It's really hard to understand what this comment means, as it boils down to "it's really hard to tell if they want to be the worst of online journalism or a rival for the best of it".
Is there some cue in the writing on this page that suggests that they're hoping to suck?
I see the conclusion I jumped to. You were just saying, "tough to see whether they're launching a tech news site or a global news site".
I hope it's more like the latter!
I think sites like PandoDaily have a problem similar to the one CNN has: they have a mandate to produce more news content than there is to report. In CNN's case it's because they've commandeered a 24/7 cable channel and entered into a ridiculous competition; in the tech/trade press, it's because they've got such a narrow scope --- and again, because they're in what they perceive as a winner-take-all competition with each other.
Is there some cue in the writing on this page that suggests that they're hoping to suck?