Publisher growth tactics for election season | WEBINAR
As we rolled into 2023, good money was riding on projections that publisher ad revenue would suffer amid rising interest rates and a deepening cost of living crisis. And it seems those bets have started to pay off. The World Advertising Research Center (WARC) predicted that global ad spend with published media (digital and print […]
The Reuters Institute published its latest annual report on the state of the news industry last week, revealing that audience trust in news media continues to slide. The UK-based think tank’s 160-page Digital News Report 2023 report (PDF download) — built on data mined from surveys of around 93,000 individuals from across 46 markets — […]
As someone who has solely worked in the digital side of the publishing industry, I’ll freely admit that familiarity bias has tainted my perspective at times. It becomes easy to discount the future of print publishing without experience in the space. There are numerous stats and studies out there that speak to the continued rise […]
I’ve begun to dread covering generative AI these days. I’ve covered the subject a number of times here — with my most recent outing being back in mid-May — and each time I end up urging publishers to keep calm and carry on. I can certainly appreciate the publishing sector’s concerns over such a new […]
I can’t say I was overly surprised when I read earlier this month that Facebook’s pivot away from news, reported last year, had led to a drop in traffic to a host of publications. As tensions between the social media network and publishers have continued to escalate, Facebook parent Meta has made no bones over […]
Last week’s Google I/O 2023 keynote speech managed to set off fresh AI alarm bells in the publishing community that I’m not convinced were justified. We’ve seen various warnings about the dangers and opportunities of AI in the months since ChatGPT launched. Some publishers are investing in dedicated AI teams while others mutter darkly about […]
While I was on holiday last week (house renovations rather than exotic holidays, I’m afraid) I found myself musing about monetization models in the wake of Time’s decision to remove its paywall. The decision was a surprise, given that Time was one of less than 30 publishers to have successfully cracked the 200,000 subscriber mark. […]
As the months roll by, it’s becoming ever clearer that generative AI is not only here to stay but will have a profound impact on the publishing industry in the long run. While major publishers have been experimenting with AI for a number of years, it appears quite a few have now created dedicated teams […]
The Super Mario Bros. film’s recent success at the global box office should be enough to convince larger publishers of gaming’s strategic potential. The film recorded the biggest global opening weekend for an animated film, raking in $567 million over a five-day window. While the film has drawn a number of poor reviews, its financial […]
The latest salvo in the ongoing tussle between Big Tech and the news media had me shaking my head in wonder this week. A Meta-commissioned report, released on April 3, has rubbished publisher claims that Meta has disproportionately benefited from the sharing of news stories on Facebook. While the report came from the respected economic […]
How important are formats to publishers? It’s about as broad and vague a question as anyone could ask, I know, but bear with me and it should make sense. I’ve been thinking about the importance of formats on and off for about a decade, ever since my years-long effort to convince my management team that […]
We’re a few days away from my first dedicated hosting gig for an SODP Office Hours event and I’m getting excited. The session will cover TikTok publisher strategies, both on the content side of the business as well as how publishers can make money. It’s an incredibly interesting subject, especially given the growing numbers of […]
After ChatGPT took the world by storm late last year, it was refreshing to see last week’s announcement of the imminent arrival of the chatbot’s next iteration received relatively modest coverage. German publication Heise quoted senior members of Microsoft’s in-country leadership last week as saying GPT-4 would arrive this week. Microsoft Germany CTO Andreas Braun […]
For months I’ve considered canceling my Netflix subscription, struggling to justify its value proposition. While I might not be interested in the platform’s steady stream of reality shows, the sheer size of its catalog continues to win me over. There’s always something to watch even when “there’s nothing to watch”. This feels like a hangover […]
Sentiment over generative AI is experiencing a course correction in the wake of Google and Microsoft’s missteps in implementing LLMs. Publishers are now tackling the real-world implications of a tool that can spit out reams of copy in the blink of an eye for users with very little writing experience. Concerns are mounting over a […]
When I applied to study journalism at university many years ago, I remember my excitement at the possible news careers I would choose from. From war reporter to investigative journalist, I was genuinely enthused by the field’s potential. Over the course of the next four years I lost most of my passion and fire. To […]
