The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

Social Spider MD David Floyd on finding a better way to fund local news

On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from David Floyd, MD of Social Spider, a community interest company that publishes five community newspapers in London. He tells us about finding a new model for local news - one that's maybe commercially viable enough - and about why local news matters.

In the news roundup the team discusses the revelations from the Wall Street Journal's ongoing publication of The Facebook Files, the launch of News UK's talkTV, and ask if anyone still uses Clubhouse. Chris and Peter have a Fleetwood Mac singalong.

Conversations: How robot journalism is powering the modern newsroom

In this special Conversations episode we hear about the past, future and most importantly present of robot journalism. Automated journalism has been around for many years now, delivering value back to the parent newsrooms that use it effectively. AI tools allow newsrooms to tailor the output of the robots to fit their house style, to interview people for inclusion in the created article - and to allow the newsrooms’ human writers to spread their wings. 

In this episode Cecilia Campbell of United Robots helps myth-bust some of the common fallacies about what robot journalism can - and can’t - do. From the integration of video or interactive features to what it allows the newsroom to concentrate on beyond rote data work. To help illustrate what is possible we’re also joined by Ard Boer, Product Manager for Sport at NDC Mediagroep, who tells us how their sports team is making the most of robot journalism.

For more information on United Robots or its work with publishers, you can visit https://unitedrobots.ai/

Former EMPIRE Editor in Chief Terri White on why she left the best job in magazines

On this special episode of Media Voices, former Editor in Chief of EMPIRE Terri White takes us through the changes she made during her time at the magazine, from opening up the brand to a wider audience of both readers and contributors, to inspiring staff and cultivating the passionate community of new and longer-term subscribers.

She also expounds her reasons for resigning from EMPIRE - a role that she still today calls the best job in the world - and the realities of juggling family life with a top job in media.

Editor and publisher of Freelancer Sophie Cross on the joys of launching an indie mag

In this week's episode we hear from Sophie Cross, the founder and editor of Freelancer magazine. She tells Peter about her penchant for writing business plans, the freelance community that inspired the Freelancer magazine launch, and how she kept the spark going after the initial rush of the first issue. In the news roundup the team discusses the remarkable e-commerce based turnaround of Future plc, Twitter's revenue results, and ask if Facebook is launching its independent publishing platform Bulletin in a smart way. See you later in summer!

Future Chief Audience & eCom Officer Aaron Asadi on driving affiliate revenue

In this episode Future's Chief Audience and Ecommerce Officer Aaron Asadi tells us about where the ecommerce function sits within Future, how it is developing in relation to audience development, and creating content for affiliate ecommerce revenues across a huge range of brands. In the news roundup the team discusses whether climate change needs to become a part of every journalist's beat, the internal wars going on at GB News and Twitter sunsetting its Fleets feature. Put in the spotlight, Chris struggles to find the audio tweet function within 30 seconds.

Journalism.co.uk Editor Marcela Kunova on nurturing innovation in newsrooms

This week we hear from Marcela Kunova, Editor at Journalism.co.uk. She’s recently launched a newsroom innovation mentorship programme which will pair experienced industry professionals with local and regional journalists in the UK, with the aim of nurturing innovation in audience engagement, AI, editorial strategy and more. We talked about what she’s hoping to achieve with the programme, how she translated Newsrewired to a virtual event, and why it’s so important to support freelancers. In the news roundup the team discuss a report on the broken link between reach and revenue, and ask if we can ever get past the 'publishers vs. Duopoly' industry mindset. We also discuss the closure of Knewz, how privacy is driving advertisers to Android, and genuinely horrifying behaviour from a BBC non-exec director. Chris lives under a busy flightpath now, apparently.

