Each episode of the InPublishing Podcast features an in-depth interview with a leading figure in the publishing world. The podcast is published on an occasional basis – you can subscribe via your preferred podcast app, or listen to the episodes below.
We would like to thank our current podcasts sponsor Air Business, an expert provider of distribution and subscription management services for the publishing industry.
Season 2
Episode 25: Dominic Carter
Ciar Byrne talks to Dominic Carter, group chief commercial officer at News UK, about the “story telling business” we’re all in and how the future is based on driving innovation and encouraging collaboration. Dominic describes how this year has been the toughest ever as advertising virtually disappeared for two months, but that his message to advertisers is, “being absent from the market will hold back your growth when the pandemic is over”. By focusing on audience reach, the newspaper sector has a positive growth story to tell. Driving better engagement with, and understanding of, consumers, establishing full funnel attribution metrics and making advertising easier to buy, will all enable newspapers to compete effectively for a greater share of the advertiser wallet. The newspaper sector has changed hugely in the thirty years he’s worked in it, Dominic tells Ciar, but it remains an incredibly exciting place to work. (This interview was recorded on 17th November.)
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 24: Paul McNamee
Ciar Byrne talks to Paul McNamee, editor of The Big Issue, about his early career “going where the work was”, why the triumvirate of editor, deputy editor and art director is so central to a magazine’s success, how he works to make the title “challenging and provocative” but not a “pity purchase”, his 20 ft rule for assessing front covers, some of the great guest editors he’s had (Armando Iannucci, Floella Benjamin and Mark Millar), the buzz he got coordinating Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker) interviewing The Kinks' Ray and Dave Davies, the existential threat Covid posed to their street-sale model and what they did about it, and how “driving around Glasgow in the rain, listening to The Blue Nile is one of life’s rich pleasures” and much more…
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 23: Duncan Tickell
Ciar Byrne talks to Duncan Tickell, chief revenue officer of Immediate Media, about why he rejoined the company after a short stint away, about Immediate’s success in diversifying its business and creating a vibrant culture, his strategies for growing direct to consumer revenues and developing other non-circulation revenue streams like affiliate and, in particular, webinars (sourdough anyone?). Duncan tells us how investment in programmatic capabilities and first party data has led to greatly increased ad yields and how ad-blockers are not the existential threat we once feared. And, he welcomes the fact that the publishing sector is now back on the front foot and showing much greater confidence, after the doom and gloom of recent years. It no longer feels like a declining sector, he tells Ciar.
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 22: Hero Brown
Ciar Byrne talks to Hero Brown, founder and editor-in-chief of Muddy Stilettos, the “lifestyle platform for affluent, fun-loving women outside London”, about what prompted her to launch the site, why it tries to be “humorous and a little bit naughty” but also a “happy, positive and feel good space”. They also talk about how Muddy Stilettos, which focuses on things to do and places to see, has coped with Covid and why Hero thinks that the pandemic “might just be the making of us”. And for anyone thinking of launching their own digital business… she says that it is “utterly relentless” but that she “absolutely loves it”.
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 21: Christopher Phin
Ciar Byrne talks to Christopher Phin, head of podcasts at DC Thomson, about how this “incredibly intimate medium” allows publishers to “hyperserve” their community and why podcasts are brilliant for brand building and delivering highly engaged audiences. Chris gives us four main strategic reasons why publishers should get into podcasting along with practical advice on launching podcasts and keeping them going. He also tells us which five podcasts he’s particularly enjoying at the moment and what’s so good about them.
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 20: Peter Johns
Ciar Byrne talks to Peter Johns, MD of WW Magazines (publishers of Waterways World and SelfBuild & Design), about how his training as an economist has underpinned his approach to publishing and his mantra of “test continually and measure everything”, the gradual circulation shift from newstrade to subs for his titles, the thinking behind their recent website relaunch, how Covid has turned revenue trends upside down and how, certainly in the specialist market, content will always be king.
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 19: Mark Allen
Ciar Byrne talks to Mark Allen, chairman of Mark Allen Group, about the three budget plans the group prepared at the start of the pandemic (“the good, the bad and the ugly”), why “cash is king” at the moment, the joys of a diverse portfolio, how to successfully integrate new acquisitions, his ambitions for the group (“we’re only half way up the mountain”), how the publishing industry “vastly under prices magazines” and how he’s personally spent much of lockdown writing a novel, the title of which was decided by polling one hundred people, and much more…
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 18: Tim Robinson
Ciar Byrne talks to Tim Robinson, group content development director at JPIMedia, about his early days on the Bucks Herald and what the story of a downed US WW2 bomber taught him about the nature of local journalism, how his central content team is all about freeing journalists from the shackles of designing pages, the success of their data journalism team and the sterling work of their investigations unit, and, why, despite the challenges, he’s optimistic about the future of the regional press, because… “we are needed”.
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 17: Andrea Thompson
Ciar Byrne talks to Andrea Thompson, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, about why she chose a career in journalism, how going digital-only has transformed the title, why we all need to do more to increase diversity in media companies and much more…
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
Episode 16: Richard Butterworth
Ciar Byrne talks to Richard Butterworth, commercial director at Chemical Watch, about the B2B publisher’s successful transition from a subscriptions model to a high value membership model and the accompanying switch from being ‘product-led’ to ‘customer-value-led’. Richard describes the journey, the key milestones along the way and the lessons they learnt.
Thank you to Acorn Web Offset for sponsoring this episode. Acorn is a specialist A5 and A4 magazine printer.
