Good morning! Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by Chris.

Financial Times CEO: Publishers don't have to choose between ads and subscriptions - they can have both — www.pressgazette.co.uk

We've long been advocates for multiple mixed revenue streams at Media Voices. You'd have to be crazy to depend on any one source of cash in this industry - especially when bigger players within the industry are set to control the lion's share of advertising and subscription revenue.

The more pressing question now is - can you sell subscriptions that also contain ads, at least without pissing off your audience or splitting your development resources? According to Financial Times chief executive John Ridding you can - as there is still growth to be found in both streams.

Speaking of the fact that the FT saw a 30% increase in digital advertising revenue in 2020, he stated: "A moment, and a milestone, and not a coincidence. Rather it’s the result of deeper audience data and, as a result, an increasingly effective marketing proposition. So it isn’t ads versus subs – there is strong growth to be had in both."

Of course, not all titles have the resources of the FT, but it's a welcome success story in an industry that sorely needs a boost.

Are brand magazines still in print? (£) — wwd.com

We've always liked a brand magazine, even as we recognise the risk they pose to traditional non-affiliated mag publishers. Net-a-porter, Goop and Away are among those brand mags that have ceased print, but others like Uniqlo, Maapilim and Goat are still going strong. Why?

Growing WSJ subscriptions through customer value — medium.com

Newspapers had one hell of an opportunity to provide context and information during the pandemic. This post from The Wall Street Journal's digital content strategist Jason Jedlinski explains how its 'Project Boomerang' focused on reducing churn and converting more audience members over the past 12 months.

The Black British innovators creating their own media platforms — www.independent.co.uk

Finally - we love this one. We spoke about the need to diversify the media industry on this week's podcast, and spectacularly failed to come up with a solution. For the Independent, Nadine White highlights some outlets that are forging their own path independent of the overwhelmingly white industry mainstays.

This week's podcast:

Big Issue CEO Paul Cheal on the magazine’s fight to survive lockdown — voices.media

On this week’s episode The Big Issue CEO Paul Cheal tells us about the magazine’s fight to survive lockdown, the innovations that got it through and how those changes have spurred new ways of thinking about how the Big Issue will work in the future.

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