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We’re back! Sort of. We’ve had a mad couple of months at Media Voices HQ, culminating in going to a special Google Local News event, the PPA Festival and running our own Publisher Podcast Forum and Awards all within the space of 48 hours at the end of April.
In this special episode, we spoke to some of the guests at the PPA Festival and also included extracts from some of the sessions exploring what publishers are doing to future-proof audience relationships. Whether it’s a softening ad market or threats from generative AI, publishers have a lot on their plates at the moment. But those who succeed are those who have a strong value exchange with their readers.
The podcast will be back for its next full season on Monday, and this time it’s a special one. Listen out for more on Big Noises and some of the people we’ll be speaking to…
British Vogue releases first ever Braille issue
Produced in collaboration with leading sight loss charity, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the May edition is the first in a year-long campaign where all issues of British Vogue will be available in audio and Braille formats. A brilliant initiative, and it would be great to see more magazines go the whole way with accessibility like this.
magnetic.media/news-views/news/british-vogue-releases-first-ever-braille-issue
Local titles aim to safeguard £40m public notice income with new online portal
The NM has launched the Public Notice Portal, a platform bringing together the numerous planning announcements published by local newspapers. It’s a really interesting project – I first read about it in a release from journalism.co.uk last year – and has been funded by the Google News Initiative as a way of promoting sustainable revenue for local news organisations.
pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/regional-newspapers/public-notice-portal-news-media-association-google
How subscriber-only newsletters help The New York Times boost retention
We talk a lot about how good newsletters are for retention, and the NYT has the funds to be able to experiment. So it’s no surprise that the publisher has ventured successfully into subscriber-only newsletters. I found the emphasis on this piece on how different newsletters can serve different roles in their portfolio especially notable.
wan-ifra.org/2023/05/how-subscriber-only-newsletters-help-the-new-york-times-boost-retention
More from Media Voices
How AI could help publishers prove the value of their journalism
Publishers should be looking for ways to demonstrate the provenance of their journalism, from inception through creation to publishing.
voices.media/premium-provenance-how-ai-could-help-publishers-prove-the-value-of-their-journalism
Buy the Media Voices team a coffee
Last month nearly finished us off, but it was so nice to be able to catch up with many of our industry friends. If you fancy kicking us a virtual coffee, it really helps keep us going.
ko-fi.com/mediavoices
AI in media: myths and misconceptions
Is AI a magic technology that will make all our jobs obsolete? Or will it be the silver bullet that ‘saves’ publishing? Peter Houston takes a look at some of the myths, misconceptions and exaggerations around the use of AI technology in media.
voices.media/ai-in-media-myths-and-misconceptions