Still, Meghan McCain helped drive traffic to the Beast when she picked a fight with Ann Coulter that went on for a few days after Coulter called McCain "plus-sized." And Liza Gates (daughter of Henry Louis Jr.) filed a piece from inside the White House "beer summit."
Work in progress
In the rush to grab a piece of a hot story (and eyeballs), some efforts feel like empty calories rather than nourishing takes on the news. Headlines frequently oversell stories. "Will Chelsea Convert?" was a recent story about Clinton's engagement to her Jewish boyfriend. Neither the author nor anyone he interviewed had the slightest idea.
But that's to be expected in a business where page views conquer all. "Anyone who says we're not a slave to the numbers is a fool," said Doppelt.
Beast Books, Brown's venture with Perseus, has already promised more than it has delivered. The release of the first book, "Attack of the Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America," by political commentator John P. Avlon, slated for publication in December will be released March 2.
Diller scoffed when asked to confirm that he is plowing the widely reported figure of $18 million over three years into the Beast.
"These figures are silly," he said. "I don't know where they come from." His investment in the venture, he added, "is not material to this company." As for a timeline for profitability, Diller said, "I have no idea whatsoever; hopefully, in my lifetime."
Diller hopes the Daily Beast will be able to create value for display advertising in an era of low rates, banner fatigue and too much product.
"What you have to try to attempt to do is try to create premium advertising for what is a differentiated -- I would argue premium -- product," said Diller. "That hasn't been attempted. We are trying to do it; it will take us time."
He pointed hopefully to a beautifully photographed Daily Beast campaign for the luxury goods maker Bottega Venetta. Its several elements included a "sponsored" story about the mark's designer, product photos that wrap around editorial columns and a Bottega Venetta "micro-site" that can be clicked to. Diller wouldn't say how much Bottega Venetta paid, only that it is paying "a greater rate" than display ads normally command. "The rate for premium advertising will develop over time," he said.
Henry Copeland, chief executive of Blogads, which sells ads for popular sites such as PerezHilton and DailyKos and has incorporated Twitter in campaigns, doesn't think the Daily Beast has hit upon anything original yet. "I am a fan of Tina Brown," said Copeland. "But they're just pushing around pixels on the page. Nothing they are doing is radical."
Fewer boos
If the Daily Beast succeeds, it's good news for all beleaguered old-media types.
Which is why even people who used to love to hate Brown are now rooting for her success.
"You get tired of whipping the same old horse," said media critic Michael Wolff, founder of Newser.com and once a caustic Brown antagonist. "I like her site. I could not afford to do what she is doing, but I believe somebody has to be doing it."
For Tina Brown, there isn't much of a downside to professional risk anymore.
"One of the the great things about having had something that didn't work out," she said, "is: So what? I am fine."
