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Vice is finally entering the affiliate space, but is drawing a firm line between edit and commerce
Vice isn’t the beast it once was, even if its spiky editorial tone continues. Between its acquisitions and partnerships, it’s plain that its priority is less about flashy broadcast channels and more about finding sustainable revenue sources.
Now, following its acquisition of Refinery29, Vice’s investment in commerce comes after publishers saw the revenue arm become an even bigger opportunity in 2020: “Vice’s new affiliate vertical is called Rec Room, named jointly for its product recommendations content and after a “groovy 1970s basement,” according to Vice Media’s chief digital officer Cory Haik.”
Happily, too, Vice is following the best practices of the industry and ensuring there’s a strict division between its editorial and affiliate departments. Even though its four full-time staff members have editorial backgrounds, Rec Room stands alone.
Vox Media acquires Café Studios as it expands its podcast network
There’ve been fewer big money podcast acquisitions over the past month, but the rush to control the space is far from over. Now Vox Media has acquired Café Studios, a podcast-first publisher focused on the intersection of law and policy with politics, news, business, history and technology.
Livestreams rule OK
Publishers will always seek to claim a foothold where potential audiences are. The findings of this report published by StreamLabs make it clear that livestream platforms like Twitch are a fantastic place to actually reach audiences with news and opinion, with its Just Chatting category now eclipsing any individual game on the platform.
Pandemic opened newsrooms to journalists with disabilities
Lockdown has been awful for so many reasons, but an extremely thick silver lining has been how it’s forced newsrooms to think about WFH and recruitment from farther afield than London. As Marcela Kunova points out n lockdown, an access barrier has been (finally) lifted for journalists with disabilities.
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