Top stories
‘The tide is turning for digital journalism’ - A conversation with FIPP board member Jan Bayer
Readers are increasingly willing to pay for quality, but there is still a lot of important work to be done, says Jan Bayer, president of the News Media division at Axel Springer and FIPP board member since January 2018. Bayer recommends that the publishing industry radically refocus on the customer. In conversation with FIPP, he identifies the key challenges that affect the industry and three strategic imperatives for publishing companies.
Time Inc. UK sold to private equity group
Meredith Corporation, the US media conglomerate that acquired Time Inc. at the start of 2018, announced on Monday that it has agreed to sell Time Inc. UK to private equity group, Epiris LLP, with the final deal expected to go through before the end of March.
Hearst’s Cosmopolitan and Seventeen partner with Amazon to create shoppable content
Earlier this month, Hearst unveiled a new, interactive way for Seventeen and Cosmopolitan readers to shop the pages of their favourite magazines with Amazon’s SmileCodes. Debuting in the March issues of each US magazine, readers will be able use their Amazon app to scan SmileCodes next to a particular product and with one click they’re able to purchase it directly from Amazon.
[Video] Niall McGarry and James O’Brien on the success of Joe Media’s Unfiltered
Joe Media is achieving online success in long form content, in an industry increasingly focussed on short form snacking. FIPP sat down with Joe Media founder, Niall McGarry and Unfiltered host, James O’Brien, to talk about the strategy behind the brand’s success and some of the wider media-tech trends coming into play within the industry today.
The Mr. Magazine™ interview
How GQ takes print seriously and has the robust content on all platforms to prove it
«In GQ, the one thing I go back to print for is not only are you speaking to a particular type of person, who might actually be different than someone who’s looking at us online, but also it’s a space where people still find glory in. People want their cover. It’s a moment. And when you have something like that, that still has cultural weight and is something that people gravitate to, both as a reader and as somebody in it, you’re not going to give that up ever, if you don’t have to.» - Jon Wilde, executive digital director, GQ
Meet the Digital Innovators' Summit speakers
Maureen Hoch, Harvard Business Review
Maureen Hoch is acting editor of HBR.org. Hoch leads Harvard Business Review's digital newsroom and oversees the team working on HBR’s Facebook Live videos. She'll be speaking at DIS2018, 18-20 March in Berlin.
Stefan Betzold, Bild, Axel Springer
Stefan Betzold, is managing director Digital at Bild, a subsidiary of Axel Springer. He'll also be speaking at DIS2018.
Insight
On this week's episode of Media Voices, we hear from long-time publishing pro Sam Baker, co-founder of women's site The Pool. She talks about what digital success looks like, content partnerships and why she's launching a paid-for email newsletter.
Chart of the week: Google's replacing Facebook as top referrer to publishers
Facebook hasn’t made many friends among publishers lately. The company’s announcement that it would de-prioritise publishing content in its algorithm had many in the industry up in arms. However, there are signs that the drop in referral traffic from Facebook is offset by traffic gains coming from Google searches, especially in the mobile section.
[Video] "Brands should demand ownership of data"
According to Anda Gansca, CEO and co-founder of Knotch, there is a major problem in today's marketing ecosystem - and brands need to demand ownership of data.
New research by Trusted Media Brands suggests not only are marketers increasingly choosing branded video over pre-roll, they're concerned about brand safety.
More stories
Axel Springer's Dr. Andreas Wiele on how to win as a digital publisher
Digital media companies may be facing some significant challenges, from taking on the ad blockers through to working out a response to the recalibration of Facebook’s news feeds. Yet many of the companies who embarked digital publishing first are now being rewarded with some significant growth.
Five minutes with new FIPP member Emerging Market Media
FIPP recently welcomed new member Emerging Market Media, based in New York, to the fold. We caught up with Dawn Kissi, founder, CEO and editor-in-chief. «Emerging Market Media is a firm I founded December of 2015,» Kissi explained. «Emerging Market Media is a global media firm that delivers journalism, editorials, multimedia and custom events on and about the emerging markets.»
Condé Nast launches Next Gen Network and adds new brands Iris and Lenny Letter
Condé Nast announced the launch of the company’s Next Generation Network, a collection of new and reimagined brands, reaching new audiences on new platforms. The Network, which includes Them, The Hive, AD Clever, Basically, Healthyish, GQ Style and Teen Vogue, has an audience comprised of 82 per cent millennial consumers, generating more than 20 million interactions on the Network’s brands each year.
People launches wellness vertical People Health
People is expanding its lifestyle coverage with the launch of People Health, a new vertical that will give the brand's audience expanded access to health-related celebrity, service, and human interest stories across all platforms. The new vertical launched in the March 5 issue, on newsstands February 23, and is available online at People.com/Health.
Time magazine reveals special report documented over the course of a year: The Opioid Diaries
Last week, Time published a special report on the opioid crisis in America, the worst addiction epidemic in US history. Over the past year, Time commissioned acclaimed photographer James Nachtwey to document this crisis through the people on its front lines.
What we've been reading
The Atlantic plans a hiring spree (via The New York Times)
The Atlantic plans to add as many as 100 employees to its staff over the next 12 months, its president, Bob Cohn, told employees during a staff meeting on Wednesday. The hirings will represent a 30 percent increase in personnel at the publication, with half the jobs going to newsroom employees.
With its shift in business models, the paper of record will inevitably change to reflect its new masters.
What we can expect to see at Mobile World Congress 2018 (via The Drum)
Mobile World Congress provides a venue for telecommunications companies, digital technology providers and digital solutions innovators to demonstrate new ideas that can be delivered today or will become possible in the near future. The teams traveling to Barcelona will bring ideas and solutions from geographies around the world and for different types of markets, including business-to-consumer, business-to-business, public service, automotive, fashion, manufacturing and health.
