Solano Media LLC, the parent company of The Desk, has launched a new storytelling platform called Multicast News that aims to cover the convergence of the broadcasting, pay television and streaming video industries with facts-first, solutions-oriented journalism and analysis.
In a note on Monday, The Desk publisher Matthew Keys said the goal of Multicast News is to cover the best practices and ideas of the various products and services that are influencing the video industry today, in a way that doesn’t categorize things across “winners” or “losers” of any “war,” but rather through the perspective of the industry as an ecosystem where all parts benefit each other.
Multicast News is rooted in the idea that, all too often, the publications that cover media — and, in particular, the video industry — are too quick to write off platforms, products and ideas that shut down or otherwise don’t pan out as “failures,” rather than viewing them as ahead of their time. Some publications are also too quick to cast platforms or services with large audiences or revenues as “successes” or “winners.” Viewed through a different lens, all parts contribute equally and beneficially to the industry, he wrote.
“The things that work today, may not in the future; the things that didn’t work yesterday, may work tomorrow,” Keys wrote. “Those elements, and the various players in the industry, keep the entire ecosystem alive, and helps it move forward. Those are the harder stories to write. But I believe they are the better ones.”
Multicast News is built on the newsletter platform Substack, with a $7.50 per month price. Keys wrote that charging for access to Multicast News will allow that publication to experiment in ways The Desk cannot, to include producing video interviews, podcasts, live blogs and other forms of perspective-based storytelling.
The Desk will remain free to read, supported through advertisements, and continue to offer facts-first journalism on issues and events pertaining to the broader media industry. That includes non-video industries like audio, radio, print publications and social media, and non-business stories like those involving government regulators, policy or legal issues.
To learn more about Multicast News, or to subscribe, click or tap here.
