The May / June issue of InPublishing magazine was published last week. Here are some of my takeaways from it, one from each article:
- Industry PR: We publish great journalism but we need to talk about the very best of it much more and over a longer period of time. (H/t Sarah Whitehead)
- Making money: Every brand needs to have at least three revenue lines: strong advertising, strong consumer, and strong brand diversification, such as accreditation or licensing. (H/t Katie Vanneck-Smith)
- News avoidance # 1: The wall-to-wall bad news of recent years that is contributing to people turning away from the news can be partially tackled by injecting a sense of positivity, providing solutions not just reporting problems and recognising and celebrating success, great deeds and reader passions. (H/t Dickon Ross)
- News avoidance # 2: In the US, much of mainstream media is seen to be out of touch with Trump supporters by either ignoring them or depicting them as ignorant or hateful. There is a need, therefore, for journalists to listen more deeply to people with genuine curiosity and without preconception. (H/t Dr Timothy Neff)
- Journalism’s future: Must be based on trust, transparency, investigations, community engagement, quality reporting and… NO clickbait. (H/t Tom Burgess)
- Subs acquisition: Using influencers enables you to tap into a ready-made like-minded audience, but remember, each creator has a unique style and therefore the content concept must be well matched to ensure authenticity. (H/t Jo Adams)
- Creating a subs proposition: There are two key approaches. Focusing on content is the first. Second is, as an organisation, committing full heartedly to the strategy. Half-cock won’t cut it. (H/t Tom Lowe)
- Content creation: Content is more than just articles. The most valuable thing some B2B publishers offer isn’t always a piece of writing but rather the opportunity to connect the right people for meaningful discussions. (H/t Luke Nicholls)
- The future of print: The tactile nature of print, its aesthetic appeal, and its trustworthiness continue to appeal to wide segments of the population. This affirms the sentiment that print is far from dead; rather, it’s evolving in tandem with digital media to serve new roles and audiences. (H/t Gary Cullum)
- Launching AI-based services: Yes, product testing is critical but experience shows that editorial teams are much more worried about the accuracy of AI answers than customers. The opportunity to improve how customers can discover content is much greater than the risk. (H/t Robin Booth)
- Driving climate action: The greatest opportunity publishers have to make a difference is what and how they communicate with their audiences. Immediate Media’s strategy is to normalise and celebrate climate action, showing people incorporating it into their everyday lives. (H/t Jo Beattie)
- Reclaiming the public’s trust: Journalism should steal a page from the social sciences, where every source is documented, and the hard sciences where every finding must be replicable. In those arenas, showing how you derived your conclusions has long been a professional requirement. Every piece of significant journalism should be accompanied by a hyperlink with a caption that says, “How this story was reported”, where a reader or viewer can find the documents, interviews and research that went into the story they just consumed. (H/t Dr Jelani Cobb)
- Deciding on which AI projects to invest in: Be realistic and prioritise ruthlessly. Start small, move quickly and do not over-engineer. And quickly identify which activities are likely to generate serious money. (H/t Jim Bilton)
If you want to read the full issue, then please register here. Once you’ve completed your registration, you’ll be provided with a link to the digital edition.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
