Wednesday 8th June: The future of newsletters is personal

This morning we're asking what the future of editorial newsletters looks like, scrutinising what happens when journalists get catty on Twitter, taking a look at what happened to BuzzFeed's shares, and examining market sachetisation of media products.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Chris.

We have a vested interest in the future of newsletters here at Media Voices. The Guardian, The Economist and The Financial Times share insights on how the newsletter format is being used to deepen reader relationships and bolster subscription offerings. This roundup from news:rewired is well worth your time even if you don't currently produce a newsletter of your own:

"The Economist is well known for being 'byline-less', which [newsletter editor Aaron] Coultate said is because of the 'collegiate' and 'collaborative' nature of its newsroom. 'The credit belongs to the whole team. But newsletters are a slightly different story, where writers for the speciality newsletters get a photo byline.'"

The theory is that newsletters are a far more personal and self-selecting way to consume news. As such there is a huge amount of uplift and loyalty that comes from associating them with a specific writer. Incidentally, I'm Chris Sutcliffe and if you enjoy this newsletter, please forward it on!

The WaPo's Felicia Sonmez and Jose Del Real traded "bitter barbs on Twitter about a third reporter, Dave Weigel." I caught the tail end of this and couldn't care less about the specifics - only that the ongoing discussion around what is and isn't seen as acceptable for journalists on Twitter is going to come back into focus. Get those takes ready!

This is a fascinating read. How do you price media products in a market where food is the biggest competitor for every dollar? The answer would appear to be 'sachestisation' and - funny name aside - it's a solution that we're already seeing publishers experiment with in the UK and US. I fully expect to see much more of this in the near future.

We mentioned that HuffPost has returned to profitability last week - but this is bad news for its owner. The move marks the worst one-day percentage drop in digital-media upstart’s short trading history - and a is a worrying look at how the market sees digital news outlets.

Mediagazer is an up-to-the-minute homepage of breaking trends and commentary for publishers and media owners. They sift through thousands of sites to present the very best picks on a single page.

Go to mediagazer.com or follow them on Twitter @mediagazer.

This week's podcast

This week we talk to Sarah Vizard, Editor of Raconteur. She explains what Raconteur’s unique angle on business stories is in a crowded field, how it uses its print publication to drive digital expansion, and what their recently launched New Voices programme hopes to do with giving writers from under-represented backgrounds a start in business journalism.

It was my birthday on Sunday - hence this huge cheese bread egg boat I had at a Georgian restaurant. But if you fancy making the day even more special - for myself and my co-hosts - please do consider supporting this newsletter and podcast here with a few quid.