Late Edition: Quartz Views Podcasts as Part of their 'Habits and Loyalty' Strategy PLUS Why a Local, Digital Media Founder is Taking a Sabbatical

September 29, 2021

This is a quick late edition of the newsletter - my mornings are getting busy with calls from the US to the UK for my master's degree. This is an interesting write-up of Quartz's next steps. Like CNN, they are looking at extending digital brands across multiple platforms - think a newsletter that then becomes a podcast or video series. What interests me is how Katherine Bell, their editor-in-chief, positions this tactic as part of their strategy to build habit and loyalty. I'm constantly on the look out for ways to deliver on the strategic goal.

PLUS Mumbrella has a good round-up of the podcasting market in Australia.

And there is a very important piece by Chris Horne, who founded the local news site Devil Strip in the US. He explains why he is taking a sabbatical. It's another example of someone in journalism/media deciding to prioritise their physical, mental and social health over their work. It speaks to the work that Chris has done in building Devil Strip, but just as importantly, it is great when media leaders discuss how they are making these choices.

Quartz, the ‘global economy brand’ is moving back into podcasts a few years after tinkering around the edges of the medium. The new weekly podcast will be based around Quartz’s popular Obsession email newsletter which is described as ‘an interactive email for curious minds, with forgotten histories, surprising facts, and vital stats’. Based on the …

 “Overall, we’re thinking of how certain products that worked in one medium (i.e. newsletter) can work in another medium (podcast), what’s the Quartz approach to that, and what will bring the most value to Quartz readers. We’re also always focusing on building habits and loyalty – which both email and podcasts do particularly well,” Katherine Bell, Editor-in-Chief of Quartz, said.

Early in 2021, I noticed the already-breakneck speed with which new podcast announcements hit my inbox had picked up even greater momentum. In my four years covering radio and podcasting, there had always been a steady stream of announcements on new podcasts, but it was as if a switch had been flicked.The majority of these […]

Maybe you know, maybe you don’t, but I’m taking a sabbatical from The Devil Strip. Maybe you’re wondering if it’s a “good thing” or a “bad thing” — or if you should be worried. That’s what I gather…

This exercise can help you focus a project and include more voices in your reporting

The New York Times’s media columnist, Ben Smith, reported that Ozy’s chief operating officer had apparently impersonated a YouTube executive during a conference call with Goldman Sachs bankers.