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The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

A weekly podcast and newsletter profiling the people and products powering publishing.

Media Voices

For publishers and event organisers, knowing where to start with AI is a common conundrum. For Bridged Media’s clients, the starting point is always a problem to be solved.
Welcome to the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes, this time featuring a senior executive working with a vendor that is making their businesses better.
In this episode, we hear from Sharon Roessen, Chief Operating Officer at global B2B events business Terrapinn, working with Bridged Media to develop a series of AI agents designed to streamline customer experience.
She spoke about the development process - from identifying a problem to developing a solution - and how one agentic AI experiment has led to a suite of agents that are increasing event attendance and easing registration bottlenecks.
This Media Briefs episode is sponsored by Bridged Media, democratising AI for publishers. Through no-code AI solutions, Bridged lets publishers access the power of machine learning and Gen AI to meet their engagement and revenue objectives.
Learn more about Bridged Media’s no-code AI tools on their website.

Media Briefs: Terrapinn’s Sharon Roessen on boosting event registration and attendance with agentic AI

In this special Conversations episode of The Publisher Podcast, sponsored by Pugpig, we hear from CEO and founder Jonny Kaldor about the data that proves apps are engagement and retention powerhouses.
Pugpig has just released their annual 2026 Media App Report, packed with benchmarks and insights from 140 media brands and 440+ live apps. Jonny looks at some of the publisher app trends from the report, why direct consumer relationships are the highest priority right now, and the deeper levels of engagement shown by app users compared to web visitors.
He also explains why apps are now surprisingly being used for subscriber acquisition, not just retention, and how publishers can identify gaps in their conversion strategies using apps.

Why apps are engagement and retention powerhouses: in conversation with Pugpig's Jonny Kaldor

In the final episode of this season of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Lily Barclay, the first Content Director of Immediate's Food Group covering BBC Good Food and olive magazine.
Lily has been with Good Food for over 18 years and has seen the brand's evolution from print only to a multiplatform and multi-brand specialist publishing group.
She talks about what separates their food brands, Immediate's new Good Food Kitchen to support digital content creation and real-world recipe testing, and leveraging ratings and reviews to build trust. She also takes us inside olive's successful print refresh, where a reduced frequency, higher quality stock and price point has rewarded them with a 40% increase in newsstand sales and 400% increase in subscriptions.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

Immediate's Lily Barclay on how investing in quality food content is paying off

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Heather Dietrick, Chief Media Officer at Outside Inc. 
Heather talked about the evolution of the company from 'just' a magazine to what she calls a fully integrated outdoor ecosystem, encompassing 15 media brands, events, consumer apps and travel services. What ties everything together is a mission to inspire and enable people to get outside.
She also discusses Outside Inc's revenue mix, with recurring revenue tiered around paid content and app subscriptions, which now makes up 60% of the business.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

Outside Inc's Heather Dietrick on building a fully integrated outdoor media ecosystem

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Toby Moses, Head of Newsletters at The Guardian. Toby has been in charge of newsletters at The Guardian since 2021 - the first person in the role.
Just five years ago, there was no real unified newsletter strategy at The Guardian. Now, after many launches and relaunches, newsletters are a key part of how the publisher builds relationships with its readers, with journalists front and centre, and newsletters as content in themselves rather than as just a referral tool.
Toby talks about which metrics signal success for them depending on the type of newsletter, what they've learned from a variety of pop-up series, and how newsletters are playing a strategic part in their US growth.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

The Guardian's Toby Moses on shaping a successful newsletter strategy

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Gemma Ware, Head of Audio at The Conversation UK. She joined as the publication was launching in the UK as Education Editor, but soon spotted an opportunity to develop a podcast offering.
Over the years, The Conversation's podcasts have grown in sophistication, earning them two trophies at last year's Publisher Podcast Awards. Gemma takes us through their journey in audio, from early experiments in monthly shows to the full portfolio of limited series on a wide range of topics, as well as their weekly show.
She also explains what they've learned about podcast best practice, how they put together narrative shows, and what podcast success looks like for The Conversation as a nonprofit.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

The Conversation's Gemma Ware on turning academic research into compelling audio stories

At Flashes & Flames' recent Monetising B2B Information and Events conference in London, leading B2B publishers shared their priorities, opportunities and concerns across the day. 
Held at London’s historic Stationers’ Hall, the event featured more than 30 industry-leading speakers and 210 delegates from three continents. The speakers showed that the B2B industry is going through another transformation, moving away from passive information delivery towards becoming essential to the workflow of their customers. 
This episode draws out the common points discussed from some of the main stage speakers. Three common themes emerged: building 'moats' to protect businesses against AI disruption, publishers building intelligence ecosystems, and becoming indispensable infrastructure to customers.
See more coverage from Monetising B2B at flashesandflames.com 

Highlights from Monetising B2B 2026

What is zero-click search, and does it really pose an existential threat to the publishing business?
Our new report, The Zero-Click Content Shift, aims to answer exactly that question. Produced in association with Woodwing and authored by MediaVoices' Peter Houston, the report gauges the impact of Google's AI Overviews on publisher traffic, and tries to get a sense of how big the threat really is. We also take a closer look at the reality of zero-click search for the publishing business, from its effect on content discovery to brand visibility, referral traffic, and revenue.
This episode is a special accompaniment to the report, featuring interviews with Barry Adams, SEO & Audience Growth Consultant at Polemic Digital, Clara Soteras, SEO for News Publishers and Audience Growth Consultant, and John Fong, Managing Director of APAC and Digital Services at Woodwing.
The podcast explores:

How AI Overviews are transforming how content is discovered, consumed and monetised;
The notion of Google Zero as an industry bogeyman versus the current reality;
Existential anxiety in publishing, and how the data shows a more nuanced picture;
Google's continued dominance and changing search dynamics;
Strategic responses for publishers;
What AI overviews hurt, and where the opportunities lie.

Download The Zero Click Content Shift report for free at voices.media/zeroclick
This report and podcast episode is sponsored by WoodWing.
WoodWing empowers publishing ecosystems by uniting technology with deep industry expertise. For 25+ years, we’ve helped teams create, manage, and deliver content across print and digital channels with greater efficiency and consistency. Our portfolio spans multi-channel production, digital assets, quality, knowledge, and information management. Founded in 2000, we operate globally from our headquarters in the Netherlands.  
Learn more about WoodWing’s publishing solutions at woodwing.com

The zero-click content shift

In this episode of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Lauren Holleyoake, Publisher of Bauer magazines Grazia, Empire and Mojo, and also the lead of Bauer's bookazine business.
Bauer has a strong portfolio of print specialist titles in areas like golf, classic cars and angling. They have made bookazines in the past, but part of Lauren's job has been to formalise the process, from coming up with standard ways of working to exploring the market opportunity for these titles.
Lauren talks about using bookazines as a chance for editorial teams to show off their passions, why high production values and premium content still matter for making content pay, and the surprising success of Bauer's bookazines abroad.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

Bauer's Lauren Holleyoake on the business of bookazines

In this episode of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Liz Alesse, Vice President and General Manager of Axios Local. She is responsible for building and scaling Axios' local journalism business as a sustainable national platform.
Liz talks about how Axios Local has evolved since launching five years ago, and what they've learned about scaling with market-specific models rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. She emphasises the importance of their reporters as brand ambassadors and key anchors for areas, citing talent as one of the primary factors for expanding into a market.
Axios Local has yet to turn a profit, but Liz is bullish on their prospects for cracking sustainable local journalism at scale, discussing their revenue diversification strategy and how AI has become a force multiplier for them.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

Axios Local's Liz Alesse on shaping the business to crack sustainable local journalism at scale

In this episode of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Charlotte Owen, Executive Vice President at BDG and Editor-in-Chief of Bustle.
Bustle is a female-focused media brand aimed at 20-30 year olds who want to live a big life. Charlotte talks about the importance of niche targeting over broad appeal, how the generalist era being over has helped editors hone in on points of view, and how they leverage social media. 
She also discusses why Bustle and BDG more widely are seeing revenue growth of 40% and 25% respectively, in a market that other women's brands are finding tough.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

