The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

Launched on November 11th 2021, just three months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent (KI) is four years old. The award-winning English-language media outlet covers Ukraine and Eastern Europe for the rest of the world, and is celebrating its birthday with a campaign designed to boost its membership from 22,000 to 25,000 by the end of the year. This week's guest is the Kyiv Independent's Chief Operations Officer Zakhar Protsiuk. KI has reporters on the frontline of the war and an investigations unit covering Russian war crimes, but also covers Ukrainian business, culture and even travel. What struck Peter this week in speaking with Zakhar, is how focused he was on what we might consider the normal elements of building a media business. Of course we spoke about the war, but we spoke just as much about audience acquisition and retention, trust and churn.  Listen now to hear Kyiv Independent's origin story, whether it's possible to separate everyday media operations from the impacts of Russia's invasion, revenue diversification, and the brand's shift from donations to a membership model. Get the write-up of the key points of this interview in your inbox by subscribing to The Publisher Newsletter, over on voices.media  

In this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by David Adeleke, founder and CEO of Communiqué, a media business that analyses African media and its creative economy. Communiqué started out as a newsletter, but now runs live events and publishes research about the scope of the creator economy across the continent. We last spoke with David four years ago on the podcast, and a lot has changed since he set up his newsletter as a side project. He talks to Peter about how he always wanted Communiqué to be more than a newsletter, his vision for a 'proper' media business, and how he is hiring to build a culture that can be replicated elsewhere. He also talks about community and the importance of bringing what he does online into physical spaces. Get the write-up of the key points of this interview in your inbox by subscribing to The Publisher Newsletter, over on voices.media

Over 500 media and publishing professionals gathered in the beautiful Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid to hear leading speakers discuss their strategies for thriving in today’s landscape. ChatGPT, AI overviews and traffic challenges are certainly top of mind for many delegates, but the on-stage conversations haven’t been quite as dominated by AI as we’d expected. Rather, there seems to be a doubling down on good, ‘old fashioned’ publishing principles like investing in high-quality content and products in order to secure growth. There were some really strong themes that came out across the two days - too many to include them all here - so we've focused on the top four. Hear speakers from TIME, The Economist, Hearst, Semafor, The Atlantic and more discussing transformation, new opportunities, brands vs personalities, and how they're using AI. Get a write-up of the key learnings from this episode online at voices.media or straight to your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter.

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Juliet Riddell, Head of New Formats at the Financial Times. Her focus is on telling stories using video, and she spoke to Peter following the September release of the 13-minute film, Recall Me, Maybe, written by comedian David Baddiel and starring Stephen Fry and Gemma Whelan. Juliet talks about why a news organisation like the FT is making this type of drama, the other films in the FT's Standpoint series, and the power of external collaborations in bringing new perspectives to big issues. Get a write-up of the key learnings from this interview online at voices.media or straight to your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter.

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Simon Freeman, Publisher at Like the Wind, a quarterly print magazine dedicated to exploring the culture, history and social issues in the world of running. They are also a blueprint for sustainable indie magazine publishing. Simon spoke to Peter as part of the research and writing for Inside the Print Revival, our report on why print magazines are making headlines again. In this episode, Simon talks about 'niche-ification'; how it's okay that not every runner is a potential Like the Wind reader, how social media helps sell magazines as a marketing tool, but also as a catalyst for readers returning to analogue media.  Download our free report exploring the print revival here.

From conceptualization to execution, Crowdfindervideo's Simon Elliott shares his expertise on what makes video work for magazine publishers, providing valuable insights and practical tips for industry professionals. In this video podcast, recorded live at the Publisher Podcast Summit, Peter Houston and Simon Elliott discuss the significant benefits of video podcasting for publishers, emphasising its role in audience growth and revenue generation. They explore the importance of building a structured video production process, the necessity of effective storytelling, and the challenges faced during the 'pivot to video'. Practical tips for starting a video podcast, editing content and enhancing viewer engagement are also shared, along with insights on how to present oneself confidently on camera. Watch the video podcast here. This video podcast episode was produced in partnership with Crowdfindervideo. You want the audience growth and engagement that come with video and audio but don’t have the hours in the day? Crowdfindervideo clients make the decisions on their content but we do the production work. We deliver the audio, video and social assets that turn your ideas into a consistent, multi-platform presence. We'll also do the thumbnails and show notes. We can even upload for clients.

Sean Cornwell, CEO of Immediate Media and a veteran in digital publishing, shares his insights on leveraging AI for innovation and growth. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on controllable strategies and maintaining strong first-party relationships with audiences. Sean discusses upskilling staff and fostering optimism through experimentation, as well as the irreplaceable value of human creativity in an AI-driven landscape. The conversation also touches on the evolving role of print in a digital future, advocating for premium experiences over standard formats.

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Mel McVeigh, Head of Digital at the Professional Publisher's Association (PPA). Mel has been at the PPA for the last 18 months, and her role is to support digital thinking within the organisation and its members. Mel recently worked with Enders Analysis on a report - Consumers, creators, and brands: Rewriting the media playbook. The report aims to help publishers with their plans around technology investments, as well as provoke and challenge them to think about how they're going to innovate in the long-term. Peter and Mel talk about the challenges technology brings and whether the website is really dying, but also the reasons to be cheerful, like the sustained trust enjoyed by magazine brands. She talks about platforms, processes, and product thinking, as well as the importance of editorial intuition. Read the write-up of this interview over on voices.media or by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

In this episode of The Publisher Podcast, People Inc. CEO Neil Vogel talks about the power of print - as long as you're not sentimental about scale - how advertising is very much alive, and why Google is 'the worst guy' when it comes to publishers and AI. He also discusses the rebranding from Dotdash Meredith and why it's important to have a name which resonates with human experiences. This episode is produced in partnership with FIPP, who are 100 years old this year. With only 25 tickets remaining, this is the final opportunity to secure your place at the FIPP World Media Congress 2025 – the premier global event bringing together the foremost leaders, innovators, and strategists from across the international media landscape. Read the write-up of this interview over on voices.media or by signing up to our weekly newsletter.

In this episode, Peter Houston interviews Irene Smit, the co-founder of Flow Magazine. As you’ll see from this episode’s title Irene’s founding philosophy for the mag was that of paper over print. What’s the distinction? Well, for Irene print is effectively a vector for information – it’s commodity news, or glossy lifestyle features, or whathaveyou. It is 99% of what’s on newsstands. By contrast paper is an experience, and she tells Peter about what drove her to mix and match types of paper within the same magazine. She also tells us about how the magazine changed hands between publishing companies, what that taught her about the pros and cons of being an indie title supported by a larger operation, and how the magazine came out of the other side of those transitions stronger for it. Irene will be speaking at Magazine Street in a few weeks time on 3rd October. If you want to be there, use the code MV75 for £75 off tickets, which you can book at internationalmagazinecentre.com. Read the write-up of this interview over on voices.media or by signing up to our weekly newsletter.