The Future of Media, Explained - from Press Gazette

American investigative magazine Mother Jones began life in 1976 with the idea of producing a "new brand of socially conscious journalism".As an independent non-profit outlet, Mother Jones relies upon readers for three-quarters of its revenue - both in the form of subscriptions but especially donations.About 50,000 people support Mother Jones journalism each year with donations, while its magazine has about 180,000 subscribers.In the latest episode of the Future of Media Explained podcast, Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt speaks to Mother Jones chief executive Monika Bauerlein about how to successfully encourage readers to open their wallets, why being audience-funded is so important for an investigative journalism outlet, the importance of transparency on the numbers, and combatting news fatigue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 News editor Cait Fitzsimons has sat down with Press Gazette to discuss the programme and its place in broadcasting following its relaunch and expansion. 5 News has gone from creating two half-hourly bulletins at 5pm and 6.30pm, which had to largely repeat themselves, to one hour-long 5pm programme, allowing it to go more in-depth and add new content strands. Dan Walker will present alongside Claudia-Liza Vanderpuije. Fitzsimons discussed the reasoning behind and impact of those changes, and said the programme is now on a “positive upward trajectory” in its viewing figures. She warned, however, that public service broadcasters should have their prominence guaranteed in a digital-first world (although that does not mean 5 News needs its own website). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Women's magazines (along with other mag sectors) had a tough time in the 2010s, with Marie Claire, Now, InStyle UK, Look and Glamour among the print closures.But Cosmopolitan UK, owned by Hearst, survived that difficult period and has now massively grown its digital audience in the past eight years from about four million users per month to 16.8 million.It has made it its mission to be on top of the latest trends, including being one of the first publishers to create shows for Snapchat Discover in the UK in 2018 and experimenting with gaming platform Roblox last year.Cosmopolitan UK editor-in-chief Claire Hodgson spoke to Press Gazette about what defines the brand in 2023, the role of a modern magazine editor, and how they are preparing for whatever the future may hold next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 35th episode of Press Gazette’s Future of Media Explained podcast features an interview with Edward McCann, Director of Publishing Operations at Mediahuis Ireland - parent company of the Belfast Telegraph.Successful digital paywalls are a relative rarity in local news in the UK. Since launching its digital subscriptions programme in May 2020, the Belfast Telegraph however, has already managed to reach 8,500 paid subscribers. McCann speaks to Aisha, Press Gazette’s data journalist about how the Northern Ireland-based title has managed to grow its subscriptions revenue, despite not being the only paywalled news site in the province. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Press Gazette’s 34th Future of Media Explained podcast takes a look at climate reporting - and why fresh-faced reporters out of journalism school are choosing it as a beat over sports or foreign postings.We sat down with Carbon Brief’s editor Leo Hickman to talk about philanthropic funding, diversifying revenue, wonky content that nonetheless attracts lay readers and whether it’s possible to get around news avoidance when you’re working with fundamentally depressing subjects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's episode looks at paywall strategies for publishers in 2023 and is sponored by AdvantageCS.In a tough market, paywalls, podcasts and newsletters have been identified as strong areas to find new revenue this year.We spoke to Philippe van Mastrigt, director of European operations for one of the longest-established subscription technology companies in the world AdvantageCS, and Katia Debusschere, manager of acquisition and retention at Mediahuis Belgium.  They talked to Press Gazette about how news publishers globally are protecting and growing online news subscriptions, what's working and what isn't. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sky News was named News Provider of the Year at Press Gazette's British Journalism Awards in December.The news broadcaster had a huge year - putting journalists on the ground in Ukraine every single day, covering the death of the Queen and her funeral, and chasing the latest political updates as the UK cycled through three prime ministers.But it also saw major growth in its Tiktok following, securing itself as the biggest UK news broadcaster on the platform, while investment in its podcasting and data and forensics journalism also paid off.Sky News director of content Cristina Nicolotti Squires and director of newsgathering Jonathan Levy spoke to Press Gazette's Future of Media Explained podcast about their successes of 2022, how important digital consumption has become versus the TV channel, and what they hope to achieve in 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Newsletters are a growing tool for increasing engagement and loyalty – but it’s not one-size-fits-all.Metro.co.uk has 11 newsletters, with more to come soon. Some are up to eight years old, while others are relatively recent additions as the site aims to boost its direct relationships with readers and reduce its reliance on platforms like Facebook and Google.The website’s editor Deborah Arthurs spoke to Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt about when to prioritise click-through rates versus open rates, how to stop newsletters from feeling stale and why it is so nice to have a product with an “end” point for the reader. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Press Gazette talks to the journalist who first broke news of Harry and Meghan’s romance, Camilla Tominey, about the future of royal reporting.Tominey balances covering politics with royalty and is an associate editor of the Daily Telegraph and host of the Camilla Tominey show on GB News. She explains why Harry has got the press all wrong, why she stands by her reporting of the infamous bridesmaid’s dress fitting row and why she won’t be suing the Duke of Sussex despite his personal attack on her professionalism in his best-selling memoir. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 29th episode of Press Gazette’s Future of Media Explained podcast features an interview with Nic Newman, senior research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Each year RISJ surveys hundreds of news leaders around the world to capture their thoughts on predictions for the year ahead and how they view the trends shaping the industry. Newman speaks to Aisha, Press Gazette’s data journalist about this year's survey and how the industry feels about revenue prospects, news avoidance and how to attract audiences in 2023.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.