Bustle's Charlotte Owen on ditching the 'everything for everyone' era

In the latest episode of our spring 2026 season of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Ismail Akwei, Editor of Global South World.
Global South World is a news brand with a mission to build a more informed and nuanced understanding of the Global South, counteracting parachute journalism and condescension with news and opinion from a network of journalists and creators that actually live across Asia, Africa and South America.
Akwei talks about commentary from Western leaders about countries in the Global South, and the issues with minimising whole continents to one negative news story. He also discussed what works well for content distribution, data visualisation, and building active communities, as well as how their creator-led news network approach works in practice.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

Global South World's Ismail Akwei on building a creator-led news network across continents

In the latest episode of our spring 2026 season of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Dea Lawrence, Publisher and Co-President of Variety.
Variety has transformed from a B2B pure play to a hybrid business and consumer publication. It still does 70,000 copies a week in print for the industry people who are super keen to see themselves on the cover, but online it reaches millions of passionate entertainment fans.
Dea talks about how Variety has weathered the disruption in the entertainment industry itself, the increasing importance of international creators and audiences, and why everything is a content and sponsorship opportunity. She also explains to Peter why microdramas are the next big thing.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

Variety's Dea Lawrence on turning a legacy publication into a cultural brand

In this episode of our spring 2026 season of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Ben Smith, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Semafor.
Ben has previously worked at publications like the New York Times and Buzzfeed, before joining Justin Smith to co-found Semafor in 2022. The publication, which distills the news for global audiences, has launched industry-leading events, pioneered their own article format, and reached profitability in its third year.
Ben spoke to us about how their audience and approach has evolved since launch, where they see opportunities and red lines for AI, where he sees paid content fitting into their business model, and how their exclusive CEO newsletter is going.
He also shares his advice for anyone looking at launching a news start-up today.
Read the key takeaways from this interview, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

Semafor's Ben Smith on how the start-up has evolved to thrive in a challenging market

Welcome back to the spring 2026 season of The Publisher Podcast! This week's guest is Faversham House CEO Amanda Barnes.
Faversham House is an independent UK B2B media, information and events company with brands across two main sectors: utilities and sustainability. Amanda led a management buyout of the family-owned publisher in 2010. Since then, the organisation has moved away from traditional ad-funded, print-led titles to online information, marketing solutions, subscriptions and events.
Amanda joined us on The Publisher Podcast to talk through how she led the business through those early stages of transformation, how Covid accelerated some of their more recent changes, and why the idea of brand ecosystems is vital for the next stages. 
Amanda Barnes will be speaking at Monetising B2B Information & Events 2026 on a panel about events and information strategies. Join us at Stationers’ Hall, London on 13th May but hurry - there are only a few tickets remaining.

Faversham House's Amanda Barnes on transforming to a modern ecosystem-driven B2B publisher

In the last episode of this season of The Publisher Podcast from Media Voices, we're bringing you a panel from our last Publisher Summit, all about strategies for converting newsletter readers into paying subscribers.
This panel featured Henry Seltzer, Director of Newsletter Operations at Bloomberg, Joshi Herrmann, Founder at Mill Media, and Rosie Percy, Newsletter Strategy Director at Hearst UK, moderated by Chris Sutcliffe.
Henry, Joshi and Rosie explored tips and tools used to convert free newsletter subscribers to a paying product, from testing and optimisation to campaigns and messaging.
Early Bird booking for this year’s Publisher Summit is now open. We’ll be holding the Summit on July 8th at a really cool venue near Paddington in London, with a single main stage focused on direct-to-audience product strategies.
If you’re specifically interested in newsletters or podcasts though, we’re shaping the agenda so you can sit on a relevant main stage session, then step out for dedicated workshops, so there will always be something valuable to get involved with.
The Summit will take place before the Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Awards in the evening, both of which are now open for entries. More details about tickets, entering the Awards, and all this at voices.media/events.

Turning readers into subscribers: top tips for converting via newsletters

Welcome to this special season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London.
This week’s episode features Alex Roth, Strategy Director for Informa Plc the second biggest B2B company based in the UK, and the biggest B2B events business in the world.  Alex spoke about how Informa is focussing on how AI can improve ways of working, product development, especially around data insights, and how it supports discovery, helping Informa’s audiences find and access content.
   
He spoke about redesigning processes to incorporate AI has driven progress, the development of an internal app store and an app builder agent to avoid overloading the company’s central AI team, and how focus is the key to taking on AI. 
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

Informa's Alex Roth on their three-pronged approach to AI

Welcome back to our special season bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London.
This week we’re featuring a panel looking at whether AI is a golden opportunity for exhibitions and events organisers. This featured Greg Hitchen, CEO of Terrapinn, Alison Jackson, Group MD at Nineteen Group, Robin Booth, Managing Director at EMAP, and Robin Tapp, CIO at RX, interviewed by Flashes & Flames’ Colin Morrison.
The panel discussed AI’s role in enhancing face-to-face interactions and improving efficiency, as well as its use in revenue generation, leveraging metadata, and matching buyers and sellers. 
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter, AI Masterclasses and more on voices.media

Is AI a golden opportunity for exhibitions and events organisers?

Welcome to this special season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London.
This week features an interview with Mumsnet CEO Sue Macmillan speaking about how the 25-year old parenting forum is harnessing AI to power stronger pitches, deliver more actionable insights to brand partners and tighten internal management procedures.

Sue described how she has made her own custom GPTs, why she feels that for managers to understand AI they have to use it themselves, and how we need to see it more as an electric bike than a self-driving car. 
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

Mumsnet's Sue Macmillan on how AI has changed everything

Welcome back to this special season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London.
This week features an interview with Danny Groom, CEO of DMG Media, talking to Flashes & Flames’ Colin Morrison. 

Danny talks about the opportunities he sees with AI and personalisation, the importance of codes and communication, and what they’ve learned with their AI innovation team when it comes to connecting their work and ideas up with the rest of the business.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

DMG Media's Danny Groom on using AI to offer targeting and personalisation

Welcome back to our special season bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London.
This week we’re featuring a panel discussion moderated by media consultant Paul Hood and featuring Tami Hoffman, Director of Public Policy at The Guardian; Amir Malik, AI & Digital transformation lead at consultants Alvarez & Marsal; and Sajeeda Merali, CEO, PPA.
The panel was tasked with discussing how publishers should respond to AI models using copyrighted content and what regulatory, commercial, and strategic options exist. 
Paul began the session by laying out the topics under discussion - LLM’s taking content without permission or payment, whether content licensing marketplaces offer a solution, what action publishers should be taking to protect themselves and the impact of agentic AI  and bot traffic on publishers who need human audiences.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter, AI Masterclasses and more on voices.media

AI regulation, IP and copyright issues. What can be achieved – and what can’t? What are the risks and compromises?

Welcome back to this special season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London.
This week features Jon Slade, CEO at the Financial Times,  speaking with Seedelta’s Chris Duncan, about how the business information publisher is taking on the AI challenge.
Jon  talked about how he sees AI as part of a larger disruption that will force publishers back to the fundamentals of strong journalism and strong brands along with the development of new products.
He spoke about the FT’s approach to licensing and the brands long-term focus on direct corporate deals rather than licensing to LLMs and the role of the FT’s archive in creating predictive intelligence products.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

Financial Times' Jon Slade on using AI as a catalyst to evolve, with quality journalism as the foundation

Welcome back to our special season bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London at the end of last year.
This week we’re featuring a panel discussion on how AI is changing - and will change - newsrooms and media content.
On the panel - moderated by Esther Thorpe - was Tom Jackson, EVP/ CTO, News UK, Carola York, Managing Director, FT Specialist Europe, and Stuart Forrest, Global Audience Director, Bauer Media Group.
We discussed how each of these newsrooms is using AI, and how these tools are helping editorial teams solve their own pain points, both pre and post publishing, as well as in other departments like sales, subscriptions and marketing. 
A common theme was that AI is being approached as a way to help journalists make the most of their talents and the content they produce, not replace it. We also explored what success looks like for newsroom AI projects, and how they’re feeling about the future.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter, AI Masterclasses and more on voices.media

