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Today we’re asking what the future of editorial newsletters looks like, scrutinising what happens when journalists get catty on Twitter, taking a look at what happened to BuzzFeed’s shares, and examining market sachetisation of media products.
What does the future hold for newsletters?
The Guardian, The Economist and The Financial Times share insights on how the newsletter format is being used to deepen reader relationships and bolster subscription offerings. This roundup from news:rewired is well worth your time even if you don’t currently produce a newsletter of your own:
“The Economist is well known for being ‘byline-less’, which [newsletter editor Aaron] Coultate said is because of the ‘collegiate’ and ‘collaborative’ nature of its newsroom. ‘The credit belongs to the whole team. But newsletters are a slightly different story, where writers for the speciality newsletters get a photo byline.’”
The theory is that newsletters are a far more personal and self-selecting way to consume news. As such there is a huge amount of uplift and loyalty that comes from associating them with a specific writer.
Media sachetisation is real, and product pricing in emerging markets shows it
This is a fascinating read. How do you price media products in a market where food is the biggest competitor for every dollar? The answer would appear to be ‘sachestisation’ and – funny name aside – it’s a solution that we’re already seeing publishers experiment with in the UK and US. I fully expect to see much more of this in the near future.
Washington Post’s Sally Buzbee chides staff after feud over sexist joke
The WaPo’s Felicia Sonmez and Jose Del Real traded “bitter barbs on Twitter about a third reporter, Dave Weigel.” I caught the tail end of this and couldn’t care less about the specifics – only that the ongoing discussion around what is and isn’t seen as acceptable for journalists on Twitter is going to come back into focus. Get those takes ready!
BuzzFeed shares drop 41% in wake of investor lockup expiration
We mentioned that HuffPost has returned to profitability last week – but this is bad news for its owner. The move marks the worst one-day percentage drop in digital-media upstart’s short trading history – and a is a worrying look at how the market sees digital news outlets.
This content originally appeared in The Media Roundup, a daily newsletter from Media Voices. Subscribe here:
