Monday 8th August: Can Zette solve the problem of micropayments?

August 08, 2022

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Yeah, yeah, we know. We've heard all the arguments against micropayments for news - and I actually agree with a lot of them. But it's worth taking a look at any new experiment in making them work, particularly when it comes from a fresh entrant into the space. Poynter's Rick Edmonds spoke to Zette founder Yehong Zhu about why she believes her experiment will ultimately be the one to crack that nut.

The core of her argument? That the means by which most news sites speak to young audiences ignores a lot of why that cohort chooses to pay: "For a younger news audience especially, keep it functionally simple and fast; bells and whistles could be a distraction. They decide to stay or move on in half a second and tend to be light readers."

Look, this isn't necessarily going to work. But it's worth trying, if only because hard paywalls leave a sizeable proportion of people unable to access quality news. Whether you believe it will work or not, you have to wish Zette the best.

Of all the tech giants, Apple probably had the best opportunity to make news work for itself and its partners. But it never quite panned out that way. In this piece for The Addition, Charlotte Henry takes a look at the current state of Apple's news products - to find out where it might be going next.

When mainstream media outlets decide to interview right-wing trolls like Jones, they're paving the way for the fringe's future success. That's the argument from Parker Molloy for The Present Age (and it's something that Ben Smith and Semafor probably should have read before allowing Tucker Carlson to use them for attention).

I love a quick editorial launch, particularly where it relates to launching a product that serves a community in need. Lemon-Aid, set up to support parents during the pandemic, is now offering that lifeline to parents suffering under the longer pandemic of Tory rule. Its founder Lynda Moyo explains why.

Podcast throwback:

Now this is a throwback episode. We were joined by four fantastic guests – EMPIRE’s Editor in Chief Terri White, The Week’s Chief Executive Kerin O’Connor, PinkNews’ Head of Platforms Ellen Stewart, and Bibblio’s founder Mads Holmen – to discuss whether publishers can maintain brand identity in a world of distributed content.

Speaker Announcement

We've started releasing details of some of our speakers ahead of the agenda reveal for the Publisher Podcast Summit! Follow along @pubpodawards and @mediavoicespod.