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Growth of The Information is good news for media business — www.ft.com

The Information has made some extremely smart plays over the past few years - especially the ones that seem counterintuitive. Way back when the business information site launched its entry-level, shortform counterpart Ticker in 2019 there was debate about whether it would be additive to its existing audience, or would dilute and devalue the core news product.

Since then The Information has rocketed on, launching weekend lifestyle editions and sundry other services that continue to lend weight to Jessica Lessin's core idea. As Anna Nicolaou writes for the Financial Times, its success has also bolstered the confidence of other publications looking to monetise high-value audiences through insightful news and analysis:

"'It’s an updated [business to business] model. It’s far different from a consumer publication', said Ken Doctor, founder of news start-up Lookout Local. 'It’s a matter of: do you have enough talent to produce something really revelatory to a decision maker?'"

Paul Dacre appointed editor-in-chief of Daily Mail parent company — www.theguardian.com

Like a virulent, spiteful bad penny, Paul Dacre keeps popping up. After his bid to be Ofcom chief was torpedoed by the rest of the Tories' sleaze coming to light, Dacre has been rewarded for his mediocrity by being reinstalled in the role he deserted three weeks ago.

AMP's usefulness to news publishers is over — onemanandhisblog.com

Has the day of the accelerated mobile page been and gone? Adam Tinworth collates a few examples suggesting that Google's product is being phased out, with publishers including Search Engine Land noting that the proportion of their traffic from AMP dropped significantly.

Alden Global Capital mounts takeover bid for Lee Enterprises — www.poynter.org

Oh, arses. We may not see the impact of 'vulture capitalist' firm Alden Global Capital's snapping up of regional news publishers here in the UK, but its history speaks for itself. Those news deserts are only going to grow as Alden reduces papers to ghosts of their former selves.

This week's podcast:

FT Strategies MD Tara Lajumoke on building a robust playbook for subscription businesses — voices.media

This week we hear from Tara Lajumoke, Managing Director of FT Strategies, the Financial Times’ consulting firm. We discussed how FT Strategies fits into the FT’s wider goals, what her role involves as MD, and how they’re building a robust playbook for other subscription businesses.

Launch event: Media Moments 2021 — voices.media

Join Media Voices, What’s New in Publishing and Sovrn in a virtual event to launch this year’s Media Moments report, followed by a panel of publishing experts discussing how they will be navigating challenges and opportunities in 2022 and beyond. You know you want to.