Canadian Indy Press Group Launches to Support Media Start-ups PLUS Twitter Launches Tipping Service for Journalists and Creators

May 07, 2021

TGIF. The Washington Post is expanding its text-to-audio service using Amazon's Polly. It helps to be owned by Mr. Bezos. Snark aside, they are responding to user demand, which shows the importance of a strong customer focus for product led groups.

A good piece from Fortune ($£) about how book publishers are using new tech to engage younger audiences - think AR and other cutting edge ideas.

Hearst Magazines in the UK made it this far without any redundancies (layoffs) with government furlough money, but now it is laying off a fifth of their staff.

And lastly - TGIF. I'm sharing a really brave but also raw piece by a journalist who had to take a break after the pace and emotional toll of covering COVID caused her issues with physical and mental health. I usually share business and product related stories, but I know how important this is as a manager. Two incredible editors left the newsrooms I managed for Gannett because the work was starting to affect their health. The stress became so intense for me when I worked for Gannett that a perfectly healthy, early middle-aged me came down with shingles. One of the surprising things about management is the amount of emotional labour involved. Take care of yourself. Take care of those who report to you. It feels like we've all been in survival mode for more than a year a now. The clouds are parting for many of us, please take time to look up, feel the sun on your face and marvel in the beauty of a blue sky.

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

"Post ‘readers’ have 'reacted really well' to its audio offering so far. Subscribers listening to audio articles on its apps 'engaged more than three times longer with our content',” according to Kat Downs Mulder, the Washington Post's managing editor for digital.

North of the border, corporate consolidation reigns and news deserts are growing. Sound familiar? Press Forward aims to change that.

After media bailout money went mostly to legacy media organisations in 2019, Journalists for Human Rights came together to discuss the situation that was leading to more job losses and expanding media deserts. Indy media groups realised that it was better for them to band together than to wait for government support, and that's led to Press Forward. It's a really positive look at how there is real opportunity to fill the void being left as legacy media contracts.

Press Gazette has been reporting on British journalism without fear or favour since 1965. Our mission is to provide a news and information service which helps the UK journalism.

"Hearst UK publishes magazines including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Red, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Prima, Men’s Health and Women’s Health." The company had made it through the pandemic without redundancies through the UK government's furlough scheme. "Staff were told that although the company is in a strong position it needs to transform into a more modern organisation and invest in growth areas because of the way the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated consumer trends."

Twitter introduced Tip Jar, a new feature that lets people send money to accounts they support. The ability to receive tips is currently available to a limited group of people.

Indian site Medianama reviews Twitter's effort for English language users to be able to tip creators and select other users. They report: "One issue that Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, pointed out right away was that sending tips through Paypal revealed the address of the tip sender to the receiver. This definitely carries privacy implications if the sender does not want to share such personal details."

The stodgy book-publishing industry is trying to accelerate its slow growth by using augmented reality, heat maps, and artificial intelligence.

It's behind a paywall, but it's a good story on how book publishers are using AR, AI and other technologies to engage young readers. It's worth a look from all media folk on how you can reach new and younger audiences.

When I told my editors at The Daily Beast that I needed to quit my job as the newsroom’s lead COVID reporter, I couldn’t even say the word “quit.”Even now, weeks later, it feels like a

This is so brave and important to write about it. "But in between meetings and interviews and filing stories, I was falling apart. I was writing poems about suicide. I went whole days without eating at all. At one point, I collapsed onto the floor from dehydration. I was vomiting from stress."

When I worked for the BBC, I went through hostile environments training, and the second time I went through it, the training touched on PTSD. Take care of yourself. I am going to engage in a little self-care this weekend after a heavy lift last weekend to finish a master's degree assignment and some heavy lifting at work.