The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

This week we hear from Duncan Siegle, portfolio director at Mash Media. The company publishes magazines and runs events for event organisers, and is just about to launch Making Publishing Pay, a magazine conference targeted specifically at small and medium sized publishers. In the news roundup we discuss the implications for publishers of new plans to regulate "harmful" content on the internet, US local newspaper group McClatchy filing for bankruptcy, and much more. The team bravely refrains from trying out Australian accents.

This week Sarah Orme, digital editor of Immediate Media's In the Moment magazine explains how the magazine has grown with the rising interest in mindfulness, its position as a women’s lifestyle title, print production values, and an expanding podcast portfolio. In the world's busiest news roundup the team discusses Q4 results, some high profile hirings (and rumoured firings), multiple examples of M&A and product launches, and controversies around the BBC and political journalism. The team nominates each other to take over Apple News Plus.

This week Media Voices takes an in-depth look at the realities of freelance journalism in 2020. We hear from journalists and academics about everything from remuneration to gaining skills to mental health, in order to provide both a celebration of the upsides of freelancing and an examination of its pitfalls. Featuring insights from Anna Codrea-Rado, Marie Le Conte, Dr. Paul Lashmar, Sian Meades-Williams, Nicola Slawson and Jenny Stallard, this episode is a one-off special focusing on the importance of freelance journalists to the news industry in the UK. Listen through to the end to find out how you can support the initiatives mentioned during the show.

This week Andrea Barbalich, Editor in Chief of The Week Junior US and The Week's Chief Executive Kerin O'Connor tell us about the upcoming US launch of the children’s news title. They tell us about kids' relationship with print, curiosity, and how there’s no place for kids in social media’s outrage economy (but you can sell subscriptions to parents on Facebook). In the news roundup, a bad week for the BBC, but a good year for digital news outlets. Swings and roundabouts.

This week, Chris Stone, the Executive Producer of Video & Audio at the Evening Standard, talks to us about the role video plays in their journalism, why they decided to launch two podcasts late last year, and what they're doing to capture the attention of the commuter audience. He also discusses his work leading a partnership with Google to create interactive audio news content for smart speakers. In the news this week, the team looks at the death knell for the third party cookie, The Telegraph pulling out of an independent measurement scheme, and examines if WeChat is a roadmap for platforms' future. The team can't decide if we're too cynical or not cynical enough.

New decade, new Media Voices. On this episode of the revamped Media Voices Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, CEO and Publisher at MIT Technology Review talks to us about the work she's done transforming the publication to bring it to new audiences, striking a balance between expert and general audiences, and what the business is doing to prepare itself for the next five years. In the news roundup we discuss the ruling that edition-based digital news products aren't subject to VAT in the UK, Twitter's changes to the reply function, and pointedly ignore any news about the royal family. Chris sets a new record with two (2) good analogies in less than 40 minutes.

In this end of year special, the team looks back at some of the major media events of 2019 to determine what will happen next year. Featuring looks at the flashpoints in M&A, Print, Data & Advertising, Multimedia, Platforms, Trust and more, this episode is a whistlestop tour through our Media Moments 2019 report. Don't forget to keep an eye out for Media Voices Top Trumps, available in all good newsagents at some point in the future. Maybe.

This week, media analyst Nic Newman takes us through the findings of his report into news podcasting for publishers for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Among other things, we discuss how young people are fuelling the growth in news podcasting, whether podcast revenue will start cannibalising other revenue streams, and whether the podcast explosion has already plateaued. In the news roundup the team discusses Apple News' new newsletter(about news), the realities of running a journalism awards show, and runs a gauntlet of other stories after a busy news week.

This week, we talk to Andy Serwer, Yahoo Finance's Editor in Chief. He discusses what strategies he's used to grow the publication to become the leader in financial news online, which platforms he uses to reach his business-focused audience, and how financial news has been affected by the crisis in trust. He also talks about how the publisher is integrating new technologies into the newsroom, and why he left his legacy publishing past behind. In the news roundup the team discusses editorial independence around DMGT's purchase of the i, Bloomberg's owner running for president, and a raft of media misbehaviour in the UK. Peter resurrects Conspiracy Corner for one week only.

This week Peter braves the bright lights of Las Vegas to interview Rachel Arthur, founder of independent magazine boom saloon, about boom projects' mission to democratise creativity and support access to the media, staying true to oneself, and the boom room agency. In the news roundup the team discuss whether we live in an age of information context collapse in which social media has destroyed any notion of 'truth', and whether journalism will need to become as predatory as misinformation in order to survive. It's a cheery episode.