A weekly podcast and newsletter profiling the people and products powering publishing.
Episodes
3 days ago
3 days ago
In this bonus episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, Chris Sutcliffe, Esther Thorpe and Peter Houston take a look at what’s happened in the world of media in January. A bonus monthly wrap-up of key news is something new we’re trialling following feedback which said you missed the three of us together and our take on what’s going on.
Here we discuss the boost to publisher coffers from post-inauguration donations, the capitulation of tech-bro capitalists to Trump, and ask what on earth is happening with TikTok.
This season of The Publisher Podcast & Newsletter is sponsored by Memberful, a best-in-class membership solution for independent publishers and journalists who want to diversify their revenue stream and connect with their audience.
Memberful is a powerful membership solution with a difference: you always retain full control over your brand, your content, your audience, and your business. Your content always belongs to you, not a platform.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.
6 days ago
6 days ago
In this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast, we speak to Hannah Ballantyne, Senior Social Media Manager at Which?, a not-for-profit consumer-focused publication. Hannah contributed to a fascinating article in InPublishing late last year about steering the brand's debut on TikTok; a strategy which has won the team awards.
With the ongoing saga between platforms, publishers and politicians showing no signs of cooling, we had a timely conversation about which platforms they prioritise at Which?, how they assess the value of social media to the publication, and meeting the publication's goals of sharing impartial expert advice to empower consumers. Hannah also explains why dishwasher and pothole content is taking off, even with younger audiences.
This season of The Publisher Podcast & Newsletter is sponsored by Memberful, a best-in-class membership solution for independent publishers and journalists who want to diversify their revenue stream and connect with their audience.
Memberful is a powerful membership solution with a difference: you always retain full control over your brand, your content, your audience, and your business. Your content always belongs to you, not a platform.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
This week on The Publisher Podcast we hear from Tim Huelskamp, CEO and co-founder of 1440, a daily curated newsletter that now reaches over 4 million daily readers. He tells us about finding white space in the newsletter market, the forecast for newsletter advertising, whether the claim to be ‘unbiased’ is a selling point for audiences, and what it means to be an employee-owned media organisation.
Tim was involved in the private equity game for around a decade prior to founding 1440, spending time as co-founder of venture philanthropic funds and as an angel investor. In this episode Tim takes a very nuanced view – some might say pleasantly cynical at times – of the subject. He was very honest and forthright about when private equity works for the media, and why it often doesn't.
This season of The Publisher Podcast & Newsletter is sponsored by Memberful, a best-in-class membership solution for independent publishers and journalists who want to diversify their revenue stream and connect with their audience.
Memberful lets you offer membership perks and exclusive content to your loyal audience, giving you full control over who has access to your articles, newsletters, podcast episodes, private community chats, and more.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Monday Jan 13, 2025
We’re kicking off 2025’s first season of The Publisher Podcast by talking to Jim Bilton, Managing Director at Wessenden Marketing and Brandlab Research. Jim produces bimonthly research and updates on the business of content distribution through WessendenBriefing, and has decades of experience consulting for media businesses.
In this episode, we explore the standout publisher product trends from 2024, what publishers are investing in this year, and how optimistic everyone is feeling. Jim also highlights some B2B and B2C publishers to watch this year from his surveys, which surprisingly are almost all legacy companies.
This season of The Publisher Podcast & Newsletter is sponsored by Memberful, a best-in-class membership solution for independent publishers and journalists who want to diversify their revenue stream and connect with their audience.
Memberful lets you offer membership perks and exclusive content to your loyal audience, giving you full control over who has access to your articles, newsletters, podcast episodes, private community chats, and more.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Monday Dec 02, 2024
This episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices – our last for this season – was recorded at the White Swan in Aldgate, London on November 27th in front of a live audience.
In the absence of our usual annual Media Moments report*, we took a fun look back at some of the pivotal publishing moments of the year, and what 2025 might have in store. The audience were invited to participate so we’re able to include contributions from wiser folks than us!
The team’s top stories from 2024
- The Onion announcing it had bought Infowars after Alex Jones’ bankruptcy.
- Google abandoned a plan it announced 4 years ago and has delayed and delayed since then to block third-party cookies from Chrome.
- A federal judge ruled that Google illegally maintains its monopoly in search and search advertising. The government are now proposing Google divest Chrome.