How AI is changing newsrooms and media content

Welcome back to this special season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London at the end of last year.
This week features Toby Wiseman, MF for  Content at Hearst UK,  speaking with Flashes & Flames’ Colin Morrison, about what AI means to the magazine publisher.
Toby talked about Hearst’s efforts to get staff on the same page with AI, making them more comfortable with the technology through an AI amnesty, regular training sessions and an AI policy. He said AI should be invisible and was clear that there was no place for publishing AI-generated content.
He did however see a powerful role for AI in optimising content discovery and audience engagement, restoring the link between content and communities.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

Hearst UK’s Toby Wiseman on using AI to reconnect with communities

Welcome back to our special season bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London at the end of last year.
This week we’re featuring a panel discussion on how AI is reshaping B2B data and information companies.
On the panel - moderated by Chris Duncan of Seedelta - were Piers North, CEO at Reach Plc, Henry Faure Walker, CEO at Newsquest, Emily Shelley, CEO, PA Media Group and Joanna Levesque, Managing Director at FT Strategies.
On the panel - moderated by Natasha Christie-Miller - were Dean Curtis, CEO at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Nicola Tillin, EVP of Lions Intelligence, Christopher Gasson, founder at Global Water Intelligence, and John Barnes, Chief Digital Officer at William Reed.
The panel discussed a variety of approaches to partnering and licensing content to AI companies, balancing this with protecting IP and value, and ways AI is being used to enhance products for both small and large B2B players. The panel also shared how they’re using AI internally, and where others can get started.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media

How AI is already a vital part of B2B data and information

Welcome back to this special season of The Publisher Podcast, bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London at the end of last year.
This week features Christian Broughton, CEO at the Independent, speaking with Flashes & Flames’ Colin Morrison, about what AI means to the digital-only newsbrand.
The Independent left behind its 30-year print history almost 10 years ago and seeing growth in revenue and profitability for the last eight years of its digital-only decade. Christian spoke about The Independent’s enthusiastic embrace of AI, and how it has used the development of its AI-powered news summary service Bulletin as a sandbox to experiment and ultimately bring AI into other areas of the business.
Christian  spoke about how more AI was allowing The Independent to be more human, do more with a relatively small team, free up reporters to extend its mission as a dogma-free platform for trusted information, and drive talent-led audience engagement.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

The Independent’s CEO Christian Broughton on using AI to do more and be more human

Welcome back to the Publisher Podcast, and the first in our special season bringing you the best sessions from the Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information and Events, which we held with Flashes & Flames in London at the end of last year.
This week we’re featuring a panel discussion on AI and the future of trusted media; how to balance the efficiencies offered by AI with much needed editorial integrity.
On the panel - moderated by Chris Duncan of Seedelta - were Piers North, CEO at Reach Plc, Henry Faure Walker, CEO at Newsquest, Emily Shelley, CEO, PA Media Group and Joanna Levesque, Managing Director at FT Strategies.
The panel discussed how the tension between efficiency and trust is not a zero sum game, citing the opportunities to do more things quicker with AI from new product development to journalistic research and content distribution, but also how to mitigate potential risks to publisher trust by always placing accuracy ahead of speed and firmly fixing the ‘human in the loop’.
Read the key takeaways from this session, find our weekly newsletter and more on voices.media
 

AI and the future of trusted media

In our end-of-year episode, we talk through a busy year at MediaVoices, and outline what our favourite interviews from the year have been and why.
Peter highlights chats with DC Thomson's Rebecca Miskin and Immediate Media's Sean Cornwell, who shared their strategies for managing disruption and transformation. "You control what you can control. You experiment as much as you can," said Miskin. "You learn from the experiments, and then you place bold bets."
Esther chose a recent interview with Liesbeth Nizet, Head of Future Audiences Monetization at Mediahuis. Nizet is focused on finding the answers to questions about engaging not just the next generation, but currently disengaged audiences too, which is something more publishers should have as a priority.
Younger audiences will pay for games, entertainment and travel, from the latest Fortnite skin to an Instagrammable holiday. "So how can we make our news so interesting, or so relevant, or so representative for them that they want to pay for it?” Nizet asks.
We also share our outlook for 2026, and why we think it's going to get worse for the industry before it gets better.

2025 highlights from media leaders, and our outlook for 2026

Most publishers know they should be doing more with AI, but the gap between strategy decks and the reality of nightly, weekly or even monthly publishing deadlines is huge.
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 Jeroen Goemans, MD for EMEA at content management solutions provider WoodWing. After 25 years working with content-heavy brands, Woodwing’s publishing clients have already automated huge chunks of their production process, but they are already seeing real ROI from AI integrations in its established content and asset management platforms.
This Media Briefs episode is sponsored by WoodWing.
WoodWing empowers publishing ecosystems by uniting technology with deep industry expertise. For 25+ years, we’ve helped teams create, manage, and deliver content across print and digital channels with greater efficiency and consistency. Our portfolio spans multi-channel production, digital assets, quality, knowledge, and information management. Founded in 2000, we operate globally from our headquarters in the Netherlands.  
Learn more about WoodWing’s AI innovations on their website: https://www.woodwing.com/solutions/content-orchestration

Media Briefs: WoodWing’s Jeroen Goemans on using AI for measurable workflow upgrade

This week's guest is Rebecca Miskin, CEO of family-owned Scottish publisher DC Thomson. Peter caught up with Rebecca at FIPP Congress in October ahead of her presentation, titled The Gnarly Reality of Transformation.
One of DC Thomson's iconic brands is The Beano, a children's comic-magazine that's been published since the 1930's. Gnarly is very much a Beano word, so Peter asked Rebecca why she describes transformation the way Dennis the Menace might, and maybe more ominously as a cross between chess and Russian Roulette.
We spoke about the pressure and the privilege of working to transform a family-owned business that has a 200 year legacy, and the secrets of a successful transformation project (spoiler: it's all about people).
Get the write-up of the key points of this interview in your inbox by subscribing to The Publisher Newsletter, over on voices.media

DC Thomson's Rebecca Miskin on the secrets of successful business transformation

Our guest on The Publisher Podcast this week is Liesbeth Nizet, Head of Future Audiences Monetization at Mediahuis, a media group with a presence in Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany and Luxembourg. 
In her role, Liesbeth is focused on next-generation audiences, and helping build future-proof business models that bridge editorial purpose and commercial potential.
We talked at FIPP Congress about stereotypes around young people paying for news, to what extent demographics are helpful when understanding behaviours, and what she’s doing at Mediahuis to encourage younger audiences to engage with news content.
Get the write-up of the key points of this interview in your inbox by subscribing to The Publisher Newsletter, over on voices.media

Mediahuis' Liesbeth Nizet on engaging and monetising younger audiences

In this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast, we're joined by Megha Garibaldi, Chief Growth Officer at The Atlantic. Megha leads the consumer revenue vertical, including consumer marketing, and she helped lead The Atlantic to its milestone of 1 million paid subscribers and reaching profitability in 2024.
She spoke to Esther at FIPP Congress about the changes she’s seen in audiences’ willingness to pay over the years, the differences and similarities of working on membership and subscriber-driven publications, and where she’s looking for audience growth in the current challenging landscape.
Megha also discussed the differences and similarities of marketing free versus paywalled publications from her work previously at The Guardian, and their respective member and subscriber approaches.
Get the write-up of the key points of this interview in your inbox by subscribing to The Publisher Newsletter, over on voices.media

The Atlantic's Megha Garibaldi on growing subscribers in a challenging landscape

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
 

Kyiv Independent’s Zakhar Protsiuk on its campaign-led approach to audience growth

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

Communiqué's David Adeleke on turning a newsletter into a sustainable media business

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.

Highlights from FIPP Congress 2025: "An existential moment"

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.

Financial Times' Juliet Riddell on finding new ways to tell stories using video

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.

Like the Wind magazine's Simon Freeman on 'niche-ification' and sustainable indie magazine publishing

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.

What makes video work for magazine publishers?

