MSNBC.com survives, thrives despite trouble between parents
As Microsoft and NBC try to ditch their 99-year MSNBC cable deal, the bright spot is their joint Web venture, which tops the charts and sports a user-oriented redesign. The honcho of MSNBC.com tells us how they did it.
By Mark Glaser
Posted: 2005-06-28
Charlie Tillinghast
You always wonder about that kid who always has a smile on her face and a laugh, even though her home life is a wreck and her parents are constantly warring. How does she do it?
The same thought crossed my mind when considering MSNBC.com, a Web site birthed by the promise of combining technology and journalism some nine years ago. Now, the site has a laundry list of what executives would call, um, challenges: Microsoft and NBC Universal have been trying to get out of their TV joint venture for more than a year; the MSN portal's traffic growth and vision have lapsed; and four key people -- including the president and editor-in-chief of MSNBC.com -- have exited.
Still, the site has a lot to smile about. Despite the loss of talent, the site was named Best Journalism Site by the National Press Club for the second straight year and nabbed an EPpy Award for Best Overall TV Site over rival CNN.com and ESPN.com. Despite traffic falling off at MSN.com over the past year, MSNBC.com has boosted its traffic by 12 percent to lead CNN.com for the past three months. And MSNBC.com's new redesign adds a unique recommendation engine that highlights similar stories depending on what articles you've viewed before.
"There's no doubt they're still in the game despite Yahoo's advances," said former founding editor of MSNBC.com Merrill Brown, now a consultant and head of the News21 initiative. "Their cable partner hasn't been doing so well, and their network TV partner -- which was always the highest priority when I was there -- has a variety of management challenges as well. If NBC got running on all cylinders, if MSN clarified where it was going, if they got some strong dynamic new management into MSNBC.com, I think the opportunity remains. But it has some issues right now and it feels a little funky."
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