Media Voices Podcast

This week, Hearst's head of men's lifestyle and health & fitness Alun Williams treats us to a look inside the Esquire Townhouse, and takes us through the importance of being a market leader, the new skills required at the magazine publisher, and how to resist overextending a brand. In the news roundup the full complement of Esther, Peter and Chris look at two new and very different news app launches, examine the reasons Sky News might have launched a Brexit-free channel, and coolly and unemotionally dissect The Sun's plans to conquer the US of States.

In this week's episode, we talk to Christoph Schmitz, Aller Media's Product Owner for paywalls, login, subscriptions and CRM (and recent interim CTO). He discusses managing technology and transformation across different brands, how Aller Media is taking advantage of willingness to subscribe in Norway, and their collaboration with other publishers for a single sign-on project. He also explains how GDPR has actually helped Aller Media take control of their data. In the news round-up, Chris and Esther tackle the Scousetrap/WAGatha Christie embarrassment for The Sun, as well as Group Nine's acquisition of PopSugar and a rumoured mega-bundle from Apple.

This week, Kate Slesinger, the Publishing Director of luxury titles Vanity Fair and Tatler talks to us about what's behind a rise in print circulation. She also discusses how both brands are kept fresh and up-to-date, managing commercial partnerships, what they do to reach their wealthy audience online, and how the role of Publishing Director has evolved over her time at Condé Nast. In the news round-up, the team do a deep dive into the row between Google and French publishers, and why a 'link tax' isn't the answer. There's lot of news in brief as well, from Aldi chucking print to some unusual media appointments. Chris realises how many mergers and acquisitions you can miss out on during 6 weeks trekking in Nepal.

This week, gal-dem's Head of Editorial Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff talks about the publication's evolution into a fully-fledged and funded publishing business, why they decided to have a print magazine alongside the digital site, and the lessons she will and won't be applying from her time working with other publishers. She also explains why it's so important to have a truly supportive internship scheme, and how publishers need to prepare themselves to properly support diversity in the workplace before bringing people in. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther are joined by International Magazine Centre founder Nikki Simpson. The team discuss Vox Media's acquisition of New York Magazine, how the BBC has found itself in the middle of a racism row with Naga Munchetty, and the launch of Platinum magazine from DC Thomson.

Publishers are in a unique position to take advantage of the rise in podcasting thanks to their storytelling expertise and ready-made audiences. With listener numbers growing and discoverability improving, there has never been a better time for publishers to create something unique. In this podcast, recorded live from PPA Scotland's Magfest, Peter and Esther are joined by DC Thomson's Special Projects Lead Chris Phin. They discuss how magazine publishers are experimenting in the podcasting space to create successful podcasts that support audience development and revenue, and what it takes for publishers to plan and record their own podcasts. Chris Phin announces the launch of a podcast on our podcast...a first for Media Voices!

This week, Tina Lee, Head of the Ambassador Program for Hostwriter, talks to us about 'Unbias the News'; a new book she's editor-in-chief of. She explains how the book brings together the voices and experiences of journalists from all around the world, why it's so important to challenge our own worldviews, and how collaboration across borders can help unbias the news. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther try (and fail) to patch Chris in from India, so are left to themselves to discuss positive changes to Google's search algorithm and Marie Claire's print closure. Peter admires a very salty final cover from the Washington Post's Express newspaper.

This week, Big Issue founder John Bird talks to us about his new magazine venture Chapter Catcher, its mission to spark a reading revolution, and how it was inspired by Brexit. He also explains why we should support bookshops and libraries, and why there is an urgent need for deeper and broader reading. In the news round up, Peter and Esther are joined by ideastream Managing Producer and media analyst Kevin Anderson. The trio discuss The Atlantic's relaunched paywall, whether we should be surprised by Reuters' new report into young people and the news, and the hype around a 'Brexit bump' for UK media companies. Kev's noodle gets baked by Facebook's growing world domination.

Over the last few years, the advertising and publishing industries have been on a crusade to reinvent ad tech, spurred by everything from breaks in the value chain, changing publisher priorities, the availability of new tech solutions, international legislation and more. There's a sense that ad tech is transitioning to a more mature form; one that's more equitable to all parties involved. At the same time, high-profile instances of data misuse mean that user privacy is riding high on the industry's agendas. In this special Conversations episode of Media Voices, Chris is joined by co-founder and CEO of Permutive Joe Root, and Dennis Publishing's Head of Programmatic and Audience Data Alex Kirby. They discuss the realities of user privacy in 2019, whether publishers can turn trends to their advantage, and the tech solutions that add value to the entire ecosystem, and not just the vendors. This episode of Media Voices is sponsored by Permutive, the data management platform built for publishers. Permutive enables

This week, PPA Scotland business manager Laura Dunlop shares her excitement for this year's Magfest conference and the launch of the first Edinburgh International Magazine Festival. She also explains, enthusiastically, why magazines absolutely still matter and might even help us change the world. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther are joined by guest host Alison Warner, a jobbing B2B and brand journalist, and magazine lecturer at the University of Roehampton. We look at why there have been queues round the block in New York to get hold of a print magazine, whether other platforms could adopt Pinterest's tactics for combating health misinformation, and Monocle's new shop in Hong Kong airport. Alison and Peter both have doubts about the BBC's plans to launch an Alexa rival that could understand regional accents.

In the first episode back after the summer break, the Media Voices team dive into some of the stories you may have missed while you were sunning yourself somewhere nice, or holding the fort for colleagues who were doing the same. Join us as we recap the GateHouse/Gannett merger (as well as the proper pronunciation of 'Gannett'), go round in circles with Facebook's plans for a News tab, sort of celebrate some new print launches, and debate what 'Knewz' actually means. This episode also features some questionable paywall innuendo.

