The Publisher Podcast by Media Voices

This week, Kate Slesinger, the Publishing Director of luxury titles Vanity Fair and Tatler talks to us about what's behind a rise in print circulation. She also discusses how both brands are kept fresh and up-to-date, managing commercial partnerships, what they do to reach their wealthy audience online, and how the role of Publishing Director has evolved over her time at Condé Nast. In the news round-up, the team do a deep dive into the row between Google and French publishers, and why a 'link tax' isn't the answer. There's lot of news in brief as well, from Aldi chucking print to some unusual media appointments. Chris realises how many mergers and acquisitions you can miss out on during 6 weeks trekking in Nepal.

This week, gal-dem's Head of Editorial Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff talks about the publication's evolution into a fully-fledged and funded publishing business, why they decided to have a print magazine alongside the digital site, and the lessons she will and won't be applying from her time working with other publishers. She also explains why it's so important to have a truly supportive internship scheme, and how publishers need to prepare themselves to properly support diversity in the workplace before bringing people in. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther are joined by International Magazine Centre founder Nikki Simpson. The team discuss Vox Media's acquisition of New York Magazine, how the BBC has found itself in the middle of a racism row with Naga Munchetty, and the launch of Platinum magazine from DC Thomson.

Publishers are in a unique position to take advantage of the rise in podcasting thanks to their storytelling expertise and ready-made audiences. With listener numbers growing and discoverability improving, there has never been a better time for publishers to create something unique. In this podcast, recorded live from PPA Scotland's Magfest, Peter and Esther are joined by DC Thomson's Special Projects Lead Chris Phin. They discuss how magazine publishers are experimenting in the podcasting space to create successful podcasts that support audience development and revenue, and what it takes for publishers to plan and record their own podcasts. Chris Phin announces the launch of a podcast on our podcast...a first for Media Voices!

This week, Tina Lee, Head of the Ambassador Program for Hostwriter, talks to us about 'Unbias the News'; a new book she's editor-in-chief of. She explains how the book brings together the voices and experiences of journalists from all around the world, why it's so important to challenge our own worldviews, and how collaboration across borders can help unbias the news. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther try (and fail) to patch Chris in from India, so are left to themselves to discuss positive changes to Google's search algorithm and Marie Claire's print closure. Peter admires a very salty final cover from the Washington Post's Express newspaper.

This week, Big Issue founder John Bird talks to us about his new magazine venture Chapter Catcher, its mission to spark a reading revolution, and how it was inspired by Brexit. He also explains why we should support bookshops and libraries, and why there is an urgent need for deeper and broader reading. In the news round up, Peter and Esther are joined by ideastream Managing Producer and media analyst Kevin Anderson. The trio discuss The Atlantic's relaunched paywall, whether we should be surprised by Reuters' new report into young people and the news, and the hype around a 'Brexit bump' for UK media companies. Kev's noodle gets baked by Facebook's growing world domination.

Over the last few years, the advertising and publishing industries have been on a crusade to reinvent ad tech, spurred by everything from breaks in the value chain, changing publisher priorities, the availability of new tech solutions, international legislation and more. There's a sense that ad tech is transitioning to a more mature form; one that's more equitable to all parties involved. At the same time, high-profile instances of data misuse mean that user privacy is riding high on the industry's agendas. In this special Conversations episode of Media Voices, Chris is joined by co-founder and CEO of Permutive Joe Root, and Dennis Publishing's Head of Programmatic and Audience Data Alex Kirby. They discuss the realities of user privacy in 2019, whether publishers can turn trends to their advantage, and the tech solutions that add value to the entire ecosystem, and not just the vendors. This episode of Media Voices is sponsored by Permutive, the data management platform built for publishers. Permutive enables publishers to increase their data driven advertising revenue and make revenue diversification a reality, whilst keeping user privacy at the heart of its technology. Some of Permutive’s customers include BuzzFeed, Business Insider, The Economist, Condé Nast International, Immediate Media and Burda Forward.

This week, PPA Scotland business manager Laura Dunlop shares her excitement for this year's Magfest conference and the launch of the first Edinburgh International Magazine Festival. She also explains, enthusiastically, why magazines absolutely still matter and might even help us change the world. In the news round-up, Peter and Esther are joined by guest host Alison Warner, a jobbing B2B and brand journalist, and magazine lecturer at the University of Roehampton. We look at why there have been queues round the block in New York to get hold of a print magazine, whether other platforms could adopt Pinterest's tactics for combating health misinformation, and Monocle's new shop in Hong Kong airport. Alison and Peter both have doubts about the BBC's plans to launch an Alexa rival that could understand regional accents.

In the first episode back after the summer break, the Media Voices team dive into some of the stories you may have missed while you were sunning yourself somewhere nice, or holding the fort for colleagues who were doing the same. Join us as we recap the GateHouse/Gannett merger (as well as the proper pronunciation of 'Gannett'), go round in circles with Facebook's plans for a News tab, sort of celebrate some new print launches, and debate what 'Knewz' actually means. This episode also features some questionable paywall innuendo.

This week, Jess Brammar, Executive Editor at HuffPost UK talks to us about a number of their recent launches, from the HuffPost School of Journalism in partnership with Birmingham City University, to two new sections on the site which replace the famous blogs section. She also discusses what it's like moving from broadcast to digital journalism, how the news landscape has evolved, and how she keeps her team motivated during the non-stop Brexit news cycle. In the news roundup the team has a lengthy discussion on when it is and isn't acceptable to profile a fascist and the best way to do so, whether UK Netflix rival BritBox will succeed, and The New European's transition to a Guardian-like revenue model.

On this week's episode of Media Voices, the Guardian's Chief Revenue Officer Hamish Nicklin takes us through the newspaper's journey to profit through membership and contributions, the reestablishment of 'premium' advertising, and its plans through to 2022. In the news roundup Chris and Peter take a look at TikTok, an audio collaboration between Reach plc and JPI Media, and discuss whether there are limits on who can call themselves a journalist. Peter's rendition of Happy Birthday gets perilously close to a Marilyn Monroe impression.