At a time when many publishers are trying to improve comments or else refuse to permit reader participation in the first place, Above the Law — which is a must-read for many lawyers and even judges — continues to let readers be as abrasive as they like. For example, here’s a screenshot of responses to a story by editor Elie Mystal about a scholarship for white people at Columbia:

I spoke this month with Mystal and John Lerner, CEO of Breaking Media (the company that owns Above the Law), to learn more about the site’s comment philosophy and its effect on business strategy.

“If you write on the internet, people will say horrible things about you. We allow them to say it to our faces — if we didn’t, they’d say it on Twitter or Reddit or Tumblr,” said Mystal. “Anyone who wants to write professionally better be prepared for ad hominem, unfair personal criticism. That’s not just part of media in 2013.”

Above the Law’s writers, most of whom are Ivy League law school graduates, are frequent targets of personal vitriol by readers, but Mystal says he still appreciates them.

“Commenters got me my job. Online people voted me in. I remember that when they’re screaming about how I look like a walrus.”

The commenters also serve as a vital part of the site’s overall content and business strategy. Lerner explained that the story comments appear as separate web pages, which allows Above the Law to sell additional ads, and that the site also works with comment platform Disqus to sell sponsored comments on its app. And, contrary to popular wisdom, advertisers aren’t skittish about their brands appearing next to off-color stories (like this one about a lawyer who invoked the First Amendment to excuse “slut-shaming” someone who turned him down) – a quick look shows that most of ATL’s sponsors are big and boring professional firms.

“It’s not like five years ago when a lot of advertisers didn’t know how the internet works,” said Mystal. “They realize there’s horrible comments on the Washington Post too.”

Above the Law readers can flag comments as offensive but that doesn’t mean the editors will respond. The only thing likely to be pulled down is something that offends absolutely everybody — “no one one cares if you’re offended”, says Mystal, adding that moderating each comment would be a full time job.

Ultimately, the no-holds-barred policy is not just simpler for the editors to oversee, but may also offer a more authentic view of humanity than the curated comments of other forums:

“I used to work in a big firm in downtown Manhattan, and there were some racists there. We’re the legal community, and there’s people who hold racist, homophobic views — you’re going to meet people like that. Those people may be your boss.”

(Image by ArTono via Shutterstock)

The company’s signature Above the Law site now has nearly a million monthly readers who enjoy smart legal coverage mixed with crass chatter about sex and salaries. The site’s no-holds barred comment section has also attracted a large and rabid mob of lawyers who make Howard Stern’s fans look genteel in comparison. (Here’s some of the 74 comments posted in response to a recent article on law firm pool parties: )

Behind all this noise, though, is an interesting plan to leverage a valuable audience of professionals that once belonged only to staid trade publications.

paidContent caught up with Breaking Media CEO John Lerner in Soho last month to talk about the trio of sites — Above the Law, DealBreaker and Fashionista — that were founded in 2007 by Gawker’s Elizabeth Spiers. Here’s some takeaways from the conversation:

To connect with a niche audience, don’t just write about them — be them

Lerner says expert writers help drive the sites’ popularity and create a one-of-us sense of community. At Above-the-Law, for instance, nearly all the in-house writers have law degrees, including former US prosecutor David Lat who first started blogging in the guise of a gossipy woman. The writers’ expertise gives them the chops to write about big stories like the fate of health care at the Supreme Court. But most of the site’s most popular stories — like this one about an Illinois attorney arrested for prostitution — are more lurid than legal.

On data-mining your readers

A niche audience is valuable to marketers because it is receptive to their ads. Breaking Media has taken this a step further by also using its readers to produce marketing information. In practice, this might mean running a poll of the site’s readers on behalf of an advertiser.

“Research has become a marketing service for advertising … we have this audience — what info can we get from them?” said Lerner. “This is real time market intelligence in the legal space of the financial space or the business space.”

He says companies can pay to use Above-the-Law’s 850,000 legal readers as  Nielsen-like data to determine things like associate salaries or best places to work. Lerner stressed, however, that “data-mining the audience” does not result in Breaking Media sharing personal data. ”We display pop-up surveys on the site to or users and query them about industry-specific topics.  All of the information collected is anonymous.”

Breaking Media’s foray into market research is consistent with other media companies that are increasingly relying on their editorial product to drive a secondary revenue stream such as events or commerce.

Low technological barriers mean content is king (again)

The spread of high-quality publishing tools, says Lerner, means that sites more than ever have to differentiate themselves by the quality of their editorial product. ”Technology has been commoditized, so it’s about writers again. WordPress does a lot more for a lot less,” says Lerner. As an example, he cites other small New York publishing companies like Curbed, Gothamist and the Awl.

Display is not dead

Despite a rash of new metrics to measure them, the price for display ads continues to tumble. Lerner says he is not concerned. ”Our CPM’s are solid. We think our audience is worth more than anyone else — that’s the name of the game,” he says. “Advertising is great. It’s still a good business as long as the content structure is right.”

Lerner suggests that there will always be a place for sponsored stories and display advertising that complements the main editorial content. “Branding is not dead.”

It’s ok to mix verticals

Breaking Media says it’s profitable, and that its traffic is growing despite  the network having three very different verticals. I asked Lerner about the challenges of overseeing content that ranges from the High Court to high heels. Here’s how he sees it all tie together:

“From a technological standpoint, it’s not that difficult. From a social media standpoint, it’s not that difficult … The model is focused content in each market with people who really understand that content. The frequency and relevancy must be great .. It’s about building a community and dialogue with experts in the field.”

(Image by Emily Sartoski and Kurhan via Shutterstock)