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.
In the news roundup we discuss whether the sale of Mic heralds the end of new media hopes, Glamour US going online online, DMGT’s latest results, and whether there’s any stopping the relentless rise of Stories.
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In our own words: Esther Kezia Thorpe
WIRED have always been seen as one of those brands who are pushing the boundaries of publishing. They’ve had some of the coolest magazine covers on the stand – I can remember from my time doing digital editions that theirs was always the envy of the digital newsstand.
But what WIRED UK seem to be doing now is really doubling down on what they know works. It’s difficult to say that without making it sound like a negative thing, but given the spate of closures over the past few weeks, it’s honestly good for the brand. They’ve really focused their events strategy, so rather than doing a lot of smaller events, the team have brought it together into a big WIRED Smarter conference. And rather than farting around with creating video series with no clear monetisation plan, they’ve chosen instead to focus their efforts on the podcast, which has reaped rewards in terms of audience engagement. Not that they don’t frequently dabble in video, but only where and when it’s relevant.
This in turn leads to challenges on the editorial side. Victoria’s take on this was fascinating; that being an editor is no longer about just ‘getting on with writing’. She’s attracted to the variety, to be able to set conference agendas one minute and jump on the podcast the next, all whilst working across both the print and digital sides of the publication.
But as she points out, at a base level, all the skills you acquire as a writer are similar to those needed when you’re podcasting, making videos or putting together a talk.
“The real skills that you need are finding good stories, being a good reporter, having that editorial perspective, and that applies regardless of what you’re doing, whether it’s a live event, whether it’s a feature story, or whether it’s a video.”
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