Friends, Partners & Co: A Sustainable Model for the Media?

Abstract

The emergence of active prosumers redefined what we used to understand in terms of media proposals. Through Eliseo Verón’s concept of reading contract, Pierre Levy’s idea of collective intelligence and different ideas around fan cultures (proposed by Henry Jenkins and Carlos Scolari), this paper would like to present the analysis of a case study that challenges the old concepts regarding publishing and media: Orsai, nadie en el medio. Originally a blog, Orsai became a high quality paper magazine with no advertising in 2011 and later, a publishing house. They launched new magazine in February 2014, Bonsai. The hypothesis proposes that they have understood how to establish a meaningful bond with these new audiences; it is such a strong bond that inspires loyalty beyond reason. The readers want to become part of the project, and they are willing to invest in it (both economically and emotionally). This is related to the other economies that Jenkins talks about in his recent book Spreadable Media. This research is going to reflect on an (alternative) model for media in the 21st century, based upon Orsai’s experience, and also mention some other examples of flexible models, similar to this one.