Analysis of the Community-Based Media Approach to the Startup Media Business

Media startup businesses that target the millennial generation are currently quite popular. IDN Times is an example of a highly visible media company that is focused on the millennial generation. To strengthen its identity as a voice of millennials and Generation Z, the IDN Times formed the IDN Community. The IDN Community has an important role within the IDN Times, so it is seen as key to the IDN Times. This study discusses the reasons media startup businesses use a community-based approach, using the concept of the Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) Paradigm and the Network Society. We use the case study method to present qualitative data. Data is collected in three ways, namely observation, document review, and interviews. The results show the IDN Times uses a community-based approach because the IDN Community provides four benefits: (1) the Community can contribute content to the IDN Times, (3) the Community can provide input to the IDN Times on the latest news about millenials, (3) the Community provides feedback about various developments of the IDN Times, and (4) IDN Community members have the potential to become regular visitors to, and loyal readers of the IDN Times. The IDN Times’ community-based approach is inseparable from its observation that the growing community of networks is due to the development of technology.