"Think graphic shark attacks and Ellie-Jean Coffey nudes."
Stab magazine announced today that Covid-19 has forced the hand and it will be going behind a paywall. Per the lengthy missive from Sam McIntosh:
Stab going to a subscription is something we’ve talked about for some time, but when Covid rolled into town, 10 years happened in 10 months and our hand was forced. Google and Facebook take 60 to 70 percent of all digital marketing spend and we expect that percentage to grow. The sun has passed midday for ad-supported media. For those left it will be a race to the bottom, and speaking from experience, when you’re chasing clicks, you get lost in the outrageous and contagious. Think graphic shark attacks and Ellie-Jean Coffey nudes.
Outrageous and contagious.
The new anti-depressive.
But back to the news at hand. How does it make you feel? What does it make you think? A bold move or ill-advised? Apparently there will be some news etc. accessible for free but all films, longer journalism pieces, will be OnlyFans. Will you crack your wallet for the best of Ashton Goggans or take your business to Unboxing with Koa Smith?
I’ve so enjoyed trying to re-create the yellow journalism wars between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, with Stab as foil, over these past years. I think the Stab crew did not have the same historical perspective and, therefore, did not have fun but glory days nonetheless.
Well, the end of an era I suppose.
Back to searching for outrage and contagion.
Got anything for me?
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I kind of feel like this is like the time my old roommate’s girlfriend made fun of my baja blanket hoodie. Yeah, she was mostly a drunken fool who had no room to talk, but she kind of had a valid point.
As long as he’s not being a total pest I really don’t care.
Multiple accounts is a pretty sad space to occupy, ultimately you’re having conversations with yourself.
Oh I think everyone gets paid.
You should definitely change BGs motto to “Outrageous and Contagious”. Would be rude not too.
Haa still cooler than most of us dip shit commentators
sounds like you have an axe to grind! socialist!
Ken Hell. Self dep props to Charles. Black eyed Artist. 🕵️👍🏼
Dream on stabmag, charging for reguratated content ? I’d pay to watch Ashton slappy fight Chas in a rematch potentially though.
If not for Beach Grit, I would have never known about Stab’s foolish, sad, and desperate last-ditch hail-mary to be relevant… Chas, Derek, Longtom, etc. please let us know (on a slow surf journalism day) when Stab goes under and Ashton sends you his resume and apology note and new pair of shades to Chas…
Oh he doesn’t need to! They never broke!
$10 a month? More chance of me subscribing to onlyfans.
Hardly ever checked it when it was free and no point in paying for it now. Stab going the way of the WSL..
And on a larger note: Surfer mag gone, WSL – amateur hour, major brands gone, near bankrupt or bought out by non-surfing entities. I sense a vacuum, Chas, it’s time for a coup d’etat.
They made quite the song and dance about hiring a Woman awhile back.
I don’t even pay for porn, too much good stuff is free.
I have nothing to add regarding Stab.
But goddamn that screengrab of Chas post-bitch slap needs to be nominated for a goddamn Pulitzer. I could just sit here and look at it all day!
Sending you my number now Jen
The pivot from VP commodore driving, XXXX swilling, front traction padded black board air lord to the acai grinding, modern day pay pal surfer, may be the new “Search” for the online Surfing World utopia. Hopefully the new site model is bundled with loss leading referral opportunities to wellness and skincare guides, education on yoga in cool climates tips and tricks, and studio advice on acceptable sticker placement. If VW could come onboard as a paid back link, possibilities of car car products could even be explored. Photographers and videographers world wide must be frothing at the bit as the new pinnacle becomes steeper and more challenging. The future of surfing is looking free
We have more chance of influencing government to install more drum lines by them showing a million clicks on a BG story than me spending a million hours lobbying the head in the sand bureaucrats or a 1000 000 dollar scientific study on shark numbers.
Will Mikey C be welcomed back to BeachGrit when this shit inevitably fails?
MC might be the one good thing at Stab. Note – might be.
He seemed pretty cool on the vids they did for/with vans last year in Hawaii. Seems like he has a sense of humour unlike angry goggles.
Midgets need love too?
of my many internal reactions to this silly news, that too was in my top-10 thoughts, just one above, “wait, there are people who still click on Stab?”
Remember when Long Tom went to subscriptions?
Valiant try.
epic fail.
but I’m very proud of the writers who I managed to publish.
brought a teary eye to an old hipp
That is quite an oversight (says the father of three daughters).