The Hindu has a strict policy to ensure that a human is in the loop for all published content, but are using AI to help fine-tune and develop content and services to appeal to specific audiences. One example of this is personalising the way they produce some newsletters, Nagaraj Nagabushanam, The Hindu’s Vice President, Data and Analytics, told participants at our AI Summit in Bengaluru last week. Nagabushanam noted the newsroom produces several kinds of newsletters, from ones around alerts or breaking news, to digest-style ones built around specific topics to others that are curated by journa ..read more

The growth of social media as a news and information source for many consumers comes with its share of threats and opportunities, Sarah Marshall, who leads audience development for Condé Nast, told participants at WAN-IFRA’s World News Media Congress. Marshall discussed how social media platforms pose challenges to various revenue streams of publishers. Condé Nast operates in 11 markets (the USA is the largest) and in nine languages. Its vast stable of brands includes titles such as Vogue, Glamour, GQ, Wired and Vanity Fair. Its Vogue title used to receive a lot of visibility during events lik ..read more

It is evident in this interview that Núñez has his hands firmly on the pulse of the critical issues and opportunities ahead of Prisa. He shares how El País’ digital subscription model is evolving, just four years after its launch, what today’s modern advertising ecosystem should look like, how Prisa nurtures innovation – and talent, the art of measurement, and, naturally, the new partnership with OpenAI… and more. WAN-IFRA: Can you give us an idea of how your business strategy has evolved and where it is today? Carlos Núñez: The business plan we presented at Capital Markets Day in March 2022 i ..read more

Before Tav Klitgaard shifted his career focus to technology and journalism, he worked as a jazz trumpet player, and the creativity and innovation that all great jazz requires is something he carries along with him. “One way that I could actually help improve society was to go into journalism,” Klitgaard said of his career change. “And the wonderful thing for me right now is that I am the CEO of a media company, and the trumpet is still with me. What I try to do is take tech creativity and bring it into the world of journalism.” Copenhagen-based Zetland is a remarkable example of a journalism s ..read more

Every year there is a new, and seemingly existential threat to the news business. To date, news publishing has proved sufficiently adaptable to face up to the challenges, albeit not without stumbles. This year’s subject of search and referral traffic looks every bit as existential, not least since precisely 100% of respondents rated it as a concern, ranging from ‘moderate’ to ‘very significant.’  Digiday and Arc XP surveyed 115 publishers to understand how these traffic shifts are affecting them and the steps they’re taking to address challenges – all published in a new report, “The state ..read more

Bonnier News is in a strong position today thanks to a comprehensive transformation process that began eight years ago, said Anders Eriksson, CEO of Bonnier News. “It obviously is a digital transformation, and a business model transformation, from advertising to subscription,“ he said. “But also, very much an operating model transformation, from a very decentralised, silo-based organisation to an integrated organisation.” Eriksson discussed the publisher’s transformation journey during our recent World News Media Congress in Copenhagen. Bonnier News is the largest news media company in the Nor ..read more

That is from Andrew Morse, the president and publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) in Georgia, USA. More than a year into his new job, Morse is guiding the 155-year-old newspaper through a phase of investment and growth. Prior to joining the AJC, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer for CNN Worldwide, and as the Head of CNN+. Morse participated in a panel discussion at the World News Media Congress, led by Lucy Kueng, Strategic Advisor, Author & Senior Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute at Oxford University. He was joined by Kristin Skogen Lun ..read more

During a round-table discussion at our World News Media Congress around product development, audience engagement and digital subscriptions, Douchet noted that while many media companies have made progress in adapting to digital in many ways, there are still areas for improvement. Chief among these is user experience (UX). “We have understood the product is not as important as the journalism that we create and publish. But it is extremely important for our users to engage with the brand. You wouldn’t use a product if the quality is bad. You wouldn’t use Spotify if you knew there were bugs,” Dou ..read more

In a context where many news publishers are focusing on digital reader revenue as a critical area for future growth, the new Digital News Report makes for particularly sobering reading. 17 percent of respondents in 20 richer countries said they had paid for online news in the past year, according to the latest edition of the annual report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. The full Digital News Report 2024, including in-depth country profiles, is available here. After a period of growth in 2014–2019, followed by a boost during the pandemic, the report provides further ev ..read more

The New York Times, which now has more than 10.5 million subscribers, has found there is a strong symbiotic relationship between products, such as their popular games, and news, Withrow told participants during WAN-IFRA’s World News Media Congress in Copenhagen. Withrow spoke as part of a panel session on to news products that improve user experience, drive conversions and build loyalty. “The news cycle goes up and down, and what we’re seeing is the path from news to games is very well trodden. If there’s not a lot of news that day, we’re still seeing people coming back to play Wordle or Conne ..read more