The Future of Media, Explained - from Press Gazette

Since former Sunday Times editor Emma Tucker moved to New York to head up the Wall Street Journal, online subs are up 30% to 4.3 million.Charlotte Tobitt explains why tough choices have worked out for the world's most popular financial news brand.Is it ever possible to keep sources secret in the today's surveillance age? The Guardian may have cracked this problem and is sharing it with the world.And Dominic Ponsford reveals how Press Gazette came under attack from black hat SEO operatives trying to silence reporting about the darker side of the SEO industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ADWEEK chief strategy officer Mike Beyman talks AI, tech transformation and new forms of advertising for publishers with Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford. This episode was sponsored by WordPress VIP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic Ponsford and Charlotte Tobitt talk about how journalists broke news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest and why they named him despite the privacy risk.They also discuss a plan by Mediahuis to cover "first-line" news with AI agents, and Dom gives his (somewhat premature) verdict on the Prince Harry and others versus Associated Newspapers privacy trial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Atlantic Media’s chief growth officer Megha Garibaldi explained how the next phase of growth for the title needs a focus on “quality traffic” as referral sources decline across news media.Also joining the discussion with Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford was specialist media management consultant Graham Page of Q5.The Atlantic already has more than 1.4 million subscribers but Garibaldi sees plenty of scope for more growth. She also stressed that strong journalism remains the foundation of subscription growth, rather than deep discounting.Q5 head of media Graham Page highlighted the importance of publishers having cross-functional teams spanning editorial, product and commercial departments, unified around clear leadership priorities and metrics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Media start-up Semafor reached profitability in 2025 with revenue of $40m, in the third full year after its October 2022 launch.Co-founder and editor-in-chief Ben Smith joined Press Gazette’s UK editor Charlotte Tobitt in London to discuss how the business became an overnight success in a difficult climate for media overall.Smith discussed Semafor’s expansion plans, why its initial bet on video didn’t work out, why it still doesn’t have a paywall, and shared his advice for other media business founders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prince Harry is facing the publisher of the Daily Mail in what is set to be one Britain's biggest ever privacy trials.Costs for both sides could top £40m.Harry has accused the Mail of commissioning burglary, phone tapping and voicemail interception. The Mail denies everything and accuses Prince Harry's legal team of using cash payments to witnesses to bolster their case.Dominic Ponsford looks back to the News of the World front page in 2008 which started the war on UK tabloids which has raged since then.He also discusses the questionable evidence-gathering tactics which the Daily Mail believes undermine Prince Harry's Case and explains why the backing of co-claimant Elton John means this final legal battle is set to go the distance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt speaks to Manchester Evening News editor Sarah Lester shortly after the UK's biggest regional newsbrand added a premium paywall to its website.The conversation also covers frustrations with Google, the role of the editor in 2025, the threat of fake experts degrading journalists' relationship with PRs, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dominic Ponsford talks to WP Engine director of product management Jason Konen and CTO of Bigbite Jason Agnew about the future of content management.They are both experts in the deployment of WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system. They talked about some of the ways publishers are responding to falling referral traffic by making their websites more immersive and community-focused.They also talked about the ways AI is being used to streamline content production and remove complexity in journalists’ lives.And they have an interesting debate the importance of ensuring your content is seen and cited by the likes of ChatGPT. This episode is sponsored by WP Engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Press Gazette UK editor Charlotte Tobitt speaks to Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips about how the US business brand has changed tack in response to massive changes in the way Google refers traffic to publishers.She said: "I think a lot of publishers were in the same spot, or still are in the same spot. And so for us, it's getting back to those core communities and those businesses and our editorial journalism that we take pride in and protect. And so how do we look at that in new revenue models?"And as the business evolves, as the digital ecosystem changes, there were certain parts of the company that were fully just servicing that digital ecosystem, which is now evaporating quite quickly." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford and UK editor Charlotte Tobitt discuss the latest front in the Telegraph ownership battle, the publication of fake interviews on The Times, and the threat from social media misinformation in the wake of serious incidents like the stabbing on a train in Cambridgeshire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Advertising has funded journalism and kept the lights on for democracy since the steam age.But in recent years many publishers have pulled away from relying so heavily on automated programmatic advertising as way of funding free online news.In this episode (sponsored by Assertive Yield) the company’s chief operating office Sherzod Rizaev explains some of the challenges publisher face extracting value from an advertising ecosystem filled with intermediaries all taking a cut.He says publishers don’t have to passively accept declining revenue but can increase their market share by taking back control of the technology which underpins online advertising.He said: “I’m generally optimistic about where we are heading as a publishing industry. We are moving from guesswork and patchwork to a world where publishers can operate with more certainty and precision and confidence of know exactly what they are publishing, how much money they are earning.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whatever medium publishers started out on, many are now racing towards Youtube and other online video platforms as the fastest growing source of both audience and revenue.Goalhanger co-founder Jack Davenport joined Press Gazette editor Dominic Ponsford to discuss this phenomenon alongside consultant Connie Krarup of Q5 Partners. He revealed how the producer of hit shows such as The Rest Is History and The Rest Is Politics now sees itself as a video production company more than an audio producer and explained why podcasts is now a term eschewed by the high-ups at Goalhanger.Davenport also spoke about Goalhanger's commercial model, which includes strong incentives for hosts, and shared his tips for other publishers who want to succeed in an increasingly video-dominated media age.This edition was sponsored by Q5 Partners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hamburger Morgenpost head of product Dana Schluenzen tells Dominic Ponsford how offering readers a personalised selection of homepage stories has paid off with higher click-throughs and more returning visitors. This podcast also features insights from the CEO of website personalisation specialists Kilkaya, Tarjei Gilbrant.This episode is sponsored by Kilkaya. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unlike many publishers, The Economist has chosen not to do any licensing deals with the likes of OpenAI - but isn't looking to sue them either.The Economist's president Luke Bradley-Jones appeared at Press Gazette's Future of Media Technology Conference in London and explained how the brand is adapting for a "post-search world", including by launching one of its newsletters on Substack. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In which Charlotte and Dom discuss: the latest mass job cuts at Reach, the latest attacks on journalism from AI bots and what the proposed break-up of Google's adtech business could mean for publishers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyiv Independent launched in November 2021, just three months before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Here chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk talks to Press Gazette editor-in-chief Dominic Ponsford about building a 70-strong team out of nothing, funded mainly by reader revenue, and the ways they have had to constantly reinvent their model. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.