This week, Jess Brammar, Executive Editor at HuffPost UK talks to us about a number of their recent launches, from the HuffPost School of Journalism in partnership with Birmingham City University, to two new sections on the site which replace the famous blogs section. She also discusses what it's like moving from broadcast to digital journalism, how the news landscape has evolved, and how she keeps her team motivated during the non-stop Brexit news cycle. In the news roundup the team has a lengthy discussion on when it is and isn't acceptable to profile a fascist and the best way to do so, whether UK Netflix rival BritBox will succeed, and The New European's transition to a Guardian-like revenue model.

On this week's episode of Media Voices, the Guardian's Chief Revenue Officer Hamish Nicklin takes us through the newspaper's journey to profit through membership and contributions, the reestablishment of 'premium' advertising, and its plans through to 2022. In the news roundup Chris and Peter take a look at TikTok, an audio collaboration between Reach plc and JPI Media, and discuss whether there are limits on who can call themselves a journalist. Peter's rendition of Happy Birthday gets perilously close to a Marilyn Monroe impression.

This week, Lydia Mossahebi, Head of Editorial for the Beano Digital Network, talks to us about how they bring the essence of the comic to life online. We discuss the role of data and the 'Beano Brain' in making editorial decisions, how they keep up with what the next 'big thing' is for kids, and how video is becoming a huge part of the work they do. Farting zebras may come up in conversation. In the news roundup the team debates the ethics of Facebook cracking down on medical misinformation in the newsfeed, Apple News+ going on a 'listening tour' after a disastrous first few months, and good news for The Economist's newsletter team. The team invites Big Bird onto a panel about online misinformation for some reason.

On this week's episode of Media Voices, the founder and editor of The Overtake Robyn Vinter candidly takes us through the challenges and compromises involved in running a local news outlet. She discusses the importance of being independent, the strictures and sacrifices that comes from being a small news outlet, and why there needs to be variety and diversity of journalistic voices. In the news roundup, the team succumbs to the heat and discusses bad news around social media, whether journalists should be incentivised to chase clicks, and whether a Cosmopolitan x Tinder branded podcast is a model to be emulated. Peter and Chris perform their first single live on the podcast.

On this week's episode of Media Voices, we hear from Dr Bibiana Campos Seijo, VP of the Chemical and Engineering News Media Group at the American Chemical Society. We spoke about finding a broader audience for chemistry content, about covering subjects like the environment and diversity in a professional publication, and how to say "those men stole my shoes" in Spanish. In the news roundup the team exorcise a depressing week of news about the failure of journalists to cover some huge political issues by talking about whether Chrome 76 is a Trojan horse for Subscribe With Google, The Atlantic introducing a daily idea for smart speakers, and take a trip down memory lane as Twitch acquires Bebo.

This week, Den of Geek's UK Editor Rosie Fletcher talks to us about the mainstreaming of geek culture, finding an angle for entertainment stories everyone is covering, and how to maintain a friendly online community. She also explains how they used a 'time travel expert' to get a fresh angle on the latest Marvel movie. In the news round up, Peter and Esther debate whether 'time travel expert' is even a job title, what the publisher deal is with new aggregator app 'Mogul News', and the findings of Reuters' Digital News Report 2019. They both try to work out what the Brexitcast podcast could look like as a TV show, and Peter learns more about Snapchat filters.

On this week's episode of Media Voices, Google's Head of News Ecosystem Development Madhav Chinnappa takes us through his views on the often-fraught relationship between publishers and platforms, what lessons he's learned from the Google News Initiative, and what best practice looks like for subscriptions success. In the news roundup the team each share their own take on the state of micropayments for news, some job cuts at The Sun, and a weird tale about traffic at Mail Online. Chris sets Peter and Esther homework.

This week, we hear from veteran of the magazine industry Paul Rayner about his career trajectory from Dennis to LadBible to the Chelsea Magazine company and the lessons he’s learned along the way. In the news roundup, the team tries and fails to discuss DMGT's latest results with a particular focus on Mail Online, whether Fortune going behind a paywall is the canary in the coalmine for other paywall plays, and whether the sale of Sports Illustrated to a non-publishing company tells us anything about the future of magazine brands. It's snark week this week on Media Voices.

Direct reader revenue is back on top of publishers’ priorities, as re-igniting the relationship with an audience is seen as the single best guarantee of a sustainable media business model. At the same time, publishers’ strategies around subscriber acquisition and retention are maturing, and the sophistication of subscription tools is increasing enormously. There is a surfeit of choice of strategy for publishers looking to capitalise on increasing consumer propensity to pay, and while there are some standout successes in the subscription market it is still far from an easy process to convince consumers to pay. In this special Conversations episode of Media Voices, Chris is joined by Michael Silberman, SVP of Strategy at Piano, and Katie Vanneck Smith, co-founder of slow journalism outlet Tortoise. The trio discusses everything from how publishers and partners can model propensity to pay, the difference between membership and subscription strategies, and best practice around user data. This episode of Media

On this week's episode of Media Voices, WIRED's Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Thompson talks about the brand's positioning as a tech magazine in a digital world, the impact of two huge Facebook features, lessons learned from WIRED's paywall a year on, and what his dream paywall would look like. In the news roundup the team discusses TI Media's sale of NME to a tech platform, Quartz's low-key paywall launch, and the dangers of churnalism come to light as the Daily Star offends Scotland. Esther doubts whether the last item counts as 'news'.