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- Thursday 29th February: Clash of the local news leaders
Thursday 29th February: Clash of the local news leaders
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Manchester Mill founder Joshi Herrmann has never been one to shy away from public criticism of publishers like Reach. Honestly, I usually agree with his comments, and have wondered on occasion what would happen if he was sat with the legacy local news execs.
Well, earlier this week we got to find out thanks to a parliamentary enquiry into “the future of news”. Charlotte Tobitt has helpfully written up some of the arguments made by Herrmann, Reach chief digital publisher David Higgerson and Newsquest chief executive Henry Faure. There are some eyebrow-raising statements, but I think the crux of the issue is neatly summed up by Herrmann when he responded to a question asking if he was annoyed by answers given by his rivals:
“I wasn’t annoyed and we’re not rivals. We’re all trying to create good quality local journalism in an environment that’s very difficult,” he said. “I think that an important aspect of this is reality though – being honest about the situation that we’re in… there’s no point pretending that it’s in good shape because it’s in terrible shape. It’s in the worst shape it’s ever been since the advent of newspapers. So I don’t think there’s any hostility here. I think there’s a difference in how we’re portraying what’s going on.”
Jezebel, which was closed by G/O Media late last year before being rescued by Paste Magazine apparently launched a paid membership product two weeks ago - something Mark Stenberg says seems to be suffering from underexposure. He thinks all publishers should consider offering ways for readers to express financial support, even if that seems ridiculous. “You miss 100% of the whale donations you fail to solicit,” he says.
Can you ever be too late to the party when it comes to introducing reader revenue? Come join the discussion (post content restricted to registered users).
“I have a lingering feeling that there’s still space outside this new conventional wisdom, and that someone will find a way to make money reaching the casual news consumer,” Max Tani wrote in Semafor this week. Well, Jacob Donnelly is here to tell you exactly why that lingering feeling is “nothing more than a longing for a different time.” Every surviving mass-scale news media company is managing a slowly declining business. The future of media is smaller, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
In a bleak media landscape, Michelle Brister, head of audience development at The Telegraph says bridge roles are essential. “In times that are challenging and quite tricky, you need people who are really versatile and who can figure out how to solve problems and who kind of thrive on looking for a new way to solve a problem,” she tells Media Makers Meet.
