Today, the Sacramento Bee launched a new niche Web site focusing on California politics. The site, Capitol Alert, is free for the first two weeks, and $499 per year. (No, we didn't forget a decimal point - it's almost five hundred dollars. There are slightly lower-priced options for purchasing multiple registrations.)
Here's part of today's short Sacramento Bee article about the launch:
"The site is designed as a "one-stop shopping place for folks interested in public policy and politics in California," said Bee Executive Editor Rick Rodriguez.
"Capitol Alert will include exclusive political news and commentary, he said. Users will also have access to The Bee's politics and government coverage before it's posted on the paper's main Web site, sacbee.com."
There is a two-week free trial period going on now. (You do have to give a name and e-mail address to get to the trial.)
P.S. Next week, we'll jump off the political journalism trend and focus on innovation in digital media throughout the Newspaper Association of America's 2007 Marketing Conference.