and most trusted (and most widely read) bloggers in the pharam industry – not just in New Jersey, but worldwide.

Now, it is no secret that newspapers are in trouble, and the Newark Star Ledger was no exception.

But while newspapers (and now magazines) may be in trouble, journalism is not, and neither are journalists if they know how to leverage off of their talents.  Ed Silverman was one journalist who knew how to do just that.

Enter Paul Conley

Conley is also a blogger, and one with a specialized field. He blogs about trade journalism.  And in 2008, Conley picked up on Silverman’s success:

The reporter behind Pharmalot is Ed Silverman, who has covered pharmaceuticals for 12 years for the local newspaper (northern New Jersey is filled with pharmaceutical firms.) The basic concept behind Pharmalot is that in the course of working his beat, Ed was already accumulating enough news to compete with any national publication in the space. So by moving to a blog platform, he was able to expand both his coverage and reach nationally.

Then, Conley made a very prescient prediction:

More importantly, it won’t be long before other newspapers realize there’s potential (and some easy money) in duplicating the Pharmalot model. There are thousands of business reporters covering hundreds of beats at newspapers across the country. And odds are there’s at least one who would pose a competitive threat to any B2B publication you could name.

Well, the newspapers never really got around to figuring out the true value of Pharmalot, but Ed Silverman did. Last month Canon Communications bought Silverman’s blog and hired Silverman:

As part of the acquisition, Pharmalot’s founder, Ed Silverman, will join Canon as an Editor at Large in the Pharmaceutical Media Group and will continue as Pharmalot’s Editor. In addition to helping spearhead further development of Canon’s digital assets, including webcasts and podcasts, Silverman will also contribute to all of Canon’s pharma properties, including MedAd News and R&D Directions.

When the Star Ledger began its massive and unfortunate but necessary cutbacks, Silverman took the risk and went out on his own.

It turns out to have been a very good decision.

The value of a newspaper or a magazine or even a TV news operation is only the sum value of its journalists. There was a time when good journalists had no option but to go to work for a large institution. Printing presses were too expensive. Today, that is no longer the case, and a good journalist with a solid knowledge of a topic that is in demand may, in many cases, be of far more value outside the institution than within.

About the author

mrosenblum - For more than 20 years, Mr. Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital ‘videojournalist’ revolution. During this time, he has lead a drive for videoliteracy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled. His work has included: The complete transitioning of The BBC's national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in 2002. The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United State’s Government’s broadcasting agency, (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the ‘VJ” paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the US. Rosenblum was both the founder and President of NYT TV, (all based on the “VJ” paradigm – 1996-1998). The President and Founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven newsgathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world. (1993-1996).