This week's guest on The Publisher Podcast is Sean Cornwell, CEO of Immediate Media. Sean will be speaking to Colin Morrison at our November AI Forum in London, discussing what AI means to Immediate. There are still tickets left but we're anticipating selling out, so head here to book and for more info on speakers and Masterclasses.
Immediate is something of a ray of hope amidst all the AI gloom. Over the last few years, the business - led by Sean - has looked really hard for ways to make AI work to its advantage.
Sean and Peter talk about optimism and how important it is to focus on the things you can control, the role of real human beings in content creations, and how to bring those humans along on the AI journey. Peter asks (of course) where print fits into all this.
Sean is speaking at The Definitive AI Forum for Media, Information & Events on Tuesday 25th November. It's a one-day event from Flashes & Flames and MediaVoices explaining, discussing and projecting the impact of AI on content creation, discoverability, marketing and management in news media, lifestyle, business information and events companies.

Immediate Media's Sean Cornwell on investing in AI experimentation, innovation and upskilling

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.

The PPA's Mel McVeigh on the evolution of publisher products in a fragmented ecosystem

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.

People Inc.'s Neil Vogel on positioning for success in a complicated AI era

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.

Flow Magazine's Irene Smit on her 'paper, not print' philosophy

This is the latest in a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher Newsletter Summit - Passendo and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their newsletters to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode features a fantastic panel from the Publisher Newsletter Summit where Reach plc’s Audience and Content Director Jenna Thompson discussed why they looked to Substack for new newsletter launches, and what they’ve learned over the past two years of free and paid experiments.
Get the learnings from this episode written up in article form straight into your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter at voices.media. 
 

The Publisher Summits: Why Reach turned to Substack for newsletter expansion and experimentation

This is the latest in a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher Newsletter Summit - Passendo and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their newsletters to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode features a fantastic panel from the Publisher Newsletter Summit where The Economist’s Andrew Palmer and Dominic Rech and the Financial Times’ Sarah Ebner joined Press Gazette’s Charlotte Tobitt to discuss personality-powered newsletters – the good and the bad.
Get the learnings from this episode written up in article form straight into your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter at voices.media. 
 

The Publisher Summits: How The Economist and Financial Times manage personality-driven newsletters

This is the latest in a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher App Summit - Pugpig, and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their apps to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode features a fantastic panel from the Publisher App Summit where Hearst UK’s Emma Peagam and Stylist’s Felicity Thistlethwaite joined Esther Thorpe on stage to talk about how games and added extras help enhance relationships with their subscribers, and boost those all-important retention rates.

The Publisher Summits: How Hearst UK and Stylist use app extra features to enhance reader relationships

This is the latest in a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher Newsletter Summit - Passendo and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their newsletters to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode features two sessions from the Publisher Newsletter Summit exploring pop-up and limited run newsletters.
Publishers are seeing success with pop-up and limited run newsletters, from educational courses to sporting events and elections. But what happens to subscribers to a pop-up newsletter after the newsletter has run its course? 
Katie Binns, Deputy editor at Times Money Mentor, a free personal finance section of the Times brand, explains in the first session how they nurture subscribers to two of their hugely successful pop-up newsletters, Couch to £5k and Pension Power Up, after the series has ended.
The next session is from Neil Macdonald, Head of Newsletters at National World. In January, National World brand The Scotsman launched Scottish Golf Courses You Must Play, their first ever paid, limited-edition series newsletter. Neil shares the learnings from putting together and launching an evergreen newsletter series, and how it’s going six months in.
Get the learnings from this episode written up in article form straight into your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter at voices.media. 

The Publisher Summits: Pop-up and limited-run newsletter strategies from The Times and National World

This is the latest in a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher App Summit - Pugpig, and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their apps to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode features a session with Muj Ali, Group Product Manager of Acquisition, Retention and Apps at the Financial Times. He talks about where the app fits in at the FT in terms of the subscriber funnel, how they’ve adapted what they publish to people’s mobile browsing habits, and why the app is increasingly proving itself to be one of the FT’s most vital retention tools.

The Publisher Summits: Why the FT’s app is its most powerful retention tool

This is the latest in a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher Podcast and App Summits - Crowdfindervideo, Pugpig, and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their magazines and newsletters to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode features insight from Aleena Augustine, who is Audience Growth Manager at The Observer. Now this is a bit special as The Observer brand was acquired by Tortoise Media in April of this year, so there was an awful lot to talk about there. Aleena spoke specifically about how the team is combining podcasts and apps for a powerful subscriber proposition – and what comes next for native audio within its app.
Get the learnings from this episode written up in article form straight into your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter at voices.media. 

The Publisher Summits: How the Observer marries its audio and app strategies for audience retention

This special episode of The Publisher Podcast is an audio teaser for our Inside the Print Revival report, published by Media Voices. If you haven't already got the report, you can download it from voices.media/printrevival.
We at Media Voices had been wondering for some time about what is really going on in the print magazine market as we watched the number of stories shared about print launches and relaunches grow from a trickle to, if not quite a tidal wave, a fairly fast-flowing stream.
Talk of a print comeback has been increasingly common in the magazine market. But at the same time, news about magazine circulations dropping, print operations being scaled back and regular closures have continued.
With these two seemingly contradictory narratives competing for our attention, we decided to try and find out what is really going on.
Inside the Print Revival is made possible with the support of our sponsors: Freeport Press, Warners Media Group, Atex, FIPP, Piano, and Manson Group.

Inside the print revival: Publishers find success with premium magazines

This is the first of a series of sessions from The Publisher Summits, which were held in June. The Summits covered four product areas across 2 days in London, from newsletters and print to apps and podcasts, featuring speakers from The Economist and the FT to Reach, National World, Grazia and more.
Thanks to the sponsors of the Publisher Newsletter and Print Summit - Passendo, Piano, Warners Group Publications, FIPP, and Syno. Find out more about them and how they help publishers take their magazines and newsletters to the next level at publishersummits.com.
This episode brings together two sessions from the Publisher Newsletter Summit stage looking at newsletter marketing and discovery.
The first talk is from Sophie Laughton, Newsletter Editor at Metro.co.uk, sharing how a site redesign helped their team drive newsletter sign-ups, and what other publishers can learn. 
Then you’ll hear from Hannah Tomes at the Spectator, interviewed on-stage by Esther Thorpe, discussing which marketing and growth strategies have and haven’t worked for them.
Get the learnings from this episode written up in article form straight into your inbox by signing up to The Publisher Newsletter at voices.media. 
 

The Publisher Summits: Newsletter marketing strategies from Metro.co.uk and The Spectator

It was standing room only at the inaugural Monetising B2B conference, organised by Flashes & Flames, at London's historic Stationers' Hall on 20th May. Peter and Esther went along to fly the flag for Media Voices.
The conference was focused not on the difference between pureplay events and information companies, but on the data-fuelled intersection and growth potential between them. The breadth and depth of the day's content echoed the mission of Flashes & Flames and of the change underway in B2B companies in the era of AI and revenue diversification.
Although there were a wide range of topics discussed during the day, this episode brings out highlights from three hot-topic areas: 

AI's profit potential: How B2B's application of AI is moving to commercial reality;
Data with purpose: Why proprietary data can define the future of B2B;
Events re-imagined: From trade shows to festivalisation - why the future of events belongs to those who curate memorable (and valuable) experiences.

For the full event report, see Flashes & Flames.

Highlights from Flashes & Flames' Monetising B2B Information & Events conference

For publishers, the conversation around AI has moved on from how to incorporate it into the business. Now, 'Fear of missing out' has been replaced by 'Fear of not being able to measure'.
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 again from Bridged Media CEO Maanas Mediratta. Last time we spoke about how Bridged Media was making AI tools more accessible to a broader range of publishers. This time, our conversation was focused on how publisher conversations around AI have moved on, and why measuring ROI is becoming a key part of the discourse.
It can be challenging to visualise "Operationalising AI" and what that means for your organisation in terms of people, process and tech. Bridged Media is currently running a survey to help establish an industry benchmark on how to future proof your business using AI enabled tech.
Take the survey to help find out if your newsroom is AI ready. 

