This issue we look at why events still matter, why data gathering is a two-way street, DDM's $3 billion business and podcasts replacing print 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Why events still matter — therebooting.substack.com

I actually met The Brian Morrissey 'in the flesh' for the very first time yesterday. In his newsletter, Brian says events like the FIPP Congress where we met, are a key part of primary engagement media. This is especially true given the rise of 'more hand-crafted products that feel more personal' with events, along with newsletters and podcasts, an ideal add-on to the primary-engagement model.

Inspired by his trip to Portugal and other recent events, Brian has put together his thoughts on the future of the form. Things will stay messy for a while, between masks/no masks and interrupted travel, but longer term smaller more focused events will emerge. Hybrid is going to be tough to pull off and in the real world Brian advises more humanity, less formality and way more networking.

I agree 100% on the value that face-to-face events deliver. I know these days we're all about the planning, but there's a real-world serendipity at in-person events that just doesn't exist anywhere else in media, both in terms of the speakers you choose to listen to and who you end up stood next to at the coffee break. I mean, I met Brian 😊.

"Every time you request data, you need to give something back in return" — whatsnewinpublishing.com

I got here a day too late for this early conference track, but WNIP's Jez Walters has captured the introductory session where Martha Williams, CEO of the World Newsmedia Network, advised publishers to make sure that a clear value exchange is made between their audience and any request for personal data.

Dotdash Meredith on the changes that have taken place at the company since its $3bn inception — www.fipp.com

At the end of last year, Dotdash acquired Meredith in a deal worth almost $3 billion. Alysia Borsa, Chief Business Officer & President of Lifestyle for DDM has been speaking about being more performance based and migrating to a single tech-stack stack that is more flexible. Good news for readers, pop-ups and ad-clutter are on the way out.

Haymarket sees podcasts delivering similar engagement as print — pressgazette.co.uk

B2B and specialist publisher Haymarket has revealed plans to increase investment in podcasts as it “moves away” from print. Not sure quite how those two things are connected or how the suggestion that podcasts will replace print quite works. It's probably a line inspired by Haymarket's acquisition of the British Podcast Awards, but its good to see a B2B publisher embracing the medium. And we're excited to see Haymarket's entries for the 2023 Publisher Podcast Awards.

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This week's podcast

Raconteur Editor Sarah Vizard on using print to drive digital expansion — voices.media

This week we talk to Sarah Vizard, Editor of Raconteur. She explains what Raconteur’s unique angle on business stories is in a crowded field, how it uses its print publication to drive digital expansion, and what their recently launched New Voices programme hopes to do with giving writers from under-represented backgrounds a start in business journalism.

Media Voices at FIPP Congress 2022: Rebuilding from Covid — voices.media

I've been in Cascais, Portugal, for the 2022 FIPP Congress, catching up with speakers and attendees. The programme was excellent, but content aside, this is one of the most amazing conference venues I have ever been at. Congratulations to the team at Di5rupt who organised the event on FIPP's behalf!