As for Mumbrella, it didn’t take ads for the first six months of its existence and had to build traffic to a certain level before companies became interested in advertising. Whether it’s making money, I don’t know. Even UK sites with huge traffic, such as The Guardian, struggle to break even. Good for the consumer, but not for the publisher. The same will apply here.

I don’t think there’s any point jumping head first into online like Emirates Biz has if the revenues aren’t there. That’s why I think the key remains multi-platform for now, until a new, workable and viable business model emerges.

I’m not sure of the UK situation, but the two media/advertising industry rags in Oz, AdNews and B&T both have falling circulation and the excellent website/blog Mumbrella (run by one of those titles ex-editor) has traffic soaring. The content is instant and up to date (not a wek or two old) and the best thing is the comments after each article. It invokes true dialogue – exactly what static media doesn’t.