Bauer CEO Chris Duncan on leading a magazine business through lockdown

This week, we hear from Chris Duncan, CEO of UK Publishing at Bauer Media Group. He joined the company just a few weeks after last year's lockdown, so he talks about what it's been like leading Bauer through such a turbulent year, their wins and losses throughout the pandemic, and which trends he's seen accelerated in the business. He also discusses how Bauer's business priorities have changed post-Covid, and what it's like heading a magazine company after over a decade working at a news publisher. In the news roundup we discuss the data behind the end of the Trump Bump (and where we can gin up some controversy next), then ask if the BBC needs to be objective about climate change and ask if Microsoft is the unlikely saviour of micropayments. A joke sails over Esther's head.

Independent Digital News & Media's Jo Holdaway on the importance of data to publishers

This week, we hear from Jo Holdaway, Chief Data and Marketing Officer at Independent Digital News & Media - home of The Independent and The Evening Standard. She talks about what sort of data is important to publishers, especially when it comes to subscription strategies, why it's important to have a diverse team working with data, and how she's preparing the business for the sunsetting of third-party cookies. In the news round up, Peter and Esther are joined by guest host Adam Tinworth to dissect the findings of the latest Reuters Digital News Report 2021. We look at how people prefer to access news, which existing trends have been accelerated by the pandemic, and whether a brief bounceback in trust can be sustained.

Defector VP of Revenue & Operations Jasper Wang on growing an employee-owned newsbrand

This week we hear from Jasper Wang, VP of Revenue & Operations for Defector Media. Defector was formed after a mass staff exodus from former GO Media property Deadspin after an internal dispute about who knew its audience best. Defector is now an employee-owned and operated news site that has introduced measures specifically to ensure its staff have a say in the business, even as they write for its audience. Now, on the first anniversary of its founding, we hear about the site's ambitions, how it keeps its staff safe and happy, and what other media businesses can learn from an employee-owned outlet. In the news roundup Chris and Peter take a look at GB News' launch one week on, ask if there's a future for The Athletic now that talks with the New York Times have broken down, and suggest that perhaps privatising Channel 4 in the current climate isn't such a great idea. Special appearance from a bird directly outside Chris' window.

MDIF Deputy CEO Mohamed Nanabhay on investing in sustainable media businesses

This week, we hear from Mohamed Nanabhay, Deputy CEO of the Media Development Investment Fund. He talks about his work in the early days of online publishing bringing 'new media' to Al Jazeera, how the MDIF decides which businesses to invest in, and why he thinks the pandemic has provided an opportunity for independent media to thrive. Their latest initiative, MDIF Ventures is accepting applications now for media companies located in countries where access to free and independent news and information is under threat. In the news roundup the team discuss whether Apple's changes to privacy will impact publishers who depend on newsletters, ask what led to The Sun being classed by Rupert Murdoch as a WORTHLESS ASSET, and ask if now is the time to slip half-human half-animal hybrids into the public.

Decanter Editor in Chief Chris Maillard on refreshing Future’s wine brand for its loyal readers

In this week's episode we hear from Decanter's Editor in Chief Chris Maillard about the challenge of refreshing Future's newly-acquired wine brand - without alienating its incredibly loyal readership. In the news roundup we discuss whether local news has reached a turning point, ask if we'd pay for Twitter Blue, and laugh at Trump closing his blog due to low readership. Chris fills in for Peter in the outro, to mixed success.

Conversations: How Eurosport is turning its evergreen content into success in podcasting

For publishers with a well established content workflow, adding podcasts can seem like a daunting task. But, as this Conversations episode demonstrates, those publishers already have what is needed to create and distribute podcasts that add value to your audience and business alike. Media Voices co-founder Chris Sutcliffe talks to Eurosport’s Aude Baron and Podinstall's Sarah Toporoff to discuss: What are the biggest challenges for publishers trying to get into podcasting? How did Eurosport overcome these challenges? What is best practice for repurposing video as audio content, and what are the benefits of distributing podcasts directly from your own website? Visit https://www.podinstall.com for more information.