Media Briefs: Bridged Media's Maanas Mediratta on why ROI is increasingly important in AI

In this bonus episode of The Publisher Podcast, sponsored by Memberful, we hear from Jen Matichuk, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Memberful.
Jen spoke about how membership is a powerful way to diversify revenue, whether you need to introduce membership tiers (spoiler: you don't), and how to deliver value that converts.
She also explores the value of community, and why evolution and iteration are key for retention.
This episode 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, and podcast episodes.
Take control of your publishing business this year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Building recurring revenue and audience connections: in conversation with Memberful's Jen Matichuk

On this week’s episode of The Publisher podcast we hear from Alex White, Group Managing Director for Immediate Media’s Knowledge portfolio which includes BBC Gardeners' World, BBC History and Immediate’s parenting business, MadeForMums.
We spoke about the benefits that come from the company’s focus on publishing verticals, how the magazine publisher is bringing a culture of innovation into the business by giving staff the space to innovate and how she believes encouraging an ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ is crucial to compete.
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, and podcast episodes.
Take control of your publishing business this year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Immediate Media’s Alex White on giving staff the space to innovate

In this episode of The Publisher Podcast we hear from Sam Baker, Senior Producer of Deutsche Welle's award-winning podcast Don't Drink The Milk. She takes us through the appeal of documentary and narrative podcasts, how the team is experimenting with video and AI, and how overlapping interests allows DW to find new audiences for its audio.
And, of course, we discuss where the title 'Don't Drink The Milk' originates from. It's a fascinating story - and one that succinctly explains the appeal of culture podcasts, and why audio is a wonderful medium for explaining history.
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.

Deutsche Welle's Sam Baker on solving the problem of podcast promotion

On this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast we hear from Marissa Zanetti-Crume,  Bloomberg Media’s Global Head of Product. Marissa talks about how her product team are collaborators, integrating content, technology, and commercial considerations.
We also spoke about Bloomberg Media’s newsletter strategy and how its 70-strong newsletter portfolio is a mix of subscriber exclusives and free newsletters positioned to deliver both revenue and reach. Marissa explains how the introduction of a live audio Q&A has given Bloomberg journalists the opportunity to engage directly with their 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 lets you offer membership perks and exclusive content to your loyal audience, giving you full control over who has access to your articles, newsletters, and podcast episodes.
Take control of your publishing business this year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Bloomberg's Marissa Zanetti-Crume on strategy for audience-first news products

This week on The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we're joined by Tav Klitgaard, Group CEO of Zetland Media. As well as news publication Zetland, the Danish company also has a book publishing business, an AI transcription startup, and has recently launched a Finnish publication called Uusi Juttu, which has attracted 15,000 paying members within the first two months.
Tav discusses the importance of designing products to address user needs, and how that pays back in attracting paying younger audiences, as well as taking their subscriber-first business model to Finland. He also explains why audio has been such a pivotal part of making Zetland successful as a member-driven publisher, and what future he sees for video podcasts.
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 human-first, not software first, so whether you’re launching, growing or switching platforms, the team at Memberful are committed to providing exceptional support at every stage of your journey.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Zetland's Tav Klitgaard on designing news products that younger people will pay for

In this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast, Metro.co.uk’s Newsletter Editor Sophie Laughton takes us through… everything newsletter.
From how the Metro’s redesign allowed the newsletter team to break silos, through how they’re solving discovery issues, to what newsletters offer that no other medium can, Laughton provides an A-Z on newsletters for publishers.
This is both a newsletter strategy 101 and a rallying cry for what newsletters can offer to publishers.
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. 
You can easily set up and manage your membership program with Memberful’s intuitive features, from multiple membership tiers and payment options to cater to different audience segments, and maximise your revenue potential.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Metro's Newsletter Editor Sophie Laughton on the future of publishers' newsletters

On this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast we hear from Esther Newman, Senior Editor and Podcast Host at Women’s Running. Esther explains that a recent exercise to create a persona for the typical Women's Running reader led to the realisation that there were a range of audiences accessing the brand in a variety of ways.
While running is the banner that attracts readers to the brand, a whole host of women’s interests are what drives the community. From a monthly print magazine through a weekly podcast, to a Patreon Discord and social channels, Women’s Running is ‘so many things’ to its diverse audience.
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.

Women’s Running’s Esther Newman on serving a range of audience needs

On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast we hear from Dan Russell, Reach Plc's Engagement Director (for short). Reach Plc achieved its best ever month for traffic in January, based in no small part on a social strategy that is tailored to each platform - and doesn't rely on chasing huge hits.
The teams across Reach's titles have also seen success in building communities on WhatsApp where, as Russell explains, the limited nature of messaging apps can be a benefit rather than a drawback. He discusses why publishers cannot take the rarefied space of messaging apps for granted, and how the engagement team disseminates universal lessons about community growth across the entire portfolio.
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. 
You can easily set up and manage your membership program with Memberful’s intuitive features, from multiple membership tiers and payment options to cater to different audience segments, and maximise your revenue potential.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Reach Plc's Dan Russell on achieving 4 million referrals from WhatsApp

This week on The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we're joined by Press Gazette's Chief Commercial Officer Richard Jamieson. He takes us for a behind-the-scenes look at how the industry publication makes money, and the huge changes he's overseen in its commercial strategy over the past few years.
Richard outlines the opportunities he saw coming onto a well-respected B2B brand which previously had limited commercialisation but a really strong audience. He also discusses the results of some big changes to their daily newsletter over the past 18 months, the power of face-to-face events, and Press Gazette's newly-launched registration wall.
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. 
You can easily set up and manage your membership program with Memberful’s intuitive features, from multiple membership tiers and payment options to cater to different audience segments, and maximise your revenue potential.
Take control of your publishing business this new year with Memberful. Visit memberful.com/publisherpod and get started with a free trial.

Press Gazette's Richard Jamieson on monetising a 60-year-old B2B brand

Live content is a crucial tool for publishers for attracting and retaining readers, especially younger audiences used to finding real-time information from social media. Publishers have an opportunity to add vital context and expertise compared to alternative sources.
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes with senior executives from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode we hear from Norkon CEO Eirik Næsje and VP of Sales Birger Søiland. Norkon delivers innovative solutions to help publishers meet their growth objectives, with a vision to be the global standard in media to attract, engage and retain readers. Eirik and Birger talk to Peter about the increasing importance of live content in 2025's media landscape, including as a tool to enable discovery and build habit.
This episode is sponsored by Norkon. Trusted by publishers like Amedia, La Presse and The Minnesota Star Tribune, the SaaS solutions provider is transforming the digital media landscape with innovative live content solutions that help publishers meet their growth objectives.
Visit Norkon.net to find out more.

Media Briefs: Norkon's Eirik Næsje and Birger Søiland on the power of live

This week on The Publisher Podcast we speak to Katie Vanneck Smith, CEO at Hearst UK. Katie's career spans The Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Telegraph, as well as co-founding Tortoise. In the two years since joining Hearst, the company has launched and revamped membership programmes for Elle, Good Housekeeping, Men's Health and Women's Health, and soon Prima and Runner's World.
Katie talks about subscriptions versus memberships, the importance of publishing teams, the future of print, and what the point is of industry associations as she takes up her role as chair of the PPA. She also dives into the formulas that make memberships successful. 
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.

Hearst's Katie Vanneck Smith on making magazine memberships successful

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.

January  2025 wrap-up

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.

Which?'s Hannah Ballantyne on the importance of social media for building trust and relevance

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.

1440's Tim Huelskamp on finding white space for a newsletter-based media business

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.

Wessenden Marketing’s Jim Bilton on publisher product priorities for 2025 and beyond

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?

Pod in a Pub: Publishing's pivotal moments this year, and predictions for 2025

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.

Dow Jones' Emma O'Brian on the backroom magic behind a specialised portfolio

This week on The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we're joined by Will Hayward, journalist, author and columnist specialising in Welsh politics. He also writes The Will Hayward Newsletter, which he relaunched in September after running it for nearly a year as one of Reach plc's Substack experiments, where it won Best Politics Newsletter at this year's Publisher Newsletter Awards.
Since going it alone, he's built up more than 3,000 subscribers in just seven weeks, with revenues and subscriber numbers now exceeding its previous iteration. He talks about his journey into covering all things Wales, what he's learned working at the UK's largest regional publisher, and what opportunities he spotted in going solo, even if it meant having to restart his newsletter from scratch.
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 on relaunching a successful solo newsletter

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.
 

Media Briefs: BlueConic’s Patrick Crane on managing data strategies in times of constant transformation

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.

