Guests: Gregg Fernandes, The Washington Post and Dan Schaub, McClatchy

What is the role of the print product in an age when people are increasingly consuming news digitally? What challenges are newspapers currently facing in satisfying the demand for the print product? What are the operational and/or cost pressures newspapers must contend with? How do newspapers find people to do the multiple hands-on pieces of production and delivery? How is consolidation in the print industry impacting business decision-making? What are the challenges for newspaper delivery, and what does it looks like in the not-too-distant future? How can newspapers' delivery networks and distribution knowledge be valuable on a macro scale?

These questions and many more are the focus of this episode of News Take. News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with The Washington Post's Vice President for Distribution & Customer Care, Gregg Fernandes and McClatchy's Vice President of Supply Chain Operations, Dan Schaub, about the role and value of the print newspaper product, as well as how they are innovating and evolving the product to continue to meet changing reader needs and demands. Fernandes and Schaub give their honest takes about resetting consumer expectations of the print product in a 24/7 news cycle, as well as how they have gotten creative with ways to produce and deliver the print newspaper more efficiently and cost-effectively. They also talk about how "the original gig economy" – newspaper delivery – is best positioned to capitalize on the growth of the sector as retailers and others get in on the game.

Guest: Feli Carrique, Executive Director, News Product Alliance

What is news product and product thinking, and why is it important in journalism? How can newsrooms begin to incorporate product thinking into their content? What are the challenges to adopting a product mindset?

On this episode of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with Executive Director of the News Product Alliance, Feli Carrique, about news product and the increasingly popular practice of product thinking in journalism and news publishing. In this informative discussion, Feli explains what news product and product thinking is, as well as how having a product mindset and putting the reader first can help improve content engagement and performance. She also shares some of the biggest challenges to adopting product thinking, as well as some of the things that excite her the most about the use of product thinking and where it has the potential to make the biggest impact.

Guest: Julien Genestoux, founder and CEO, Unlock

What is blockchain and how do NFTs work? How can news publishers use blockchain to grow revenue? What would a membership model based on NFTs look like, and what benefits could it offer over the traditional advertising revenue model? What is Web3 and why do we need it?

On this edition of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with founder and CEO of Unlock, Julien Genestoux, about the potential opportunities and uses of blockchain technology by news publishers. In this candid discussion that takes a critical look at the current state of the Web, Julien reviews the basics of blockchain and why it could offer a more secure and more exciting alternative to the attention-based, platform-driven experiences found on today’s Web. He then provides a look at what lies beyond the initial applications, to the potential of blockchain specifically for news publishers, for purposes such as monetizing content and using NFTs in membership models.

Guest: Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Typically, News Take is where we talk about the latest innovation and get into the weeds about trends taking place in the news media industry. But in this episode, we turned to a more serious topic, which is how journalists are covering the war Russia is waging against the Ukraine.

Since Russia’s first attacks on Ukraine in late February, dozens of journalists have been injured or killed while reporting on the war. Journalists are risking their lives to bring the latest news and information about the war to people around the world. So while we could talk about the latest news products, the dire situation in the Ukraine is really the biggest thing happening in the world right now, and what we do as news publishers literally impacts what people know and how people perceive the war, so we felt it needed and deserved our attention here.

On this special edition of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who shares details about the situation on the ground in the Ukraine, including the environment for journalists, the needs of journalists and news organizations in the Ukraine as well as Russia, how they are helping everyday citizens in Ukraine, how they are staying safe, and what we can do to help.

This episode was recorded on April 21, 2022.

