Friday 19th January: Business Insider, from 7 to 70-strong London newsroom in a decade

January 19, 2024

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Business Insider: From seven to 70-strong London newsroom in a decade

Interview as Business Insider marks ten years since opening its London bureau aiming to fill a 'void in the marketplace' for business leaders

pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/digital-journalism/business-insider-london-bureau-interview

It was tempting to lead today with news that staff at the LA Times are bracing for another round of layoffs or that 100 people are to be let go at YouTube. Then I saw this story about Business Insider growing in London and I thought, screw it, let’s lead with good news for a change.

It’s been 10 years since Business Insider set up shop in London with a team of seven. The digital brand now has a team of around 70 journalists in the UK, and according to research from Press Gazette, is one of the most popular business news sites in the UK.

Shona Ghosh, deputy executive editor of business says, “We’re in a more mature place from when the London bureau first started in 2014… a few years ago, we couldn’t have talked about ourselves on a par with sometimes the FT or Bloomberg or Sky in the same way and now I think that we can.” Not bad in 10 years.

Pitchfork is being folded into GQ, as Condé Nast seeks ‘Best Path Forward’ for music publication

Condé Nast is merging Pitchfork with GQ, which will result in layoffs at at the music publication including the exit of editor-in-chief Puja Patel.

variety.com/2024/digital/news/pitchfork-layoffs-folded-into-gq-conde-nast-1235875585

I know Condé is on a mission to become sustainable, but this doesn’t sound like a great move. It actually sounds like the first step in closing Pitchfork. Even if the site does survive without some of its expert talent, folding it into Gentlemen’s Quarterly? Terri White put’s it perfectly: “Imagine being the female EIC who booted open the doors of Pitchfork to all music fans, only to be told, nah, it was for the men all along, babe.”

4 media revenue strategies for 2024 (that don't involve AI)

AI isn’t the only trend influencing day-to-day publishing operations. Here are four surprising things media execs are doing to drive revenue.

digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2024/01/18/4-media-revenue-strategies-for-2024-that-dont-involve-ai

Esther’s been writing for DCN about the non-AI revenue strategies you need in your life. She highlights four surprising things that some of the industry’s most successful media brands are doing, from newsletter consolidation to putting subscriber value over volume and from podcast paywalls to print relaunches.

Sheryl Sandberg to exit Meta's board

Former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg plans to leave Meta's board of directors, Axios has learned.

www.axios.com/2024/01/17/sheryl-sandberg-meta-facebook-board

With ‘a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories’ Sheryl Sandberg has announced that she is stepping down from Meta’s board. Credited by many as the driving force behind Facebook’s advertising business, she’ll be remembered by publishing people as the person that first brought Facebook’s commitment to publisher content into question. So long Sheryl and thanks for all the fish.🐬

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