Total Politics' Ludovica D'Angelo on the primacy of product in a shifting media landscape

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.
 

Saveur’s Kat Craddock on rebuilding a premium print presence on digital foundations

On this week’s episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Daniel Smith, Managing Director of the Mark Allen Group’s Agriculture division, which includes brands like Farmers Weekly, Pig World and Poultry Business. His team are behind the Farmers Weekly podcast, which was shortlisted in the Best B2B Podcast category at the Publisher Podcast Awards earlier this year.
Farmers Weekly have been really smart about monetising a niche podcast topic and audience, so we discussed creating a podcast that would fit into a farmer’s lifestyle, where the podcast fits in terms of subscriber acquisition and engagement, and collaborating with sponsors to create a sale-able proposition.
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.

Farmers Weekly’s Daniel Smith on creating and monetising a podcast for farmers

On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we speak to Brandon Grosvenor, Chief Revenue Officer at Torstar Corporation, home of The Toronto Star. Over the summer, The Toronto Star became one of the first large publishers in North America to announce they were rolling out micropayments. It's a feature audiences frequently request - especially with the rise of paywalls - but for a myriad of reasons, few publishers have experimented with.
Brandon discusses why they decided to try micropayments out alongside their subscription offering, the thinking behind their pricing and day pass strategy, and the challenges of audience growth in Canada. He also explains why he doesn't think micropayments will be a significant revenue stream, but still has an important part to play in a publisher's acquisition strategy.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
blueconic.com

Torstar Corporation's Brandon Grosvenor on early micropayment experiments

On this week’s episode of Media Voices, we hear from The Knowledge’s founder Jon Connell. The Knowledge is a free-to-read newsletter aimed not at a particular demographic, but at a ‘mindset’.
Connell and team’s aim is to provide an antidote to the outrage engine, instant gratification-baiting nature of social publishing. At the same time they seek to speak to people who are curious and wish to hear from a variety of perspectives; the challenge lies in squaring that circle.
In the episode we also discuss the challenges of monetising newsletters, the growing popularity of the newsletter as a medium, and how legacy news brands are adapting to the rise of this new format.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business. 
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
blueconic.com

The Knowledge's Jon Connell on why newsletters are aimed at mindsets, not demographics

On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we speak to John Shields, Director of Podcasts at The Economist. They made the bold move last year to put almost all their podcasts behind a paywall, creating a separate Economist Podcasts+ subscription option.
A year on from the launch of Economist Podcasts+, John discusses what drove the decision, some of the risks and opportunities of charging for audio, and the lessons they've learned over the past 12 months.
 
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.

The Economist's John Shields on growing subscriber-only podcasts

On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Paul Ostwald, co-founder of Morningcrunch, a German-language media brand aimed at young professionals. Since launching in summer 2023, they've grown to the point that their newsletters now go out to over 50,000 young professionals every morning.
Morningcrunch is ad-funded, and Paul explains how he's working with a German media house to bring in bigger deals. He also talks about how he's taken inspiration from newsletter outfits that have far bigger budgets for A/B testing, why younger people still care about email, and the importance of building trust as a start-up.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.

Morningcrunch's Paul Ostwald on growing and monetising a German-language daily newsletter

On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we speak to Eric Ulken, Vice President of Product at The Baltimore Banner. The Baltimore Banner is a nonprofit news organisation launched in 2022 which serves the Baltimore region, and the larger Maryland state. 
Eric talks about what makes the Banner's business model unique, why it was so important to get an app up and running early on, what marks success for them with their app audience, and why they're such a valuable tool for engaging premium audiences. He also explores why publishers should be looking to other apps for inspiration beyond just text-based news delivery.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business. 
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
blueconic.com

The Baltimore Banner's Eric Ulken on the value of an app to a local news start-up

In the fast-paced world of digital publishing, a robust content management system (CMS) plays a pivotal role in shaping success. It can empower publishers not only to streamline workflows and distribute content effectively, but also to engage with and deliver on consumer needs. 
With an intuitive interface, seamless integration with digital channels and robust analytics, the right CMS can become the backbone of modern digital publishing; the wrong one can mean disrupted or inefficient workflows, poor content management and missed opportunities for audience engagement.
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes – just 10 to 15 minutes – with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode we hear from John Rahim, Senior Consultant in Digital Publishing at digital publishing platform provider, Purple. John tells us how a flexible CMS can help today’s publishers tackle current challenges, and why it’s important to adapt platform to customer need. 
He also discusses the role a capable CMS can play in making a smooth transition from print- to digital-first.
Purple is a leading digital publishing platform for publishers, providing comprehensive solutions for modern publishing. Based in Berlin/Germany with an experienced team of 60 employees, Purple has been supporting publishers worldwide since 2007. Today, over 600 brands in 10 countries rely on Purple.
The platform consists of three core modules:
Purple Editorial: Purple Editorial is an AI-powered headless CMS and editorial system that enables highly efficient workflows and reliable content distribution across multiple channels.
Purple Experience: Purple not only offers an advanced editorial system but also solutions for creating apps and websites. This module allows publishers to deliver a seamless and engaging user experience that is consistent across all digital channels.
Purple Growth: To maximise reach and audience engagement, Purple provides various audience development features. These help publishers better understand and target their readers, fostering long-term growth.
Purple offers Purple Essentials and Purple Pro, different products tailored to meet the diverse needs of publishers of all sizes. Purple is ideal for multichannel publishing and supports multibrand publishing, allowing publishers to manage multiple brands efficiently through a single platform. With these comprehensive and flexible solutions, Purple is the preferred choice for publishers aiming to succeed in the digital world.
 
 

Media Briefs: Purple’s John Rahim on why a scalable CMS is key to future-proofing your digital publishing strategy

On this week's episode of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices, we hear from Rhiannon J Davies, Founder and Editor at Greater Govanhill, a community magazine and media project. Launched in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, it now has a website, radio show, award-winning podcast and community newsroom space, as well as doing events, training, workshops and outreach with marginalised communities. Rhiannon also established the Scottish Beacon, which is a collaborative of independent, community-based publications all around Scotland.
Rhiannon goes behind the scenes on the logistics of producing a free bimonthly magazine, from local ad and membership revenue to grants for projects, as well as her dedication to maintaining quality, and the importance of offering a platform for voices not usually heard in the media. She also explains her ambition to support other local publications through collaboration and amplify stories which come out of local communities.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business.
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.

Greater Govanhill's Rhiannon J Davies on the power of print to connect communities

On this week's episode - the first of The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices - we speak to Simon Kurs, Commercial Editor at the Evening Standard.
The publisher won Best Commercial Strategy at this year's Publisher Podcast Awards for The Standard's Sustainable Travel campaign with Iberostar, a podcast-led multimedia series exploring how to travel the world without wrecking it.
We discussed the Evening Standard's approach to podcast monetisation, from choosing clients that align with their values to having the podcast at the heart of a 360 degree media campaign. We also explore why publishers are at such an advantage when it comes to podcast campaigns, and why utilising multiple channels can help drive record-breaking podcast performance.
This season is sponsored by BlueConic, the operating system that puts data into action for marketing and growth doers. The industry-first solution empowers doers with an unmatched range of capabilities to access relevant customer data, create resonant customer experiences, and drive maximum returns for their business. 
More than 500 businesses worldwide rely on BlueConic to unlock their full customer data potential, including Forbes, Heineken, Mattel, Michelin, Telia Company, and VF Corp.
blueconic.com

The Evening Standard's Simon Kurs on an award-winning commercial podcast strategy

Newsletters and podcasts have a lot in common. As well as being low-cost, they can be intimate and personal; perfect for building lasting relationships with readers and listeners.
Neither format is new, but as it becomes increasingly more challenging to reach and engage people online, publishers are seeing the opportunities they offer for more sustainable audience-building. That's one of the reasons we put on a dual-stream Podcast and Newsletter Summit aimed at publishers in London last month.
This special episode in collaboration with journalism.co.uk brings out some of the key lessons and learnings from the Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summits. There are clips from some of the stage sessions, as well as exclusive interviews with Jon Young, Publisher at Reby Media, Sarah Ebner, Head of Newsletters at the Financial Times, and Rosalind Erskin, host of The Scotsman’s Scran podcast.
Missed the Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summits? You can access the session videos of each Summit on-demand here.
Thanks to Jacob Granger at Journalism.co.uk for joining us at the Publisher Podcast & Newsletter Summits and putting together this episode with us. Check out the Journalism.co.uk podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud and Spotify.