Guest: Mitra Kalita, co-founder and CEO, URL Media What comes first, diversity of content or diversity in staff? How has hiring changed with the focus on diversity, and how do news publishers hire and retain diverse talent? How do we institute organization-level changes in how we think about diversity, equity and inclusion, both in our coverage and our staff? What must newsroom leaders do to ensure diversity efforts are a success? How can a small, community-focused media startup achieve scale and sustainability without sacrificing their identity? What are the benefits of a for-profit model for media startups? How can news publishers capitalize on B2B revenue streams? What should media entrepreneurs think about when they are starting a business? You know you were meant to be a journalist when, as a pre-teen, you created a newspaper to protest your parents' decision to move your family from Puerto Rico to New Jersey! That is exactly how Mitra Kalita, co-founder and CEO of URL Media, got her start in journalism. On this episode of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern and Kalita have a heartfelt discussion about her journey from being a busy CNN Digital executive to starting her own newsletter, Epicenter NYC, and media company, URL  Media, in Jackson Heights, New York City amidst a pandemic and racial justice movement. During this light-hearted and honest talk, Kalita shares how she and her business partner were able to achieve instant scale, launching the URL Media network with seven million users, and how they've embraced a for-profit business model at a time when many similar groups were launching as nonprofits. In addition, she shares advice for improving diversity in content as well as in the newsroom, including ensuring changes to improve DE&I are lasting and become a part of the organization culture.

Guest: Kim Bui, Director of Product & Audience Innovation, Arizona Republic What comes first, the product or the user? How do we close the gap between the addressable market and market penetration? What are ways to use newsletters and text notifications to get personal with readers? How can we position ourselves now with younger readers and Gen Z readers as a useful news source? What are the "winners" in the news product space doing that we are not? On this episode of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern chatted with Kim Bui, Director of Product and Audience Innovation at the Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com, about how to leverage the latest trends in digital products to connect with your audience and be useful to them, while at the same time building trust and emphasizing community-centered journalism. The conversation flows into a discussion of the evolving workplace and how Kim's columns, "Sincerely, Leaders of Color" and "The Middles" reflect the importance of improving diversity in news media and providing education to those emerging leaders who are navigating unfamiliar management and leadership roles.

Ad tech, Privacy and Performance, oh my! News publishers working to adapt to a privacy-first digital landscape before the inevitable end of the third-party cookie can easily become overwhelmed and may not even know where to start. What does the shift towards privacy mean for news publishers and how they approach ad targeting? Is decreased reliance on third-party tracking a good thing for the industry? What are Core Web Vitals and why should news publishers care? How does my news site's performance tie in to reader trust? What are things publishers can do right now to improve site performance? What is W3C and how can publishers take advantage to get their voices heard? These questions and more will be discussed on this episode of News Take. News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern had an energizing conversation with Aram Zucker-Scharff, Engineering Lead for Privacy & Security Compliance at The Washington Post, that got in-the-weeds about the kitchen sink of ad tech topics, including site monetization; improving privacy and the user experience; optimizing site performance using Core Web Vitals; and more. This episode was so full of interesting facts and actionable insights, we didn't want it to end. The nuggets of wisdom will come faster than you can write them down, so it's a good thing this conversation was recorded and you can re-watch it to your heart's content!

Is there such a thing as a typical reader or subscriber? What role does the e-Paper play in the transition to digital (and why did our speakers initially despise the product)? Do new storytelling formats such as podcasts and social media present viable business models, and how can news publishers successfully venture into this space? What are news publishers getting right on the tech side, and where do they still need to improve? In this episode of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern sits down with Jim Bernard, Senior Vice President for Digital at the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune and Mike Orren, Chief Product Officer at The Dallas Morning News for a candid conversation about the challenges and opportunities that arise from understanding your readers and subscribers and how to give them what they want (and when, where and how they want it) – all while prioritizing revenue (because at the end of the day, newspapers need to sell subscriptions). From the differences between print and digital subscribers and their desires, preferences, and behaviors, to why the e-Edition is a valuable product, to approaches to experimenting with new forms of storytelling (including audio and video), to their most exciting plans for 2022, Orren and Bernard draw from their leadership experience to offer insights on navigating the constantly changing news consumption landscape.