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Publishers Poised For Blog Land Grab

Blogs may be the Web's next big land grab, the financial ratings firm Standard & Poors says in a recent report. They're extremely cheap to run, and the most successful ones reach large, loyal audiences. That's a business model traditional publishers would love to emulate as they crossover to digital media. Not only that, but TechCrunch, GigaOm, Gawker, Boing Boing and the Huffington Post have become major media voices, which makes them attractive takeover targets for major publishers like Dow Jones and The New York Times Company.

Because they attract niche audiences, S&P says that blogs would be a perfect fit for a larger online publisher, which could add to its readership by bringing in a broader audience; both entities would also benefit from cross-promotion.

Moreover, the interactive aspects of blogging are particularly important. Acknowledging this, many big publishers, like the NY Times Digital and WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive, have added blogging tools to their sites. The Post even provides links to other blogs specializing in technology, health, the environment, etc. All of which indicates that publishers are ready to embrace the new trend.

Read the whole story at Standard & Poors »

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