The online-only Daily Memphian is a good example of what a fledgling news startup can achieve in a barren media landscape – and the kind of success that the recently announced iteration of the Nashville Banner hopes to someday match.

The Daily Memphian, launched in September 2018 to compete with the Gannett-owned Commercial Appeal, relies on a subscriber model to build its readership. A recent NiemanLab article reports the Daily Memphian has 11,600 subscribers who pay $10.99 monthly (it started at $7) or $99 annually.

Non-subscribers are limited to three views per month, though readers at schools and libraries have greater access.

Meanwhile, the Banner – scheduled to launch later this year – is a membership-based business model seeking both public and private donations to meet expenses. Non-members will have access to content.

“It’s a different approach, sure. I mean, they’re not the exact same thing, and I don’t know that they have to be or should be,” says Eric Barnes, CEO of the Daily Memphian and publisher/CEO of the Nashville Ledger, Knoxville Ledger, Hamilton County Herald and Memphis Daily News. The Memphian is a 501(c)(3) and operates independently of the for-profit Ledgers, Herald and News.

“If you look around the country, there are a lot of online startups trying to fill gaps and created by the consolidation and cutbacks of big chains like Gannett, Gatehouse, Tribune and McClatchy. They (Nashville Banner) know their market better than I do and they’re trying to find the right way.”

Barnes supports the efforts by Steve Cavendish and Demetria Kalodimos to fill a media void in Nashville and compared the subscriber/membership business models.

“If you do something truly local that’s very much of and about and in touch with your city, then there are readers out there who will respond,” Barnes says. “We exceeded our goals for traffic, for paid subscriptions dramatically in the first year because people really wanted something that was really in touch with Memphis. I think they have a chance to do that in Nashville.

“A lot of people have been very successful with membership. For us, we decided to launch with such a big newsroom and such a big staff that we wanted and needed to require people to pay from Day One. You get three free and there’s free access at libraries and schools; there’s free access available.

“But for most people, in order to support what we’re trying to do, we wanted to require people to pay. But I don’t have any problem with the membership model and I think everybody is trying to figure it out. And I don’t think anyone should presume to have the right answer.”

As for challenges the Memphis group faced, technology and growth were the biggest.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Barnes says. “The technology … particularly in terms for us, the paywall technology subscriber system that we use. There just isn’t a great system out there.

“One challenge for us was that the expectations on us were even higher than we expected,” Barnes adds. “We launched with the newsroom around 25 and realized right away people were beyond happy, really happy with that – but they wanted even more from us.

“So we ended up adding nine or 10 people over the course of the first year. We exceeded our expectations in terms of both readership and subscription. But also with that came an expectation of even more coverage. That was definitely a challenge but it was a good challenge.”

Barnes says that Kalodimos and Cavendish have one advantage that the Daily Memphian didn’t – the immediate name recognition of the Nashville Banner.

“That’s a great, much-loved brand. It comes with certain expectations, probably, so I imagine some people will in a very, very detailed way will want to compare the new Nashville Banner to the old one,” Barnes says. “Overall, it’s a great advantage to have as they get started.”