The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

On this week's episode, Bauer Xcel's Director of content and audience development Ian Betteridge talks about drawing together the separate roles of editorial and data-driven audience development, how commercial needs drive content strategy and how he brings together the print and digital teams to make the many brands he oversees a success. He also tells the story behind 'Betteridge's Law'. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther talk about their highlights of the Digital News Report, why Quartz is partnering with Facebook Watch and a dismal set of newspaper ABCs. Peter gets excited about independent magazine publishing. We're reading: - Despite concerns about control, news publishers are still pushing a lot of content to third-party platforms, via Nieman Lab http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/06/despite-concerns-about-control-news-publishers-are-still-pushing-a-lot-of-content-to-third-party-platforms/ - Platforms and Publishers: A Definitive Timeline, via Tow Centre http://tow.cjr.org/platform-timeline/

On this week’s episode, Megan Greenway editor-in-chief of Gizmodo Media's sports site Deadspin challenges the 'toy department' misconception of sports journalism, sets her Twitter filters against the trolls and focuses on the work instead of a dysfunctional parent company. In the news round-up, the team take a cynical look at what the changing of the guard at the Daily Mail means for the brand, and whether a 'European Netflix' is viable. Peter takes an unexpected turn against paywalls. We're reading: - ‘Britain's biggest Local TV company has "gamed" the BBC for hundreds of thousands of pounds of licence fee payers' money’, via Buzzfeed https://www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/revealed-how-britains-biggest-local-tv-company-has-gamed - 'Study: Apple News’s human editors prefer a few major newsrooms', via CJR https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/study-apple-newss-human-editors-prefer-a-few-major-newsrooms.php - 'Rip it Up: The Story of Scottish Pop at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh', via The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/6e42643c-6a5a-11e8-9c53-0e2cb45ebb16

On this week’s episode, Esther interviews Allure’s editor in chief Michelle Lee about its ongoing efforts to improve representation in magazine media, how diversity can help heal divisions in society, and opportunities around new media. In the news roundup the team discusses a potential cash-for-coverage scandal at the Evening Standard (and what that says about sponsored editorial and trust), Peter gets extremely happy about new investment in Rolling Stone, and Esther discusses the latest news about news at Facebook. We’re reading: ‘Do we need J-schools?’ from Columbia Journalism Review - https://www.cjr.org/special_report/do-we-need-j-schools.php/ ‘Don’t forget about ad blocking: Lost revenue to UK publishers rises to £630,000 a year’ from Digiday - https://digiday.com/media/dont-forget-ad-blocking-lost-revenue-uk-publishers-rises-63000-year/ ‘Are news organisations ‘consciously uncoupling’ from Facebook?’, via Emily Bell - https://medium.com/global-editors-network/emily-bell-are-news-organisations-consciously-uncoupling-from-facebook-7fdfc89fc2d0

This week, CEO of White Light Media Fraser Allen takes us through what it's like to close a much loved indie magazine, the launch of World Whisky Day and trends in the content marketing world. In the news roundup the team discusses Time Inc UK's renaming, the Guardian's new approach to a premium app, and whether Elon Musk is right to launch a site grading journalists' credibility (no). We're reading: - A progress report on Deepnews.ai, via Frederic Filloux - https://mondaynote.com/a-progress-report-on-deepnews-ai-aka-news-quality-scoring-b643d3e7b620 - How media paywalls work in authoritarian countries, via Bloomberg - https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-16/how-media-paywalls-work-in-authoritarian-countries - RIP Interview: Here's what killed Andy Warhol's iconic magazine, via AdAge - http://adage.com/article/media/r-i-p-interview-andy-warhol-s-iconic-glossy-dead/313593/?utm_source=mediaworks&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage&ttl=1527541683&utm_visit=1254485

On this week's episode, The Book Of Man co-founder Martin Robinson discusses his journey through the UK magazine industry, the need for a space for men to honestly discuss mental health, and plans for podcasts, longform and membership. In the news roundup we discuss YouTube Music Premium's place in the market, Twitter's latest attempt at fixing its troll problem, and whether it's a good or bad thing that Facebook and Google are now the biggest funders of journalism. We're reading: • Third Party Web Content on EU News Sites: Potential Challenges and Paths to Privacy Improvement, via RISJ - https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2018-05/Third-Party%20Web%20Content%20on%20EU%20News%20Sites.pdf • Why we need older women in the workplace, via The Cut - https://www.thecut.com/2015/08/why-we-need-older-women-in-the-workplace.html • Google's selfish ledger is an unsettling glimpse at Silicon Valley social engineering, via The Verge - https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/17/17344250/google-x-selfish-ledger-video-data-privacy

