Thursday 13th July: Why the industry needs old curmudgeons

July 13, 2023

Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Esther.

Our friends over at Poool have launched a festival for their B2B publication The Audiencers. It’s got a fab line-up of sessions and speakers (including our very own Peter Houston on making newsletters valuable) - check out the agenda here.

Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by The Audiencers. (Book this ad slot)

Why the ad industry needs old curmudgeons

"The majority of people inhabiting what they refer to as the ad business are nothing to do with advertising," writes one, noting, "they're technocrats and sales people more interested in numbers on a spreadsheet than in the ads themselves."

www.mediapost.com/publications/article/387008/why-the-ad-industry-needs-old-curmudgeons.html

A slightly unusual pick of article to start the morning, but it got me thinking so bear with! There are a lot of parallels between the ad industry and publishing in what Maarten has written here.

Talking about commentator Brian Jacobs, he emphasises that “We need critical voices like his. We need voices that can remind us of what is important in our industry. We need voices that cannot just remind us, but explain to us what some of the things are we have lost over time. And why that matters.”

There’s a balance to be struck here. Some publishers have struggled with resistance to change which has severely hampered their efforts to keep up with the shift to digital. But there’s something to be said for critical voices of experience as well who will tell it like it is; something we wanted to really focus on in our latest Big Noises podcast season.

Housty, does Edward Enninful’s departure signify a fading trend of diversity?

Does Edward Enninful’s departure as the editor of Vogue signify a fading trend of diversity in the fashion industry?

internationalmagazinecentre.com/housty-does-edward-enninfuls-departure-signify-a-fading-trend-of-diversity

Talking of old curmudgeons (only joking!), here’s Peter’s latest column for the International Magazine Centre, looking at what Edward Enninful’s sideways move at Conde Nast means for DE&I. Enninful certainly racked up an impressive list of firsts at the helm of Vogue, but what matters now is who replaces him.

Seven funding opportunities for aspiring journalists

Here is our pick of programmes that help budding journos from low-income and marginalised backgrounds to finance media training

www.journalism.co.uk/news/seven-funding-opportunities-for-aspiring-journalists/s2/a1051826

I count 8 funding opportunities in this article, so even better! Fran de Fazio has pulled together a list of programmes, foundations and bursaries for aspiring journalists to help them get started in the business.

News as music: Schibsted explores AI-based innovation to attract GenZ

2023-07-11. “It’s important we regularly talk to our GenZ audiences – that we don’t talk about them, but with them. We’re not nice for talking to them, they’re nice for talking with us.”

wan-ifra.org/2023/07/news-as-music-schibsted-explores-ai-based-innovation-to-attract-genz

What I love about this is rather than speculating about what would make Gen Z engage with news, the team actually hired a bunch of 16-19 year olds to design some experiences. I especially liked the ‘It’s Time’ news service which optimises to deliver the news in as little time as possible, with the service ‘self-destructing’ after 30 minutes.

More from Media Voices

Big Noises: Mpho Raborife on keeping Gen Z engaged

Mpho Raborife is Managing Editor at news24, a South African-based news outlet with a primarily Millennial staff and audience.

voices.media/big-noises-mpho-raborife-on-keeping-gen-z-engaged

Want to differentiate your media business? Hire more ‘weirdos’

Amy Kean explains why media businesses struggle to differentiate themselves, and why we need more 'weirdos' in the industry.

voices.media/want-to-differentiate-your-media-business-hire-more-weirdos-says-amy-kean

Media Voices at FIPP Congress 2023: Resilience in the face of disruption

Peter Houston headed back to Cascais for FIPP Congress 2023, and heard from leading publishers about building resilience.

voices.media/media-voices-at-fipp-congress-2023