Andrew Sullivan leaves Daily Beast for paid content model

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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After stints blogging at Time, the Atlantic, and the Daily Beast, Andrew Sullivan has announced he will be going back out on his own. Starting February 1, he will move to a new paid content model.

In return for purchasing a subscription, Sullivan promises his readers, “No corporate ownership, no advertising demands, no pressure for pageviews … just a concept designed to make your reading experience as good as possible, and to lead us not into temptation.”

For now, Sullivan is offering readers a chance to sign up for $19.99 a year, which he notes, “translates to $1.67 a month.”

Though Sullivan concedes that “no one really knows” whether or not online readers will pay for a blogger’s content, others (like Glenn Beck) have proven that it is at least possible to make money from online subscriptions.

Say what you will about his politics, as a blogger, Sullivan is a visionary. And by maintaining his own brand — and “ownership” of his blog — he has proven that he is a free agent, capable of moving from outlet to outlet without losing his audience.

If anyone can pull it off, it might be Sullivan.

Matt K. Lewis