January 5, 2013 | Online

Andrew Sullivan proving doubters wrong

Just days ago, Andrew Sullivan announced that he was going to create a queer-friendly political and news blog and would rely solely on membership fees to help fund the endeavor.

Many wondered if this was going to be a profitable move. After all, free news and opinion sites are easily found on the Web. But Sullivan may be on to something.

"Basically, we've gotten a third of a million dollars in 24 hours, with close to 12,000 paid subscribers (at last count)," he wrote on Thursday. "On average, readers paid almost $8 more than we asked for. To say we're thrilled would obscure the depth of our gratitude and relief."

Sullivan had hoped to make just shy of a million dollars over the year to cover the costs of the new venture. "If our goal was an annual income of somewhere around $900K (we erred on the safe side), we have gotten a third of the way there in 24 hours, which is why we're all somewhat gob-smacked," he said.

But will this support continue? Time will tell.