The narrative that local news is dead is widely accepted in the media industry. The rise of digital advertising has cut off the main source of revenue for organisations that cover local news,...
The year in subscriptions: Platforms and publishers benefitted from steady growth in consumers paying for content
2020 saw many publishers enjoy Covid-induced waves of new subscribers. But as life slowly returns to normal, attention is now turning to clever retention tactics. Esther Kezia Thorpe rounds up...
The year in data and privacy: As tech giants rocked the industry, publishers laid the foundations for their own strategies
Chrome’s cookie delay has been a welcome respite for an industry under pressure. But with no viable replacements on the horizon, publishers wasted no time doubling down on their first-party...
As platforms roll out paid podcast infrastructure, audio subscriptions become a reality for publishers
Paid podcast subscriptions add another layer of complexity to an already cluttered landscape. But with the platforms resolved to simplify the experience, the promise of subscriber revenue from...
Billion dollar valuations and ambitious projections shaped M&A in 2021. But will the hype last?
For an industry frequently cited as struggling, the sale figures of some of this year's headline media acquisitions have painted quite a different picture. But some of the acquired companies...
Transcript: Tara Lajumoke, MD, FT Strategies
Esther Kezia-Thorpe
Esther Kezia-Thorpe: What has the company been focused on in the two years since its launch?
Tara...
FT Strategies MD Tara Lajumoke on building a robust playbook for subscription businesses
This week we hear from Tara Lajumoke, Managing Director of FT Strategies, the Financial Times' consulting firm. We discussed how FT Strategies fits into the FT's wider goals, what her role...
The Independent US Senior Vice President Blair Tapper on shaping the news brand overseas
This week, we hear from Blair Tapper, Senior Vice President at The Independent US. She talks about what her priorities have been since the brand's US launch, what an Independent reader looks like...
The Great Privacy Reset: Insider Inc, Future plc and Permutive discuss the challenges and opportunities for publishers
In this special Conversations episode of Media Voices, sponsored by Permutive, we explore the 'Great Privacy Reset'.
The tension between advertising and privacy...
How Immediate Media is growing seven-figure revenues around webinars and podcasts
Immediate Media is one of the publishers that did very well out of the pandemic. They saw huge subscription boosts to their brands, many of which were focused...
Facebook’s obsession with youth is misplaced. The key to success is in their aging user base
Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement last week that he would be pivoting all Facebook’s future efforts to focus on the youth was tinged with panic at their aging user...
What we’ve learned from publishing 200 podcast episodes
We’re celebrating a milestone this week: Media Voices’ 200th podcast episode. So almost five years after publishing our first episode, here are ten things...
Transcript: Duncan Tickell, Chief Revenue Officer, Immediate Media
Esther Kezia-Thorpe
Esther Kezia Thorpe: How did the role of Chief Revenue Officer come about last year?
Duncan Tickell: First and foremost, it...
Immediate Media Chief Revenue Officer Duncan Tickell on strengthening brands post-pandemic
This week for our 200th episode, we hear from Duncan Tickell, Chief Revenue Officer at Immediate Media. He talks about why he rejoined Immediate and what his focus is now with diversification, how...
Transcript: Kaya Yurieff, Reporter, The Information
Esther Kezia-Thorpe
Esther Kezia-Thorpe: So what do you do, and what is a creator?
Kaya Yurieff: So I write a newsletter Monday through...
The Information Reporter Kaya Yurieff on covering the sprawling creator economy
This week we hear from Kaya Yurieff, The Information's Creator Economy Reporter. We talked about how she covers an industry that is so new and sprawling, some of the challenges of being a creator,...
“The demand is definitely there”: How Social Spider is making local news commercially viable
Local news is under more pressure than ever. But as Covid has demonstrated, having local sources of information is vital both for keeping communities connected and...
Terri White on the conflict between parenting and the ‘best job in the world’ at EMPIRE magazine
“The reality is, if I hadn’t have had my baby, I would still be editing EMPIRE now,” Terri White tells us in the latest episode of Media Voices. “And that’s a hard pill for me to...
“We jumped from 2020 to 2023 in a weekend:” Bauer UK CEO Chris Duncan on building subscriptions through a crisis
A revenue drop of 80% and staff scattered to the four winds isn’t what you want to be dealing with in your first week at a new company. But this is the situation...
Transcript: Marcela Kunova, Editor, Journalism.co.uk
Interviewer: Esther Kezia Thorpe
Esther Kezia Thorpe: Where did you come up with the idea for journalism.co.uk?
Marcela Kunova: Well, the idea...