Strategy for Growing 'Town-Centric' Digital News Group in the UK PLUS Data Strategies for Small Newsrooms

June 23, 2021

I'm still thinking about how to do this new version of my newsletter. I may slow down the tempo a bit as I start the independent study for my master's degree (innovation management from the University of York), and I may increase the amount of writing I do rather than simply collecting links. Drop me a note about what you find valuable.

Last week, I attended Google's NewsGeist. It was great to see old friends and connect, virtually, with some new people in the industry. There were some really interesting discussions including how to lure members of a Facebook group onto a community on your own platforms. Honestly, there was no good answer to that question. Most folks seemed resigned that Facebook now owns a lot of community functions.

But the conversation that really resonated was about product thinking and management at news organisations. Shifting from editorial management to product management, I've been wrestling with the idea of where the boundary is between those disciplines or whether there is a boundary between those disciplines. Some folks say that content is product, but in a discussion at NewsGeist, it was framed as product owns context experience. That seemed a little more workable for me. As a product manager, I don't see my role in making editorial decisions anymore, but I work very closely with my editorial colleagues. My team supports our editorial and programming management with data insights, but I leave editorial decisions to our editorial leadership (which is sometimes challenging because it was my focus for so long). And now onto the media, media management and media product news of the day.

Data Strategies for Small Newsrooms

2021-06-23. Data is crucial in helping publishers to understand how their customers interact with their content. But what if your newsroom has constrained resources and lacks the deep pockets needed for a full-fledged data team?

A great and concise look at the metrics that matter.

Employee-Owned Newsbrand Defector Talks about Growth and Management Strategy

This week we hear from Jasper Wang, VP of Revenue & Operations for Defector Media. Defector was formed after a mass staff exodus from former GO Media property Deadspin after an internal dispute about who knew its audience best. Defector is now an employee-owned and operated news site that has introduced measures specifically to ensure …

When you're born out of an employee defection, there might be some challenges of keeping the team together. WNIP talks to an executive at Defector Media on their plans for growth and how it keeps its staff "safe and happy".

UK: Trying to Bring Back Town-Centric News

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.

"Nub News relies on three sources of revenue: sponsorship, client campaigns and job adverts. Rather than selling programmatic display ads, Nub News offers ad space on articles to its sponsors, who are typically local businesses."

All-Star Media Team to Launch Media Co. Focused on Future of Work

Called "Charter," the company will have 3 main revenue streams.

Quartz alums Kevin Delaney and Jay Lauf plus New York Times vet Erin Grau would get attention for anything they would do. Now they've got a high-profile launch at a McKinsey event.

"The company has already started building out some of the services it plans to offer companies to help them navigate the future of work, including a new online course and digital certificate on hybrid work management that it's co-created with Nomadic, a B2B training company."

Women's Digital Group Refinery29 Sees Opportunity in Oz

Mediaweek spoke to Pedestrian Group publisher, Vanessa Lawrence, about choosing the launch team and what Refinery29 will bring to the market.

US digital media brand focused on millennial women is opening in Australia. the group publisher talks about the gap they see in the Australian market.

Twitter Rolls Out Ticketed Spaces

Starting today, US creators can apply to be one of the first to try Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows on Twitter with their audience.

In its recent announcement of subscription and paid features, Twitter talked about ticketed Spaces - Twitter's Clubhouse-esque feature. It has now been rolled out. Watch this space for how media uses this feature.

US: Criticism of Vulture Fund's Methods in Tribune Takeover

Tribune board members acted in their own interests, not their newspaper chain’s, while Alden failed to disclose a secret investor meeting and misrepresented its cash position.

A look at some of the legally questionable moves that Alden took during its recent takeover of yet another newspaper group in the US, Tribune.