The Membership Economy's Robbie Kellman Baxter on developing compelling direct to consumer offers

In this week's episode we hear from Robbie Kellman Baxter, an author and consultant with over twenty years of experience in subscription pricing, digital community, and freemium. Robbie started working with membership and subscription models like Netflix while they were still sending out DVDs, and has written The Membership Economy and The Forever Transaction exploring the membership models of the industry giants, and how organisations of any size can take a slice of the subscription pie for themselves. Robbie is currently working with FIPP on an online event exploring the world of direct-to-consumer revenue models for media businesses.  In the news roundup we speak about a report that local publishers are set to lose tens of millions from the demise of the third-party cookie, ask if The Athletic's mooted sale to the NYT was always a cynical scale play, and examine what the likely features of Twitter Blue are. Esther sings Eiffel 65.

Columnist and lecturer Bo Sacks on why now is the golden age of publishing

This week we hear from Bo Sacks, lecturer and media expert, about trends that have come and gone, why he thinks there’s strength in print as a niche product, and why we’re currently in the golden age of publishing. In the news roundup we discuss the vampiric Alden Global Capital acquiring Tribune Publishing (née Tronc), Snapchat's push into augmented reality, and Axel Springer's "sudden" and "inexplicable" partnership with Facebook. Watch Peter floss over at the Media Voices TikTok channel.

Special: Which publishers won the pandemic?

In this special episode, the Media Voices team take a look at which media companies and personalities have been the biggest winners and losers of the lockdown-era. From The Big Issue to almost every event company, we try to find the silver linings for publishers in what's been a mostly awful year.

Mental Floss EIC Erin McCarthy on the title's 20-year mission to make readers smarter

This week Mental Floss editor in chief Erin McCarthy tells us about how its celebrating its 20th anniversary, how the magazine started in a university dorm room, its mission to help people feel smarter and how the team decides what to cover. In the news roundup the team discuss a good week for a business-savvy Twitter, a bad week for Facebook and Snapchat, and the worst few years of all time for Yahoo & AOL. Peter has emails older than Esther.

Twitch's Creative Strategy Lead Jack Woodcock on building communities through livestreams

This week Twitch's Creative Strategy Lead Jack Woodcock tells us about the opportunities for publishers around livestreaming, what lessons we can learn from the success of individual streamers, and how the team at Twitch looks to the community when creating new features. In the news roundup the team discuss the rise of subscription products for podcasts, ask why local news isn't reaping the digital ad boom, and discuss Gannett paying some women nearly $30,000 less than their male peers. The team critique Steve Jobs' fashion choices.

The Fat Zine co-founder Gina Tonic on being an activist vs. being a publisher

In this week's episode we hear from co-founder Gina Tonic on The Fat Zine - an independent magazine by fat people for fat people plus those that care. We spoke about the F word, the influence of Pitch Perfect, being an activist vs being a publisher, Fat Liberation and how inside every thin person there’s a fat person dying to get out. In the news roundup we take a look at which publishers have come out of the pandemic in the best shape, ask why there have been so many journalism unions established over the past year, and look at how Reach is using Instagram. Esther questions Peter's tech credibility, regrets it.

WSJ Editor of Live Journalism Kim Last on virtual events as a live magazine

This week, we hear from the Wall Street Journal’s Editor of Live Journalism and Special Content Kim Last. She talks about the role of live journalism at the publication, how they adapted when the pandemic hit, and what they are doing to bring events and networking to life virtually as their Future of Everything Festival approaches. In the news roundup we discuss Dollar Shave Club pulling its funding from Mel Magazine, ask if Substack Local can solve the issue of news deserts, and test Peter's knowledge of monthly newspaper subscription prices as Reuters goes behind a paywall. See you on Wednesday for the Publisher Podcast Awards '21!

Shado co-founder Hannah Robathan on the magazine as an outlet for activism

This week Hannah Robathan, co-founder of Shado, tell us about the realities of publishing a print magazine and online platform that gives people the space to tell their own stories. We spoke about their frustration with the mainstream media, what activism means and what success looks like for Shado. In the news roundup, the BBC and Reach make big announcements about office closures, we ask if an Instagram for under 13s is as crazy as it sounds, and discuss the Telegraph tying its journalists' appraisals and potentially pay to their stories' performance. We desperately need a break - see you on April 12th!