The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

This week, we talk to the Wall Street Journal's Newsroom Innovation Chief Robin Kwong. He talks about how his team develops features to help the WSJ's wider goals, how he helps facilitate innovation across teams in the business, and how his background in reporting and data journalism has helped his approach to this role. He also explains some of the features and tools they have developed for the publication, and how they explore this on their WSJ DXS Medium blog. In the news roundup the team discusses coverage of Black Lives Matter at the Philadelphia Inquirer and New York Times at length, then rattle through some news in brief. Stay angry, everybody.

This week Will Gore, Head of Partnerships and Projects at the National Council for the Training of Journalists, tells us about the NCTJ’s role in the Facebook-backed Community News Project which has funded about 80 journalists in local news rooms across nine publishers. He also speaks about journalism education, trust, the future of local news and - of course - shorthand. In the news roundup the Media Voices team discusses a week of tests for social media platforms, layoffs and internship opportunities. This is the sweariest week since the 100th episode, I counted.

This week, we spoke to Ella Dolphin, CEO of the Stylist Group. She talked about the acceleration of the title's plans to adopt a reader revenue model as the free print magazine distribution was put on hold, how that has affected the team's workflow, and what the focus will look like for the group post-pandemic. She also talks about what her role as CEO has involved since closing Shortlist and driving the expansion of Stylist. In the news roundup, the team discuss the role of data in making decisions and immediately date the episode with mentions of current political events. #StayAlert

This week we spoke to John Burn-Murdoch, a Senior Data-Visualisation Journalist for the Financial Times who has been at the forefront of their famous coronavirus trajectory trackers. He talked about the challenges of working with data this complex, how the FT's approach to trajectory charts has evolved as the crisis has continued, and why data journalists are the new rock stars of journalism. [JOHN'S INTERVIEW BEGINS AT 16:40] In the news roundup the team takes a look at how publishers are adapting to evaporated ad spend due to Covid-19, a horrendous week of media layoffs, and Apple's plans to produce audio versions of Apple News Plus articles. For some reason.

This week Colin Morrison - founder of Flashes & Flames - takes us through his path into the industry, what makes for smart media analysis, and who will be the big winners and losers from the coronavirus crisis. In the news roundup the team takes an in-depth look at what COVID-19 means for our relationship with tech giants

This week we spoke to The Atlantic's International Editor Prashant Rao about taking The Atlantic's voice to an international audience, the importance of diversity in writing stories for that audience, and what the global Atlantic angle on coronavirus looks like. He also talks about The Atlantic's surge in subscriptions following its decision to take its paywall down on COVID-19 coverage, and why he sees the publication as a 'second subscription'. In the news roundup the team discusses subscription success in the face of coronavirus and takes a brisk tour through the week's news in brief.

The media industry has had a turbulent decade when it comes to technology, transformation, and changing consumer habits causing disruption to businesses. But for many of us, these challenges seem trivial compared to what we are now all up against with the coronavirus crisis. Publishers and media organisations of all shapes and sizes have had events and shows that they depend on for their revenue cancelled, advertising spend plummeting as the travel industry hits major issues, and print runs reduced as commuters stay home. But the crisis has also provided a unique opportunity for publishers to build trust with their audiences and provide them with the vital information they need to keep themselves and their families safe. Not only that, over the coming weeks, the public appetite for quality content will continue to grow as isolation takes effect. In this special live episode from the Media Voices team, Chris, Peter and Esther overcome technological challenges of their own to take a look at examples of publishers who are adapting to the pandemic, and what these changes will mean for the industry in the years to come.

This week, we hear from Sherri Smith, Editor in Chief of Laptop Mag, one of Future plc’s tech titles. She talks about her role working across Future’s sister titles, why Laptop mag is broadening its reach to gaming and audio, maintaining editorial integrity with reviews, and how the title will future-proof itself as technology evolves. She also explains how testing, product launches and reviews are continuing amidst the coronavirus crisis. Smart bidets have their first ever mention on the podcast. In the news roundup the Media Voices trio discuss whether it's appropriate (or even good business sense) to impose a paywall on coronavirus content, whether platforms like Google and Facebook donating money to counter misinformation is a sop, and rattle through news in brief to find some cheerful topics. Don't forget our live episode this Thursday!

This week we hear from Theodora Louloudis, podcast editor for the Telegraph. With a growing podcast portfolio, we spoke about her job in an expanding team, growth in the Telegraph’s podcast offering and how she commissions shows with the paper’s journalists. In the news roundup we discuss Firefox's new subscription tool with Scroll, Slate launching a metered paywall, and Esquire trimming its print editions to 6 per year. Peter pitches multiple new theme tunes.

This week Kate Day, Executive Editor of POLITICO in the UK takes us through the publishers' expansion into and growth in the UK market. She discusses everything from the advantages of being a start-up publisher in a world of legacy giants, how the team chooses what goes behind the paywall, and what sets UK politics coverage apart from the rest of Europe. In the news roundup, we take a look at Print In A Pandemic, the final fate of Playboy, and what audience's fatalistic media choices say about the public mood during the coronavirus outbreak.