In this bumper episode, the team discusses the rise of the paywall. As everyone from Vanity Fair to the New Statesman have decided to launch paywalls, we try to determine whether there is a recipe for paywall success, taking in everything from the need for brand recognition, the propensity for people to pay, and the likely outcomes of the trend towards reader revenue. We're reading: • 'Google’s news chief Richard Gingras: “We need to rethink journalism at every dimension”', via Nieman Lab - http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/05/googles-news-chief-richard-gingras-we-need-to-rethink-journalism-at-every-dimension/ • 'What Google Chrome’s new built-in ad blocker means for you', via What's New In Publishing - http://whatsnewinpublishing.com/2018/05/07/google-chromes-new-built-ad-blocker-means/ • 'How not to do paywalls', via TechCrunch - https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/06/subscription-hell/

In this week's episode of Media Voices, PressPad founder and BBC journalist Olivia Crellin explains how PressPad aims to diversify the media by removing one of the main financial obstacles to those trying to enter the profession. In the news round-up, the team discuss a week of huge news around paywalls, the success of The New York Times' subscription efforts, and why Snapchat has stopped paying licensing fees. We're reading: • Why the "golden age" of newspapers was the exception, not the rule, via Nieman Lab - http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/05/why-the-golden-age-of-newspapers-was-the-exception-not-the-rule/ • 3 questions to ask your data when evaluating your paywall, via Digital Context Next - https://digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2018/04/30/3-questions-to-ask-your-data-when-evaluating-a-paywall/ • How to get rich quick in Silicon Valley, via Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/17/get-rich-quick-silicon-valley-startup-billionaire-techie

In this week's episode we hear from the London School of Economics' professor Charlie Beckett about its Truth, Trust & Technology Commission, on the role of platforms in defining truth, whether media literacy is a good or a bad thing and whether we can still use the term "fake news" as a helpful definition. In the news round-up, a full house of hosts discuss Hearst's mea culpa over abandoning quality journalism in pursuit of scale, Netflix's original content plans, and early wobbles for Facebook's local journalism scheme. We're reading: • The Book of Man: why ex-Shortlist editor is launching a platform to ‘reappraise’ masculinity, via The Drum - http://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/04/16/the-book-man-why-ex-shortlist-editor-launching-platform-reappraise-masculinity • Optimising Journalism for Trust, via Jay Rosen on Medium - https://medium.com/de-correspondent/optimizing-journalism-for-trust-1c67e81c123 • An Apology for the Internet - From the Architects Who Built It, via the New Yorker - http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/04/an-apology-for-the-internet-from-the-people-who-built-it.html

This week, Mic's Publisher Cory Haik talked to us about surviving as a video-first publisher in a platform world, how they retain a loyal and engaged millennial audience, and why she's not giving up on platform publishing as a sustainable option. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther discuss missed opportunities to grill the Zuck, why they won't be flocking to Yahoo News any time soon, Martin Sorrell's surprise departure and why Flipboard has reclaimed its traffic crown. Chris frolics with hobbits abroad. We're reading: • 'The rationalization of publishing' via Medium - https://medium.com/@ev/the-rationalization-of-publishing-dc001d509de8 • 'The Economist used to be boring, but smart with a wicked dry wit. Now it’s just boring (sigh)' via Twitter - https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/984705630106673152

This week, Peter speaks to The Disconnect's co-founders Chris Bolin and Clayton d'Arnault about the philosophy and meaning behind a digital magazine that can only be consumed while offline. In the news round-up we discuss the sale of Time Inc's flagship titles, what makes a magazine title valuable to different media companies, and go deep into whether 'the Duopoly' is an unhelpful and misleading label. The team narrowly avoid singing Rihanna. We're reading: • 'This Is So Much Bigger Than Facebook', via The Atlantic -https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/03/data-misuse-bigger-than-facebook/556310/ • '73% of site visitors get there via mobile. Here’s your guided tour through the mobile landscape', via DCN - https://digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2018/03/12/73-site-visitors-get-via-mobile-heres-guided-tour-mobile-landscape/ • 'The podcasting juggernaut has (finally) arrived', via Wired - https://www.wired.com/story/rise-of-daily-news-podcasts/