- Condé Nast decided to to fold iconic music-review website Pitchfork into men’s lifestyle magazine GQ
- Five former Pitchfork journalists are getting the band together to start a new online music publication, Hearing Things.
Predictions for 2025
The print revival comes to news
Esther is hopeful that next year will see a revival of news print. Not newspapers, but news print; weekly or monthly magazine-style editions. Newspapers are clearly in a long-term decline that is unlikely to reverse. But a look at what’s happening with the magazine print revival shows that there is hope for the format, albeit different to what it was a few decades ago.
Caution on over-diversification
At the PPA’s Independent Publisher Conference, Sift’s Chief Strategy Officer Louise White pointed out that the industry has got too absorbed with multiple revenue streams. “The obsession with diversifying revenues is dangerous,” she said on Linkedin. “That’s a bigger media play. Most independents don’t have the expertise or bandwidth and it leads to mediocrity at many rather than excellence in few.”
So the ‘mix of six’ saying we’ve been fans of for years should perhaps be revised for 2025. The key is…three?
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
In this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast, we hear from Emma O’Brian, SVP Strategy for Dow Jones. Everyone knows Dow Jones – or at least a few parts of its portfolio, even if they don’t know it as part of the greater organisation. But as the company moves from a portfolio-based business to a vertical-oriented publishing and information one, how is that impacting its back room strategy, and how it seeks new acquisitions?
The company is more than simply the index that bears its name, as our guest this week makes clear right from the off. However, much of what underpins its success is the same focus on providing tangible insights to audiences, as and when they need it. Increasingly, its stable of publications under the Dow Jones Portfolio – including the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, and many more – are just as integral to their audiences as the index is to stockbrokers and traders. It seeks to deliver relevant information to its audiences, no matter where they may be.
In this episode, the final of this season, Emma sets out how a change in strategy that occurred when Almar Latour came into the role ultimately changed how those publications are aligned and operated behind the scenes.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s capturing valuable audience insights or activating them with precision, the possibilities are endless with BlueConic’s all-in-one platform.
See how companies like yours are turning understanding into action and driving real business growth.
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
This week on The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we're joined by Will Hayward, journalist, author and columnist specialising in Welsh politics. He also writes The Will Hayward Newsletter, which he relaunched in September after running it for nearly a year as one of Reach plc's Substack experiments, where it won Best Politics Newsletter at this year's Publisher Newsletter Awards.
Since going it alone, he's built up more than 3,000 subscribers in just seven weeks, with revenues and subscriber numbers now exceeding its previous iteration. He talks about his journey into covering all things Wales, what he's learned working at the UK's largest regional publisher, and what opportunities he spotted in going solo, even if it meant having to restart his newsletter from scratch.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s capturing valuable audience insights or activating them with precision, the possibilities are endless with BlueConic’s all-in-one platform.See how companies like yours are turning understanding into action and driving real business growth.
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Third-party cookies aren’t going away any time soon, but many publishers have already reduced dependency on them as a revenue stream. As the landscape continues to shift, what should publishers looking towards the longer term be thinking of when it comes to their own data strategies, and how can various types of first-party data play a part?
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode we hear from Patrick Crane, Director of the Core Sales Team at BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to.
Patrick explains the current state of the market when it comes to third-party cookies, and where it still has a place in strategies, as well as how publishers can plan their audience data strategies around industry uncertainty. He also sets out exactly what first-party data means, and how publishers should approach it as a process rather than a project.
This episode is sponsored by BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s capturing valuable audience insights or activating them with precision, the possibilities are endless with BlueConic’s all-in-one platform.
Monday Nov 11, 2024
Monday Nov 11, 2024
This week on The Publisher Podcast, as part of the product-oriented remit we’ve set ourselves for the series, we hear from Ludovica D’Angelo, Director of Publishing Operations for the Total Politics Group. As we discuss in the episode, that’s a very specialised publishing business – and a commensurately specialised role.
But for Ludovica, who has previously worked for publications as varied as news magazine The Week and luxury food and drink magazine Il luogo ideale, it has been another opportunity to discover best practice around managing product teams, launching timely new newsletters and titles, and finding new revenue opportunities.
Ultimately, her work - and that of all product teams within media businesses - is about rediscovering the primary of product in a shifting media landscape.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s capturing valuable audience insights or activating them with precision, the possibilities are endless with BlueConic’s all-in-one platform.
