The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

This week we hear from Substack UK's Head of Writer Partnerships Farrah Storr. Over the past decade she's worked in leading editorial roles at some of the biggest lifestyle magazines in the UK before leaving ELLE to join the newsletter platform. She tells us about why more mainstream media brands should be investing in Substack, why she doesn't believe you need a huge profile to start out on the platform, and what problems with the wider internet ecosystem Substack is trying to solve. In the news round-up, the team dissect some unfortunately-timed stories about Reach plc, and why the national and regional publisher's woes are only likely to increase as the ad-stuffing strategy plays out. In the news in brief section, we explore increasingly troublesome links between the Conservative government and senior BBC executives, BuzzFeed's edict to staff to increase story output, and Meta's subtle de-emphasis of its metaverse project. Thus endeth the season. We'll be back in May for the next one!

On this week's episode we hear from Max Tani, media reporter at news startup Semafor. He tells us how he came to Semafor; the Venn diagram between media, politics, Hollywood and pretty much everything else in life; about Semafor’s attempts to balance out news and opinion; and whether covering the White House was anything like The West Wing. In the news roundup the team looks at a bad week for broadcasters, from the BBC's war against Gary Lineker, through Fox News' risible defence in the Dominion lawsuit, to GB News' £31m loss in its first operating year.  Here's to the next 250 episodes!

TIME was 100 last week, and we took the chance to speak to its Editor In Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal about how the publication made it to its centenary. He tells us about the tradition of innovation at TIME, building trust with global audiences, and how legacy is not a bad word in magazines. In the news roundup the team discusses the fallout from The Telegraph publishing former health secretary Matt Hancock's WhatsApp messages, despite journalist Isabel Oakeshott having broken an NDA to do so. We ask what that does for trust in the media, where the responsibility for putting everything in context lies, and if this is an Alien vs. Predator situation for those of us in the middle of the row.

This week we hear from Bonnie Kintzer, CEO of Trusted Media Brands - which includes brands like FailArmy, Family Handyman, and Reader’s Digest. She tells us about the opportunities she saw to turn around the company when it was facing bankruptcy in 2013, how the business has weathered some of the storms of the past decade, and why she thinks it’s vital to focus on where the audiences are regardless of platform algorithms. She also explains why a 're-start-up' mentality helped TMB get ahead. In the news roundup the team debates why it's so difficult to find common ground on discussions of platforms paying publishers directly, and asks if Google not serving news to Canadian consumers will shift the dial on those arguments. Did you know Elon Musk has a Brummie accent?

On this week's episode we hear from Janice Min, co-owner and CEO of The Ankler, a newsletter-first media brand covering Hollywood and the world of entertainment. She tells us how The Ankler’s revenue streams have evolved over the last twelve months, the potential she sees in lean, newsletter-first businesses, and what lessons she’s applying from her time at big-name legacy publications like the Hollywood Reporter. In the news roundup we avoid AI entirely and do a Media Voices 101 episode, going through a wishlist for what we want to see from media companies in the next year. Please look out for our new 'Humanity is pathetic: How do we monetise them?" tshirts in the near future.

On this week's episode, we hear from Sarah Ebner, Executive Editor and Head of Newsletters at the Financial Times. She tells us about her role leading the newsletter team at the FT, and the value of newsletters in subscriber acquisition and retention but also as paid products in their own right. In the news roundup we take a thorough look at what the integration of ChatGPT and Bard into search results means for news and magazine publishers. In the news in brief, the Mastodon Bump has levelled out, DC Thomson announces 300 job cuts, and we ask why subscription revenue is outperforming expectations. Welcome to your first episode of Med.A.I Voices.

This week we hear from Andrew Ramsammy, Chief Operating Officer of Word in Black. The publication was founded in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and brings together 10 of the nation's leading Black publishers in a news collaborative. He discusses how the collaborative came together, how they've tripled revenue since launching, and other areas of opportunity for publishers to come together. In the non-news roundup, the team examines whether publishers should worry about password sharing. We also look at whether podcasts are still a good bet for advertisers (yes), whether AI is being overhyped (also yes), and how LadBible became the biggest English-language publisher on TikTok (good at it). Peter shares his Netflix username.

This week we hear from Gaby Huddart, Group Editorial Director at Hearst UK and Editor in Chief of Good Housekeeping. We talk about celebrating the brand’s centenary last year with their first multi-day live event, what a Good Housekeeping reader looks like today, and why it’s so important for the title to be future-facing. She also discusses how readers' attitudes to their homes have changed over the pandemic, and the role the Good Housekeeping Institute plays in building trust. In the news round-up the team examines some of BuzzFeed's moves from the past week - including striking a partnership with Meta and embracing our new AI overlords. For the news in brief, we discuss the FT burning out trying to run a Mastodon server, the US government's latest moves in the war on Google hegemony, and the apparent dwindling of interest in the super-rich for funding newspapers and magazines. While Esther took a brief phone call, Peter and I sang Georgy Girl by The Seekers, but I had to cut it from the episode.

On this week's episode, Dexerto CEO Josh Nino tells us about how the esports-focused publication went about carving a foothold in a competitive market that is often unfriendly to newcomers. He also talks about where a publication like Dexerto looks to grow revenue and audience - and whether those opportunities are universal for all digital publications - and what he thinks is the future of sports and esports-related communities online. In the news roundup, human journalists are relegated to apologising for AI journalists' mistakes; Musk's Twitter bounces along the bottom; Future goes US-first; and Axios Pro reports a 100% retention rate.  Head over to grubstreetjournal.com for updates on Peter's new magazine!

On this week's episode of Media Voices Richard Reeves, CEO of the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) here in the UK, talks to us about the issues and roadblocks surrounding diversity and inclusion efforts in media. He discussed initiatives publishers are using to improve DE&I, problems of retention, and how ageism impacts women particularly. In the news round-up, the team takes a look at the Reuters Institute's latest Journalism, Media and Technology Trends and Predictions report, created after it surveyed 300+ media executives from around the world. We talk about where the smart money lies, which tech trends are non-starters, and ask to what extent AI is changing the landscape of journalism.