This week, Immediate Media’s Product Director Laura Jenner talks to us about drawing together the needs of different teams across a publishing business, how the roles and responsibilities of a product manager evolve in such a rapidly changing industry, and why the relationship between product and editorial is so important. She also shares her one piece of advice for other product managers in publishing.
New Year Special: What does 2019 hold for media?
In this episode Chris and Esther are joined by Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism at the University of Oregon, to discuss what lessons from 2018 they want to see applied in the new year. The discussion takes in print, digital, memberships, audio, KFC, Japan, cat gifs, vegan sausage rolls, and much more.
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AOP MD Richard Reeves on supporting publishers online
This week, Richard Reeves, the Managing Director of the UK’s Association of Online Publishers (AOP) talks to us about the progress on their Ad Quality Charter, what the lack of barrier to entry to publishing online means for premium online publishers, and how Facebook and Google engage with the association’s member publishers. He also explains what he made of Jonah Peretti’s suggestion for a mega-merger of online publishers.
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WIRED UK Senior Editor Victoria Turk on building out brand extensions
This week, Victoria Turk, Senior Editor at WIRED UK talks to us about all the work they’re doing on their brand extensions, from their flagship WIRED Live event to the WIRED World Special 2019 and their weekly podcast. She also discusses what they do to stand out in a crowded market, how the print and digital teams have evolved, and the many skills you now need to get ahead in journalism.
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Trint founder Jeff Kofman on why journalists should be entrepreneurs
This week we hear from Jeff Kofman, founder and CEO of Trint, about the dark abyss of transcription, whether Google and Facebook are serious about funding journalism, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media.
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Media Moments 2018: A report from What’s New in Publishing and Media Voices
We’re really pleased to announce that we’ve launched our first report for What’s New in Publishing! Media Moments 2018 explores seven key areas which have influenced the media and publishing industry this year, from reader revenue and platforms to advertising and data. It finishes with a look at some of the key opportunities for 2019.
Each section gives an overview of the media moments which have defined the past year, along with a look at where we are now, what we can expect to happen next year, and case studies of publishers and brands who have made their mark, for better or worse.
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Popbitch co-founder Camilla Wright on creating a niche in the celebrity gossip market
This week we hear from Popbitch co-founder Camilla Wright about the origins of the influential celebrity gossip site, whether celebs ever try to plant stories about themselves, and the romanticism of clandestine meetings in dark pubs.
Skift CEO Rafat Ali on paid content and the perils of VC funding
This week we hear from Rafat Ali, co-founder and CEO of boutique travel publisher Skift. We spoke about what connects the dots between paid content, travel, dining and wellness, his belief in trendlines not headlines, his long-term aspirations for Skift vs short-term VC plays, and why he wants to be useless to his business.
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How Women’s Health is defying circulation decline in women’s magazines
The women’s magazine ABCs are rarely a pleasant read for magazine aficionados. But one magazine stands out from the rest as having shown consistent circulation growth, as well as managing to increase its revenue for the sixth consecutive year.
We spoke to Women’s Health editor in chief Claire Sanderson on the podcast this week about some of the reasons behind the magazine’s growth, at a time when similar titles are seeing double-digit falls in circulation, and a few have folded entirely.
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Women’s Health editor in chief Claire Sanderson on defying circulation trends
This week, Claire Sanderson, the editor in chief of Women’s Health (UK) talks about the magazine’s circulation growth, why they love working with influencers, and how mental health has become such a vital part of overall wellness. She also explains how integrating the print and digital teams helps them to drive audiences between both platforms, and why VR will be a huge part of health and fitness in the future.
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Flipboard Head of Growth Claus Enevoldsen on growing a platform that works for publishers
This week, Claus Enevoldsen, Head of Growth for news aggregation platform Flipboard, talks about being a technology company with media values, how their human-led algorithms work to surface quality content, and why now is the perfect time for a platform like Flipboard. He also dives into the reasons behind their rise in both users and referral traffic over the past year.
‘We only succeed if publishers succeed’: How Flipboard is growing a platform that works for publishers
It was with some surprise that I read about the figures a few weeks ago revealing that Flipboard had taken fourth place, behind Google, Facebook and Twitter, for referral traffic to publishers, sliding just ahead of Google News. Even more surprising was how tight this race now was. It changes day by day, but today for example, Flipboard provides 1.9% of referral traffic, with Twitter at 1.8% and Google News at 1.7%.
Flipboard hasn’t been high up the priority list for publishers for a number of years now. But when I spoke to Claus Enevoldsen on this week’s episode of the podcast, he said that “This is the right time for Flipboard. We truly believe that our time has come.”
Foul Play magazine’s Grace Harrison on what mainstream titles can learn from indies
This week we hear from Grace Harrison, founder of true crime magazine Foul Play on managing a magazine as a side hustle, what mainstream titles can learn from independents, and what makes Foul Play an altogether classier type of true crime title.
Time Out Group CEO Julio Bruno on growing diverse revenue streams
This week, Julio Bruno, CEO at Time Out Group talks about the brand reaching a milestone 50th birthday, the growth of their different revenue streams, and how they stay true to the Time Out brand across 315 cities. He also explains why the print magazine is still a vital part of the business, and how their unique approach to Time Out Markets is their biggest opportunity next year.
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DC Thomson’s Sally Hampton on why magazines have a bright future
This week, Sally Hampton, Consumer Magazines Publisher at DC Thomson talks about how she manages such a wide range of magazines, the biggest shifts she’s seen in print publishing, and a surprising new growth opportunity for niche Scottish titles. She also explains why she’s so optimistic about the future of magazine media.
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How publishers are navigating the perilous path to diversification
Chris Sutcliffe looks at how and why publishers are working so hard to diversify their revenue streams, for Digital Content Next.
Many quality publishers are navigating the “valley of death” on their migration from an advertising-funded model to one more reliant on direct reader revenue. It’s not a journey that they’ll all survive. But publishers are being driven by the realization that solely ad-funded models won’t work in the age of platform intermediaries and tech giants, which control both content distribution and advertising revenue. However, for publications with a loyal, engaged audience, the journey is worth the risk.
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Media Voices Live: What’s the future for free?
In this very special live episode of Media Voices the team discuss the future of free media in front of an audience at Magfest ’18, the UK’s premiere magazine-focused event. On stage in the far-flung city of Edinburgh, the team are joined by Mike Soutar, chairman of ShortList Media Limited, and Radio Times Editor Mark Frith to discuss the fate of free magazines.
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Lessons in reducing churn from some of the world’s biggest publishers
Chris Sutcliffe explores strategies global publishers are employing to reduce churn in his latest piece for What’s New in Publishing.
The era of untrammelled growth in digital news subscriptions might be over before it truly began. Despite the high-profile successes of The Times, the NYT and The Washington Post among others, the needle hasn’t significantly moved when it comes to the number of people who are willing to pay for a digital news subscription. The latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report found that only single-digit proportions of people said they would subscribe to a digital news source.
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Lucy Kueng on how Silicon Valley has changed journalism
This episode, we hear from Lucy Kueng. She’s one of the go-to names for macro and micro industry analysis, a Google Digital News Senior Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and has a tonne of other roles in the industry that allow her to see the bigger picture. We spoke about journalism’s perverse relationship with Silicon Valley, whether publications can make it across the Valley of Death, and how external pressures change internal newsroom structure.
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Is advertising more hassle than it’s worth?
Digital advertising has never delivered on its potential for publishers. Crowded ecosystems, a break in the value chain between creator and audience, and the prioritisation of direct reader revenue all demand the question ‘is advertising more hassle than it’s worth?’
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