5 podcast and newsletter lessons from leading publishers: Publisher Summit special with journalism.co.uk

Digital transformation is not a one-and-done process, as anyone who has ever worked in the publishing industry can attest. For Hamburger Morgenpost the digital journey has been made in a series of steps and investments - all with an eye on transforming a once print-centric newspaper business into a digital pioneer. Now, with AI on the horizon, it is set to take another leap into the future of digital publishing by integrating artificial intelligence throughout its newsroom and processes.
In this special Conversations episode we hear from Arist von Harpe, Publisher of Hamburger Morgenpost and Peter Dyllick-Brenzinger Head of Product and Engineering at digital publishing platform provider Purple, about how the venerable newspaper is futureproofing itself and potentially providing a template for other media businesses taking their own first steps along that journey.
Arist and Peter tell us how MoPo went from a daily to a weekly newspaper while also embracing AI and digital technologies to reengineer their entire business model, and become, as Arist explains, "bigger than they are".
Purple is a leading digital publishing platform for publishers, providing comprehensive solutions for modern publishing. Based in Berlin/Germany with an experienced team of 60 employees, Purple has been supporting publishers worldwide since 2007. Today, over 600 brands in 10 countries rely on Purple.
The platform consists of three core modules:
Purple Editorial: Purple Editorial is an AI-powered headless CMS and editorial system that enables highly efficient workflows and reliable content distribution across multiple channels.
Purple Experience: Purple not only offers an advanced editorial system but also solutions for creating apps and websites. This module allows publishers to deliver a seamless and engaging user experience that is consistent across all digital channels.
Purple Growth: To maximise reach and audience engagement, Purple provides various audience development features. These help publishers better understand and target their readers, fostering long-term growth.
Purple offers Purple Essentials and Purple Pro, different products tailored to meet the diverse needs of publishers of all sizes. Purple is ideal for multichannel publishing and supports multibrand publishing, allowing publishers to manage multiple brands efficiently through a single platform. With these comprehensive and flexible solutions, Purple is the preferred choice for publishers aiming to succeed in the digital world.

How Hamburger Morgenpost has embraced AI and digital technologies to reengineer their business model: in conversation with Purple

This summer sees a packed sports calendar with the Euros in Germany and the Olympics and Paralympics in France. Adding these global events to the regular sports schedule amps up the demands on social media teams and it’s hard to imagine how they would cope without the help of automation.
For this special Conversations episode, we’re joined by Symran Cashyap, Vice President of Product at social media and email automation and optimisation specialists Echobox and Jan-Niklas Häuslein, head of social media at SPORT1, one of Germany’s leading free-to-air sports channels.
We discussed the demands of adding worldwide sporting events to already packed sports calendars, improving efficiency and productivity in a time where platforms are shifting to video content, building communities across multiple sports and leagues and of course, the role of AI in planning and testing.
Publishers of all sizes use Echobox to automate, optimize and customize the curation and distribution of their content. Today, over 2000 publishers in 100 countries rely on Echobox's artificial intelligence to increase performance while saving costs on social media, emails and newsletters.
You can download Echobox's latest Publishing Trends Report 2024 here.

How broadcaster SPORT1 uses AI and automation to maximise social media impact: in conversation with Echobox

Time magazine has called 2024 the ultimate election year, with people going to the polls from India to the UK and America. Rolling election coverage gives publishers the opportunity to keep audiences updated, but also include their opinions in reporting.
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes – just 10 to 15 minutes – with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode, Peter speaks with Naomi Owusu, Co-Founder and CEO at Tickaroo, a leading supplier of news and sports media solutions which enable publishing organisations to engage with their audiences in real-time. We spoke about how live blogging can be used to engage audiences with election coverage, but also how it can be used to bring community voices into regular local reporting.
This Media Briefs episode is sponsored by Tickaroo, a leading supplier of news and sports media solutions. Tickaroo develops software and apps that enable organisations to engage with their audiences in real-time and reach their monetisation goals.
Its live blogging software is used by media houses, event organisers, and professional sports clubs and associations. The live content software combines professional digital storytelling and live reporting, with over 72,000 journalists relying on its digital publishing software, available as a native app and web application.
Learn more about Tickaroo’s media solutions on their website.

Media Briefs: How live blogging adds an audience-first dimension to election coverage

While the podcast is on a break we've been hard at work assembling the industry's best and brightest publishers to share the strategies and learnings behind their successful podcasts and newsletters, from top newsbrands launching paid podcasts to indie newsletters nailing their commercial strategies.
The Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summit - held on June 12th in London - will focus on sharing expertise and practical discussions that will help shape and refine your podcast and newsletter strategies, and set you up to take advantage of growing opportunities.
The event is suitable for editorial staff with responsibility for newsletters and/or podcasts, dedicated executives or senior managers with a strategic overview. For those who can't join on the day, there's a video-on-demand package available on the ticketing page.
Ahead of the final agenda reveal, Esther, Peter and Chris explain why Media Voices is running a dual-track Summit dedicated to podcasts and newsletters, and pick out which sessions they're most looking forward to.

Preview: The Publisher Podcast & Newsletter Summit 2024

In this bonus episode of Media Voices, we hear from Nicholas Thompson, CEO at The Atlantic. We first had Nicholas as a guest on the podcast back in 2019 when he was WIRED's Editor in Chief, about what he'd learned a year after introducing a paywall to the brand. 
Nicholas has since been credited with being a driving force behind The Atlantic's recent return to profitability and subscriber strategy success. So we were keen to invite him back on for a wide-ranging conversation about how he achieved the turnaround, as well as what happened to their paid newsletter scheme, Apple News+, and his thoughts on wider industry trends like AI.
Nicholas spoke about the experiments The Atlantic has run around its paywall strategy over the past few years, transforming the business holistically, and doing less but in much more depth. He also shares his outlook for the rest of 2024 - including the election effect - and how he's setting his next goals for the publication after meeting both the 1 million subscriber and profitability milestones earlier this month.
Find out more here about tickets and the agendas of the Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summits in London on 12th June.

The Atlantic's Nicholas Thompson on milestones, paywalls, and setting future goals

Focusing on key digital advertising accounts makes sense for publishers, but there is huge revenue potential in the small and medium sized businesses that publishers once served as a matter of course in their print publications.
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes – just 10 to 15 minutes – with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode, Peter speaks with Christian Scherbel, CEO of Smartico about what opportunities there are for publishers to service small-business accounts online, and restore local digital display advertising revenues.
This Media Briefs episode is sponsored by Smartico, enabling more than 500 publishers worldwide to access the untapped revenue potential in digital display advertising for small and medium sized businesses.
Combining the power of AI with human creativity, Smartico’s Smart Ads Solution builds high-impact ads from existing advertiser content. Using just a URL, print ad or social media post Smartico will create engaging ads including built-in instant landing pages for your advertisers.
Learn more about how Smartico can help grow SMB advertising revenues on their website or email Christian to request a free demo.

Media Briefs: Setting new KPIs to rescue SMB display-ad revenues

On this week's episode - the last of the season - we hear from James Cridland, Podnews editor and radio futurologist. Podnews is a daily email newsletter about everything podcasting, and is one of the smartest setups we’ve seen in terms of its supporter structure, monetisation and automations. 
James tells us how he’s found the sweet spot between his technical, editorial and audio skills, why classifieds were a surprising success story for him, and the balance between newsletter growth and revenue.
In the news roundup the team discusses the launch of the Guardian's dedicated cooking app Feast, and asks what adjacent apps like cooking or games platforms offer to the parent brand.
Sign up to our daily newsletter to stay in touch until we come back for the next season by heading to voices.media, or check out our Publisher Podcast and Newsletter Summit agenda and tickets at publisherpodcasts.com.

