The State of 415 Media; Message to my Readers

We have found a niche here.

At last. We've become the go-to place in Bay Area media circles and our traction is off the chart. Not only opinion, but fact. Bragging? Sure, if you want to interpret it that way, go ahead, you're right.

We, (I'm talking in the third person because it sounds more important and superficial), never intended this forum to be that big-to-do. We always figured it to be a mere sounding board, an information den, where those who yearned for 415 Media tidbits and commentary come to and hang out. Little did we know that our readership and following, (beyond the Bay Area), would become so popular. Right on!

Which is to say we're not only on the map, but a prime destination. Like almost everything else, we need more money, (wink) to make this sustainable, but that's coming, probably in some sort of hybrid/donation business model. You may have seen new advertisers? Thank God. Yes, as I said, we're beginning to get noticed. Especially where it counts. 415 Media will always be free, as you've stated loud and clear, but we will never apologize for donations because it takes time to post all of this and time is money. So those of you who have lampooned us for, god forbid, asking for donations, fine. We can handle that. And we don't apologize for without the donations and without advertising, we're done.

We live on donations. We appreciate all those of our loyal readers, our allies, even our detractors, for their donations, but we need more help. Until we get enough advertising and paid subscribers, it's a tough road to get all this done. And once we reach our destination, then we'll be able to operate on a more sustainable basis without asking you all, (albeit on the occasional menu), for donations. In the mean time, we're growing. More readers, more acknowledgement from both the local and national on-line trade publications. Point blank: 415 Media is one of the leading TV/Radio blogs that gets frequent pick-ups by the national trades. Conversely, as we become more visible, we get, not coincidentally, more potential advertisers.

We bring this state of 415 Media up to you all because YOU, our loyal readers, have made this site what it is today. The only daily, 24/7 media blog in the Bay Area. We have now, on average, more than 350,000 monthly page views. We're fast approaching the 4 million mark in our lifetime existence and we just started this site little more than four years ago. That's pretty good. Most importantly, we not only have a loyal, demo-friendly audience of readers, we are read by almost every media professional in the Bay Area; TV/Radio anchors, reporters, editors, directors, salespeople, PR folks, and on and on. And yes, even our doubters, our loyal trolls, our very own haters seem to find a way to navigate here. We appreciate that and always make it a point to invite the loyal opposition to our party. After all, without you folks too, we probably wouldn't be here.

Finally, we want to make this last important point: As much as we like to the business, rant a little, good and bad, make fun of people, (including moi), take shots that sometimes meander into the raw zone, we still strive to make this an ENTERTAINING forum. We don't go out of our way looking to hurt anyone or any specific target unless, of course, we are hit upon. We have the right to dig back and if the situation merits, we can and we will. We not only owe it to ourselves, but the vast amount of loyal people who come here regularly and EXPECT us to reach out and go where NO ONE ELSE dares to go in this town. YOU expect that. And believe me, we will always be there for you because no one in this town executes that card. Damn right, keep us on our toes.

We poke a lot. We break news and get you the information that you'll NEVER get anywhere else. Have you noticed how many stories we've broke recently? Sure, we ain't perfect, but for gods sake, who is? And we operate on a one-trick pony: ME, MYSELF, and I. First person. Chest-thumping insert approved and deserved. And we will always...always go the extra mile to, yes, get it FIRST, but also, GET IT RIGHT FIRST.

And we will go after, faithfully and pulling no punches, the big shots--past, present, who think their entitled to a free ride. We'll go behind the scenes and tell you what they're up to and whether or not they've bullied someone, made false promises, or just dish it out. They are fair game and so am I. Never tried to make friends here, but we do have our fair amount of allies. We will honor them and absorb their love of the 415 Media den. We also make no bones that we have enemies too who use their surrogates to go after us. We challenge these cowards to do the right thing: if you choose to take us to task, even using ad-homonym attacks, then at least have the guts to make yourself KNOWN. We do. And we're consistent. We DO NOT apologize for going after frequent targets who belittle our existence and by extension, insult our own core of readers and friends who make this their go-to zone.

Thanks for reading 415 Media and yes, if you can, help us keep this a mostly reader-supported venue by making a donation, (of any dollar amount), to the PayPal icon on the right side of this blog. We appreciate all your support as we make this site an even better, more expanded, more comprehensive 24/7 news, sports, entertainment avenue for Bay Area media connoisseurs.

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