Henry Blodget: New media and old media are “neck and neck” in value

Nonstop handwringing over the supposed demise of old media has missed the real story — the huge amount of value that’s been created in new online content businesses, according to Henry Blodget, CEO and editor of The Business Insider, an online news startup.

In fact, new media companies running the gamut from Google to Gawker Media are now collectively worth $289 billion — nearly as much as the total market value, $296 billion, of traditional media companies like Time Warner, Disney, and News Corp. The two groups are “neck and neck,” said Blodget.

But the bulk of that new-media value lies in Google, not ventures like Huffington Post, Sugar Inc., or Gawker, which resemble traditional content-creating publishers. That’s because, Blodget said, content isn’t king: “Content plus distribution is king.”

Blodget made the observation in opening remarks for Business Insider’s Ignition 2010 conference in New York City this morning. His remarks were accompanied by a slideshow — a visual storytelling format that Blodget has made a staple of his website.

(Note: VentureBeat and Business Insider have a content-sharing agreement.)