1/ Benjamin Day popularized the concept of newspapers selling advertising. This revenue model didn't only change the newspaper industry but is the same model companies like Facebook and Google are using today. Here's how he did it.

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2/ In 1833, Benjamin Day started the newspaper called The Sun in New York City. It would be a newspaper for the masses. Selling for a penny opposed to six cents, the going rate for a newspaper at the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_(New_York_City)

3/ If Benjamin Day sold the newspaper for a penny, he would be selling it at a loss. He would need to figure out another way to make money. He decided to sell advertising.

4/ Advertising wasn't anything new, but most advertising was informational. Benjamin Day wanted to offer the persuasive advertising that we commonly see today. In order to do that, Benjamin Day needed to amass the largest audience possible.

5/ The Sun wrote stories that no one else covered. They hired a full-time court reporter, the first newspaper to ever do this. The Sun also covered the slavery trade in-depth. Something no other newspaper would do. Many of the stories published had sensationalized headlines.

6/ At the end of 1834, The Sun was the most circulated newspaper in New York with over 5,000 readers. Newspaper companies began to adjust to the new model with the New York Herald emerging as The Sun's biggest competitor in 1835.

7/ The Herald would feature sensationalized versions of violent deaths that would occur in the city. People loved it. In less than a year, the circulation was over 7,000 readers drawing nearly even with the Sun's subscriber base.

8/ The new revenue model was born: attract readers with free content and resell their attention with advertising.

9/ No headline was too absurd and in 1835, The Sun wrote a famous headline, "Great Astronomical Discoveries Lately Made". Resulting in what is now known as the Great Moon Hoax. https://www.arilewis.com/aris-posts/what-is-the-cost-of-your-attention

10/ The Great Moon Hoax was about the discovery of life on the moon and the civilization established up there. The moon reportedly had beaches, trees and oceans. There were animals like unicorns, bison and humans with wings.

11/ Despite the story being patently false, the Sun's circulation skyrocketed to over 19,000 readers. It took weeks for people to realize it was a hoax and the newspaper NEVER issued a retraction.

12/ Benjamin Day just didn't change the newspaper industry but changed advertising forever. Facebook, Google and all other ad platforms follow The Sun's Playbook: Capture as much attention as possible and then resell it in the form of ads.

13/ I learned about this from @superwuster's book, "The Attention Merchants". https://www.amazon.com/Attention-Merchants-Scramble-Inside-Heads/dp/0385352018

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