Thursday 3rd March: Cost cuts masquerading as eco subscriptions at Archant

March 03, 2022

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

As rising print and distribution costs loom, subscribers to Archant's 20 county Life magazines are about to be asked if they will consider receiving future issues via the app instead of in a print copy. Increased costs allegedly aren't the driving reason though; a spokesperson claimed it was part of a strategy set out to achieve net-zero emissions, hence the 'eco subscription' branding.

But staff aren't happy. According to Press Gazette, app take-up so far has been extremely low, and it's ignited an old feud about the role of digital magazines:

“The potential benefit of saving some money will be minimal, but the damage that the letter will do [to the brands’ reputations] can’t be measured,” one staffer said. “These are luxury magazines that people buy and advertisers advertise in because they’re something to sit down with and spend time over… you don’t get that with the app.”

There's no question digital magazines done right can be very successful. But I'm very sceptical about the 'eco' reasons behind this particular move.

We've spoken before on the podcast about Axel Springer's welcome investment in journalism. This interview with Supervisory Board Chairman Ralph Büchi sheds some light on not just their acquisitions and launches, but why they continue to invest in all other aspects of their content-driven businesses.

Some practical steps which will really help Ukrainian media to continue bringing independent news and reporting from the front line, including "How to help" articles, donation drives and opening newsroom offices for Ukrainian journalists.

The DC Enquirer website was registered on January 8, 2022. The first article was posted on January 19, 2022 — just 36 days ago. But in just over a month, the DC Enquirer has become more popular on Facebook than the Washington Post. Its rapid success on Facebook is the result of a scheme to manipulate the Facebook algorithm.

This week's podcast:

This week’s guest is Ryan Heafy, Co-Founder and COO of 6AM City, which is just about to hit 1 million subscribers across its 24 daily newsletters. We spoke about his unconventional route into media (via Black Hawk helicopters), and how it helped 6AM launch in 16 cities in a year.

Become a supporter of the Media Voices team today! ❤️ Just head over to our KO-FI page and make a one-off contribution or sign up to support us every month. Every contribution help us to keep doing what we do and plan for more in the future.