Podnews' James Cridland on running a profitable newsletter-first publication

On this week's episode Edward Hyatt, Director of Newsroom SEO at The Wall Street Journal takes us through staying abreast and ahead of changes to the SEO landscape. From personal experience he outlines the differences in SEO strategies between subscription and non-subscription publishers, the changes in the SEO landscape over the past decade, and the potential impact of AI on SEO for publishers.
In the news roundup the team discusses the news that Forbes has been using a made for advertising (MFA)  subdomain to game the digital advertising ecosystem. Since 2017, Forbes was using tactics that have long been condemned by anyone who cares about quality media - and we discuss the likelihood that they are the only ones. According to a US Association of National Advertisers (ANA) survey conducted last year, MFA sites received 21% of all ad impressions and 15% of digital adspend, despite being widely considered as a low-quality medium for advertising. So, what (if anything) can be done?
Sign up to our daily newsletter and community forum at voices.media.

The Wall Street Journal's Edward Hyatt on the changing SEO landscape

This week we hear from Chris Minasians, Director and Editor at TotallyEV, an independent site dedicated to articles, reviews and interviews about electric vehicles. TotallyEV has recently hit 5 million views on YouTube, so he discusses building an audience through video reviews, and what it takes to run your own reviews site - including getting access to vehicles - as a solo publisher.
Minasians also explores the differences he's noticed between his electric vehicle coverage on TotallyEV, and his more consumer-focused tech reviews on his other YouTube channel TotallydubbedHD, from audience engagement to relative revenues.
In the news round-up, Chris (Sutcliffe!) and Esther run through a busy week in audio and podcast news. We ask where people listen to podcasts - not Google Podcasts any more - and whether podcasters are seeing any benefit from Apple's promotion of paid shows. There's also the first agenda sneak preview for the Publisher Podcast Summit...

TotallyEV's Chris Minasians on building audience trust in product reviews

This week we speak to The Telegraph’s Head of Newsletters Maire Bonheim, and Deputy Head of Newsletters David Alexander, about the publisher's newsletter portfolio. We talk about why The Telegraph and others are prioritising newsletters, how newsletters can be used at different stages of the subscriber funnel, and what they’ve learned from a community-focused approach to their Politics newsletter.
Marie and David also discuss building a live event from a newsletter brand, and the value of newsletters as a retention tool for the subscriptions-focused publisher.
In the news roundup we have a good chat about The Atlantic’s announcement that it is profitable and has hit the 1m subscriber milestone. We discuss the extent to which investing in high-quality content (longreads, mostly) creates a virtuous circle when it comes to growing subscriptions.
Sign up for our own daily newsletter and community forum at voices.media

The Telegraph's Maire Bonheim and David Alexander on newsletters for different business goals

On this week's episode we hear from Jane Ferguson, an award-winning journalist with a huge amount of experience covering wars and conflicts the world over. She tells us about how wars often bring the issues around modern journalism – mistrust, disinformation, lack of resources – into the starkest focus, and how the democratisation of tech is making the job of journalists covering war both easier and more difficult. 
In the news roundup the team discusses the news that French authorities have levied a fine on Google for its unauthorised training of AI tools upon publisher content, and ask to what extent this is justified and its relationship to the ongoing acrimony between Google and publishers. Esther makes several excellent segues.
Sign up to our newsletter and community forum by going to voices.media.

War correspondent Jane Ferguson on how tech is evolving conflict reporting

This week we hear from Ridhi Radia, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Immediate Media, about where media sits on the change spectrum for diversity and inclusion. She tells us why she is encouraged by the fact that she hears people from a wide range of backgrounds talking about ED&I, embedding values of inclusion in the workplace and within organisational leadership, and the work that she is doing inside Immediate helping networks of underrepresented groups come together to create change.
In the news roundup the team discusses research from Toolkits and National Research Group into consumer attitudes to publishers’ digital subscription products. Of particular interest is its finding that aversion to advertising within subscription products appears to be growing, with 28% highlighting “too many advertisements” as a key reason for their dissatisfaction, up significantly from 19% in 2023.
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Immediate Media's Ridhi Radia on making inclusion a strategic priority

On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from Tshepo Tshabalala, project manager & team lead at the LSE’s JournalismAI project. Rather than focusing on the negative coverage and speculation we so often hear about AI replacing journalism jobs, Tshepo tells us about uses cases and the benefits of AI in smaller newsrooms and how collaboration is helping journalists get on board the AI rocket ship.
Tshepo joined the JournalismAI project just three months after ChatGPT went public. Some might call that perfect timing; for others it would be a nightmare, with the playing field changing week by week. He’s taken it all in his stride, however, telling us, “It was a rollercoaster… trying to learn the job, trying to understand the field and understand who the players are, also serving our audience and our users that need help. But growth doesn’t happen in a comfortable space.”
Knowledge-sharing is at the heart of everything the JournalismAI project does, from the JournalismAI Starter Pack, designed to help news organisations understand the opportunities offered by AI, to the 2023 JournalismAI report surveying 105 newsrooms in 46 countries. Tshepo says, “It's really just sharing knowledge, and then with the hope that they can decide thereafter, what they do with that knowledge.”
In the news roundup the team discusses Sydney Sweeney, at length. They also discuss the disparity between how much journalists and creators get paid versus the shareholders of media companies, the news that GB News made an enormous loss last year, and ask whether it's good or bad for TalkTV to be going digital-only on YouTube.
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JournalismAI's Tshepo Tshabalala on practical AI use cases for small newsrooms

For the 95% of publishers who haven't yet adopted AI, identifying a use case they can start with is usually the biggest roadblock. But the tools also need to be available for publishers to be able to support their unique revenue streams.
This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes - just 10 to 15 minutes - with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.
In this episode, Peter speaks with Maanas Mediratta, CEO at Bridged Media, about how and why making AI tools more accessible to publishers will help the whole ecosystem. Much of the AI innovation is being driven by big tech companies and industries like eCommerce, fashion and finance. But publishers have such a diversity of business models, even tools designed for media companies often won't satisfy individual companies' goals and needs.
Note: Media Voices are currently working with Bridged to advance our own goals of driving sign-ups to our daily newsletter, and resurfacing relevant content from our site. You may well see some of our engagement tests over the coming weeks, so if you're interested in trying Bridged for yourself, details are below.
This Media Briefs episode is sponsored by Bridged Media, democratising AI for publishers. Through no-code AI solutions, Bridged lets publishers access the power of machine learning and Gen AI to meet their engagement and revenue objectives.
Publisher-first AI tools detect where the audience is most likely to engage and through a single line of code, introduce action cards that prompt readers to register, subscribe, or read more, helping publishers establish richer relationships.
Learn more about Bridged Media’s no-code AI tools on their website.

Media Briefs: Democratising AI for publishers

On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from The Economist's Executive Vice President of Marketing Nada Arnot. Marketing isn't something we talk about a lot on the podcast, but as Arnot makes clear it's an integral part of media companies' ability to address, convert and retain audiences.
The Economist has just launched its largest brand campaign since the early 2000s, so Arnot tells us about how the news-focused magazine is seeking to attract younger readers, why she believes long-term brand building is vital in today’s news ecosystem, and the future plans for marketing The Economist.
In the news roundup the Media Voices team discuss the news that a group of 32 European media organizations, including notable names like publishing giant Axel Springer and media heavyweight Schibsted, have jointly filed a Є2.1bn ($2.3 billion) antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet-owned Google. We ask why no adults ever get round the table to discuss a realistic approach to solving these issues before they arise - and whether it will all matter in a few years given the rapid rise of Amazon's ad capabilities.

The Economist's Nada Arnot on why publishers should be running more brand campaigns

This week we hear from Lauren Kleinman and Lee Joselowitz, co-founders of The Quality Edit. The Quality Edit was founded in 2021 when Lauren, Lee and their co-founder Scott Silver felt there was no digital publisher providing high-quality recommendations around fashion, travel, and beauty products, so they decided to launch their own.
They tell us about a technique they are terming ‘performance publishing’, about how they persevered through the early years, and how the digital publishing ecosystem rewards authenticity.
In the news roundup Chris and Esther discuss the news that the Independent is in talks to take control of BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK, ask what the demise of Vice.com means for digital publishing, and ask if scale is well and truly dead. 
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