It's Friday! Here to take you into the weekend with all the latest media news is Esther.

Mel Magazine to launch paid newsletters — www.adweek.com

Men's lifestyle publication is launching not just one paid newsletter, but three. The first newsletter Melanie will target the 40% of Mel readers that are women. Hot on its heels will be Shitposting with Miles Klee, and Dispatches from the Manosphere.

The newsletters will be free for the first three months, before charging between $5-$15 a month for access, according to AdWeek. The content will be exclusive to each newsletter.

Mel's current bi-weekly newsletter boasts 60,000 subscribers and a 40% open rate, which gives the publication a strong foundation to start from. It will be the first major direct revenue stream for the publication, which is primarily funded by Dollar Shave Club. Launching three paid newsletters in one go is a bold move, but Mel has little to lose.

P.S. If you want to know more about Mel magazine and their branded media business model, we spoke to co-Founder and Editor in Chief Josh Schollmeyer a few months ago on the podcast.

The unbundling of events — therebooting.substack.com

Many of you will be trying to figure out what events will look like as the world begins to unlock. This from Brian Morrissey is the most sensible take we've read so far on the value of events and how to retain that for the different stakeholders involved going forward.

Radio Times and Gardeners' World editors on how pandemic made mags essential again — www.pressgazette.co.uk

Immediate's Radio Times has seen a 12% uptick in print subscriptions and a 40% year-on-year increase in online traffic thanks to the pandemic. Editor Tom Loxley says people are turning to the magazine to make sense of the "blizzard of entertainment" options that are out there. This one surprised me, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

Google is not killing ID solutions, but has succeeded in sowing doubt — www.campaignasia.com

The company's announcement earlier this week that it would not support ID initiatives led to shock and misunderstanding. This is a really good roundup of what the announcement really means, and what the motivation is behind Google's new privacy-first vision.

This week's podcast:

The Delicate Rebellion’s Hannah Taylor on supporting her community’s creative passions — voices.media

Hannah Taylor, editor and founder for The Delicate Rebellion, tells us about her print magazine showcasing the work of independent female creatives, the community that has grown out of the magazine and her new online shop.

Why the Publisher Podcast Awards are Pay What You Will this year — voices.media

It's been a whole year since our first Publisher Podcast Awards ceremony, when we could legally gather in large groups in basements in London. The awards look a bit different this year - catch up with our plans and why we're testing a new revenue model.