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Do publishers need an exit strategy from social media? — voices.media

I got a really interesting question in my inbox this week from friend of Media Voices Mary Douglas, Head of Engagement at Architects' Journal. She got another newsletter summarising the learnings from a recent industry conference. One of the pieces of advice was that publishers should start distancing themselves from social media because their credibility is being damaged through association.

I've written up my thoughts here far better than in my initial reply to her (which began with, "Urgh"). To label all social media as toxic is short-sighted, and misses many of the benefits people get from it. But publishers do need to be thinking about a longer-term strategic relationship with the platforms; one that outlives the next algorithm change.

Our conversation gave me some food for thought. We'd love to do this more often, so if you ever have a question or comment that Peter, Chris or I can discuss on an episode or write up, simply hit 'Reply'.

Video: Struggle or strike for news publishers? — whatsnewinpublishing.com

Talking of platforms...! This is a great overview from Twipe of how publishers are approaching video across the different social and streaming networks. It's packed with examples of everything from The Daily Mail's TikTok experiments to investment in "genuinely revenue-generating video" on The Independent's own site.

Magazine giant Condé Nast posts first profit in years — www.wsj.com

Condé Nast Chief Executive Roger Lynch attributes the feat to strong digital revenue growth (particularly from paywalls) and cost savings from reorganising its global operations, saying it generated nearly $2 billion in revenue last year. Revenue from subscriptions, eCommerce and other consumer business now accounts for a quarter of its global revenue.

Quartz launches new Africa membership product to monetise investors' interest — www.journalism.co.uk

The business news publisher has found a loyal audience keen on African unicorns and startups. It has now created a cheaper and more focused subscription just for this reader group, including a new newsletter about the startups, innovators, and sectors that are driving Africa's technological boom. One to watch.

This week's podcast:

The Fix Founding Editor Parusinski on cracking the media management puzzle — voices.media

On this week’s episode we hear from Jakub Parusinski, founding editor at The Fix, a trade magazine for media professionals. He and Peter spoke about Jakub’s background across journalism and management consulting, and how that has informed the nuts and bolts approach the Fix takes to ‘cracking the media management puzzle’.

Get your ticket to The Publisher Podcast Awards — publisherpodcastawards.com

"So much nicer that the stuffing penguin-suits-round-a-table boredom-fests that normally afflict us," wrote one attendee of 2020's event. Come and join us for a definitely not-boring evening celebrating the best in publisher podcasting.