The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Will Hayward, a journalist and columnist specializing in Welsh politics, shares insights from his impressive journey of relaunching his newsletter. He discusses how he transitioned from a major publisher to independent journalism and swiftly grew his subscriber base to over 3,000 in just weeks. Will emphasizes the significance of audience engagement and strategic sponsorships while maintaining ethical standards. He also envisions an ambitious future with plans for live events to enhance content quality and shape political discourse.

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.  

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.

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.