Making Media
Episode 55 A 30,000 Foot View of Niche Media Businesses
Making Media

Episode 55: A 30,000 Foot View of Niche Media Businesses

Making Media

Episode 55

A 30,000 Foot View of Niche Media Businesses

Jon Ostrower is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Air Current. We cover his move from Politics to Aviation Journalism, why he chose a subscription business model, and how he built a team of quality media operators.

(00:00) Welcome to Making Media

(02:35) First Question - John's Journey into Aviation Journalism

(03:44) The Miracle of Flight and the Aerospace Industry

(05:12) John's Early Career and the Birth of His Blog

(06:39) The Evolution of The Air Current

(10:24) The Importance of Quality Content and Audience Engagement

(16:05) The Challenges and Triumphs of Scaling a Media Business

(23:00) The Role of Passion and Expertise in Media Success

(29:25) The Importance of Owning Your Platform

(33:47) The Future of The Air Current and Closing Thoughts

(38:16) Debrief

 

A 30,000 Foot View of Niche Media Businesses

Introduction

Dom
Welcome back to Making Media. Our guest today is the preeminent aviation journalist, Jon Ostrower. Jon is the Founder and Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, which he started in 2018. It's an independent subscription media business focused on the global aerospace and aviation industries. I'd like to think of it as the Stratechery of the skies, if you're familiar with the work of the excellent tech analyst, Ben Thompson.

Jon started blogging about the airline industry as a 22-year-old while working in politics, but he quickly became consumed by his passion and went on to work for FlightGlobal, The Wall Street Journal and CNN before striking off to build his own media business. Matt and I love meeting people who are thoughtful about the business model around media as they are passionate about creating content itself.

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