See how companies like yours are turning understanding into action and driving real business growth.
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
On this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Kat Craddock Editor-in-Chief, CEO and owner of Saveur magazine, a 30-year old publishing brand that returned to print this year after a 4 year hiatus.
Kat’s announcement that Saveur would be returning to print, is one of the best, most honest explanations I’ve seen of how print publishing has changed. She explains to readers that the magazine will cost more than it used to, frequency will drop to twice a year and supermarket distribution would be swapped out for sales direct-to-readers through Saveur’s own website.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s capturing valuable audience insights or activating them with precision, the possibilities are endless with BlueConic’s all-in-one platform.
See how companies like yours are turning understanding into action and driving real business growth.
Monday Oct 28, 2024
Monday Oct 28, 2024
On this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Daniel Smith, Managing Director of the Mark Allen Group’s Agriculture division, which includes brands like Farmers Weekly, Pig World and Poultry Business. His team are behind the Farmers Weekly podcast, which was shortlisted in the Best B2B Podcast category at the Publisher Podcast Awards earlier this year.
Farmers Weekly have been really smart about monetising a niche podcast topic and audience, so we discussed creating a podcast that would fit into a farmer’s lifestyle, where the podcast fits in terms of subscriber acquisition and engagement, and collaborating with sponsors to create a sale-able proposition.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the customer data operating system that makes your data work harder, so you don’t have to. Whether it’s capturing valuable audience insights or activating them with precision, the possibilities are endless with BlueConic’s all-in-one platform.
See how companies like yours are turning understanding into action and driving real business growth.
Monday Oct 21, 2024
Monday Oct 21, 2024
On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we speak to Brandon Grosvenor, Chief Revenue Officer at Torstar Corporation, home of The Toronto Star. Over the summer, The Toronto Star became one of the first large publishers in North America to announce they were rolling out micropayments. It's a feature audiences frequently request - especially with the rise of paywalls - but for a myriad of reasons, few publishers have experimented with.
Brandon discusses why they decided to try micropayments out alongside their subscription offering, the thinking behind their pricing and day pass strategy, and the challenges of audience growth in Canada. He also explains why he doesn't think micropayments will be a significant revenue stream, but still has an important part to play in a publisher's acquisition strategy.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Monday Oct 14, 2024
Monday Oct 14, 2024
On this week’s episode of Media Voices, we hear from The Knowledge’s founder Jon Connell. The Knowledge is a free-to-read newsletter aimed not at a particular demographic, but at a ‘mindset’.
Connell and team’s aim is to provide an antidote to the outrage engine, instant gratification-baiting nature of social publishing. At the same time they seek to speak to people who are curious and wish to hear from a variety of perspectives; the challenge lies in squaring that circle.
In the episode we also discuss the challenges of monetising newsletters, the growing popularity of the newsletter as a medium, and how legacy news brands are adapting to the rise of this new format.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Monday Oct 07, 2024
Monday Oct 07, 2024
On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we speak to John Shields, Director of Podcasts at The Economist. They made the bold move last year to put almost all their podcasts behind a paywall, creating a separate Economist Podcasts+ subscription option.
A year on from the launch of Economist Podcasts+, John discusses what drove the decision, some of the risks and opportunities of charging for audio, and the lessons they've learned over the past 12 months.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Monday Sep 30, 2024
On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Paul Ostwald, co-founder of Morningcrunch, a German-language media brand aimed at young professionals. Since launching in summer 2023, they've grown to the point that their newsletters now go out to over 50,000 young professionals every morning.
Morningcrunch is ad-funded, and Paul explains how he's working with a German media house to bring in bigger deals. He also talks about how he's taken inspiration from newsletter outfits that have far bigger budgets for A/B testing, why younger people still care about email, and the importance of building trust as a start-up.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Monday Sep 23, 2024
Monday Sep 23, 2024
On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we speak to Eric Ulken, Vice President of Product at The Baltimore Banner. The Baltimore Banner is a nonprofit news organisation launched in 2022 which serves the Baltimore region, and the larger Maryland state.
