“We’ve debunked the myth that younger people aren’t prepared to pay for news content”: How Tortoise is using podcast subscriptions to attract new audiences
Tortoise has been slow to podcasts but quick to subscriber-only audio. The publisher, whose motto is “Slow down - Wise Up”, launched its first podcast at the end of 2019,… (more)
What I’ve learned from listening to 150+ publisher podcasts
Christmas is almost certainly a distant memory by now. Whether it was the smell of mince pies and mulled wine or masks and hand sanitizer which stood out, the season… (more)
The subscriptions roundabout: Quartz drops paywall while Guardian tests app payments
This week has brought two big changes in the reader revenue space. Quartz is removing its paywall entirely and is refocusing its membership offering on premium emails. On the other… (more)
How four start-ups are figuring out the business of local news
There’s hope yet for local news. After a decade of decline, with legacy organisations dwindling in size, influence and revenue, small news outlets are popping up everywhere attempting to build… (more)
From EiC to CEO: Leadership lessons from FastCo’s Stephanie Mehta
For many journalists, their natural career progression will see them rise through the ranks to the roles of Editor or Editor in Chief. Editorial leadership comes with its own unique… (more)
Do publishers need an exit strategy from social media?
One lesson the last decade has taught us is that publishers need to take a longer-term view of their relationship with the platforms; one that will outlive the next algorithm… (more)
“We built a playbook from day one”: Hyper-local publisher hits 1 million newsletter subscribers
After expanding to an extra 16 cities last summer, 6-year-old hyper-local newsletter publisher 6AM City has seen exponential subscriber growth, this week reaching one million newsletter subscribers. They are also… (more)
How The Atlantic’s new newsletter seeks to bridge the gap between puzzle player and subscriber
Puzzles as a habit-building tool have been thrust back into the spotlight following the New York Times’ acquisition of viral game Wordle. The power of word games and crosswords to… (more)
The start-ups saving local news in the U.S.
The narrative that local news is dead is widely accepted in the media industry. The rise of digital advertising has cut off the main source of revenue for organisations that… (more)
The year in subscriptions: A growth story
Platforms and publishers benefitted from steady growth in consumers paying for content 2020 saw many publishers enjoy Covid-induced waves of new subscribers. But as life slowly returns to normal, attention… (more)
Publishers laid the foundations for their own strategies, even as tech giants rocked the industry
The year in data and privacy Chrome’s cookie delay has been a welcome respite for an industry under pressure. But with no viable replacements on the horizon, publishers wasted no… (more)
The Publisher’s Guide to Podcasting: Report Download
What’s New in Publishing is proud to present The Publisher’s Guide to Podcasting, a special insight report sponsored by Sovrn, and written by regular WNIP contributor and Media Voices podcast… (more)
Audio subscriptions: A new reality for publishers
Paid podcast subscriptions add another layer of complexity to an already cluttered landscape. But with the platforms resolved to simplify the experience, the promise of subscriber revenue from audio is… (more)
Billion dollar valuations and ambitious projections shaped M&A in 2021. But will the hype last?
For an industry frequently cited as struggling, the sale figures of some of this year’s headline media acquisitions have painted quite a different picture. But some of the acquired companies… (more)
How Immediate Media is growing 7-figure revenues around webinars and podcasts
Immediate Media is one of the publishers that did very well out of the pandemic. They saw huge subscription boosts to their brands, many of which were focused around consumer… (more)
Facebook’s obsession with youth is misplaced: The key to success is in their aging user base
Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement last week that he would be pivoting all Facebook’s future efforts to focus on the youth was tinged with panic at their aging user base. But his… (more)
What we’ve learned from publishing 200 podcast episodes
We’re celebrating a milestone this week: Media Voices’ 200th podcast episode. So almost five years after publishing our first episode, here are ten things we’ve learned. 1: Keep showing up This… (more)
“The demand is definitely there”: How Social Spider is making local news commercially viable
Local news is under more pressure than ever. But as Covid has demonstrated, having local sources of information is vital both for keeping communities connected and holding local power to… (more)
Former EMPIRE Editor in Chief Terri White on why she left the ‘best job in the world’
“The reality is, if I hadn’t have had my baby, I would still be editing EMPIRE now,” Terri White tells us in the latest episode of Media Voices. “And that’s a… (more)
Building subscriptions through a crisis: Insights from Bauer
“We jumped from 2020 to 2023 in a weekend.” A revenue drop of 80% and staff scattered to the four winds isn’t what you want to be dealing with in… (more)