Eric talks about what makes the Banner's business model unique, why it was so important to get an app up and running early on, what marks success for them with their app audience, and why they're such a valuable tool for engaging premium audiences. He also explores why publishers should be looking to other apps for inspiration beyond just text-based news delivery.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
In the fast-paced world of digital publishing, a robust content management system (CMS) plays a pivotal role in shaping success. It can empower publishers not only to streamline workflows and distribute content effectively, but also to engage with and deliver on consumer needs.
With an intuitive interface, seamless integration with digital channels and robust analytics, the right CMS can become the backbone of modern digital publishing; the wrong one can mean disrupted or inefficient workflows, poor content management and missed opportunities for audience engagement.
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes – just 10 to 15 minutes – with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode we hear from John Rahim, Senior Consultant in Digital Publishing at digital publishing platform provider, Purple. John tells us how a flexible CMS can help today’s publishers tackle current challenges, and why it’s important to adapt platform to customer need.
He also discusses the role a capable CMS can play in making a smooth transition from print- to digital-first.
Purple is a leading digital publishing platform for publishers, providing comprehensive solutions for modern publishing. Based in Berlin/Germany with an experienced team of 60 employees, Purple has been supporting publishers worldwide since 2007. Today, over 600 brands in 10 countries rely on Purple.
The platform consists of three core modules:
- Purple Editorial: Purple Editorial is an AI-powered headless CMS and editorial system that enables highly efficient workflows and reliable content distribution across multiple channels.
- Purple Experience: Purple not only offers an advanced editorial system but also solutions for creating apps and websites. This module allows publishers to deliver a seamless and engaging user experience that is consistent across all digital channels.
- Purple Growth: To maximise reach and audience engagement, Purple provides various audience development features. These help publishers better understand and target their readers, fostering long-term growth.
Purple offers Purple Essentials and Purple Pro, different products tailored to meet the diverse needs of publishers of all sizes. Purple is ideal for multichannel publishing and supports multibrand publishing, allowing publishers to manage multiple brands efficiently through a single platform. With these comprehensive and flexible solutions, Purple is the preferred choice for publishers aiming to succeed in the digital world.
Monday Sep 16, 2024
Monday Sep 16, 2024
On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Rhiannon J Davies, Founder and Editor at Greater Govanhill, a community magazine and media project. Launched in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, it now has a website, radio show, award-winning podcast and community newsroom space, as well as doing events, training, workshops and outreach with marginalised communities. Rhiannon also established the Scottish Beacon, which is a collaborative of independent, community-based publications all around Scotland.
Rhiannon goes behind the scenes on the logistics of producing a free bimonthly magazine, from local ad and membership revenue to grants for projects, as well as her dedication to maintaining quality, and the importance of offering a platform for voices not usually heard in the media. She also explains her ambition to support other local publications through collaboration and amplify stories which come out of local communities.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Monday Sep 09, 2024
On this week's episode - the first of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices - we speak to Simon Kurs, Commercial Editor at the Evening Standard.
The publisher won Best Commercial Strategy at this year's Publisher Podcast Awards for The Standard's Sustainable Travel campaign with Iberostar, a podcast-led multimedia series exploring how to travel the world without wrecking it.
We discussed the Evening Standard's approach to podcast monetisation, from choosing clients that align with their values to having the podcast at the heart of a 360 degree media campaign. We also explore why publishers are at such an advantage when it comes to podcast campaigns, and why utilising multiple channels can help drive record-breaking podcast performance.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
Monday Jul 22, 2024
Monday Jul 22, 2024
Newsletters and podcasts have a lot in common. As well as being low-cost, they can be intimate and personal; perfect for building lasting relationships with readers and listeners.
Neither format is new, but as it becomes increasingly more challenging to reach and engage people online, publishers are seeing the opportunities they offer for more sustainable audience-building. That's one of the reasons we put on a dual-stream Podcast and Newsletter Summit aimed at publishers in London last month.
This special episode in collaboration with journalism.co.uk brings out some of the key lessons and learnings from the Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summits. There are clips from some of the stage sessions, as well as exclusive interviews with Jon Young, Publisher at Reby Media, Sarah Ebner, Head of Newsletters at the Financial Times, and Rosalind Erskin, host of The Scotsman’s Scran podcast.
Missed the Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summits? You can access the session videos of each Summit on-demand here.
Thanks to Jacob Granger at Journalism.co.uk for joining us at the Publisher Podcast & Newsletter Summits and putting together this episode with us. Check out the Journalism.co.uk podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud and Spotify.