On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from Tshepo Tshabalala, project manager & team lead at the LSE’s JournalismAI project. Rather than focusing on the negative coverage and speculation we so often hear about AI replacing journalism jobs, Tshepo tells us about uses cases and the benefits of AI in smaller newsrooms and how collaboration is helping journalists get on board the AI rocket ship.

Tshepo joined the JournalismAI project just three months after ChatGPT went public. Some might call that perfect timing; for others it would be a nightmare, with the playing field changing week by week. He’s taken it all in his stride, however, telling us, “It was a rollercoaster… trying to learn the job, trying to understand the field and understand who the players are, also serving our audience and our users that need help. But growth doesn’t happen in a comfortable space.”

Knowledge-sharing is at the heart of everything the JournalismAI project does, from the JournalismAI Starter Pack, designed to help news organisations understand the opportunities offered by AI, to the 2023 JournalismAI report surveying 105 newsrooms in 46 countries. Tshepo says, “It's really just sharing knowledge, and then with the hope that they can decide thereafter, what they do with that knowledge.”

In the news roundup the team discusses Sydney Sweeney, at length. They also discuss the disparity between how much journalists and creators get paid versus the shareholders of media companies, the news that GB News made an enormous loss last year, and ask whether it's good or bad for TalkTV to be going digital-only on YouTube.

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For the 95% of publishers who haven't yet adopted AI, identifying a use case they can start with is usually the biggest roadblock. But the tools also need to be available for publishers to be able to support their unique revenue streams.

This is the latest in our Media Briefs series of short, sharp sponsored episodes - just 10 to 15 minutes - with a senior executive from a vendor working with publishers to make their businesses better.

In this episode, Peter speaks with Maanas Mediratta, CEO at Bridged Media, about how and why making AI tools more accessible to publishers will help the whole ecosystem. Much of the AI innovation is being driven by big tech companies and industries like eCommerce, fashion and finance. But publishers have such a diversity of business models, even tools designed for media companies often won't satisfy individual companies' goals and needs.

Note: Media Voices are currently working with Bridged to advance our own goals of driving sign-ups to our daily newsletter, and resurfacing relevant content from our site. You may well see some of our engagement tests over the coming weeks, so if you're interested in trying Bridged for yourself, details are below.

This Media Briefs episode is sponsored by Bridged Media, democratising AI for publishers. Through no-code AI solutions, Bridged lets publishers access the power of machine learning and Gen AI to meet their engagement and revenue objectives.

Publisher-first AI tools detect where the audience is most likely to engage and through a single line of code, introduce action cards that prompt readers to register, subscribe, or read more, helping publishers establish richer relationships.

Learn more about Bridged Media’s no-code AI tools on their website.

On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from The Economist's Executive Vice President of Marketing Nada Arnot. Marketing isn't something we talk about a lot on the podcast, but as Arnot makes clear it's an integral part of media companies' ability to address, convert and retain audiences.

The Economist has just launched its largest brand campaign since the early 2000s, so Arnot tells us about how the news-focused magazine is seeking to attract younger readers, why she believes long-term brand building is vital in today’s news ecosystem, and the future plans for marketing The Economist.

In the news roundup the Media Voices team discuss the news that a group of 32 European media organizations, including notable names like publishing giant Axel Springer and media heavyweight Schibsted, have jointly filed a Є2.1bn ($2.3 billion) antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet-owned Google. We ask why no adults ever get round the table to discuss a realistic approach to solving these issues before they arise - and whether it will all matter in a few years given the rapid rise of Amazon's ad capabilities.

This week we hear from Lauren Kleinman and Lee Joselowitz, co-founders of The Quality Edit. The Quality Edit was founded in 2021 when Lauren, Lee and their co-founder Scott Silver felt there was no digital publisher providing high-quality recommendations around fashion, travel, and beauty products, so they decided to launch their own.

They tell us about a technique they are terming ‘performance publishing’, about how they persevered through the early years, and how the digital publishing ecosystem rewards authenticity.

In the news roundup Chris and Esther discuss the news that the Independent is in talks to take control of BuzzFeed and HuffPost in the UK, ask what the demise of Vice.com means for digital publishing, and ask if scale is well and truly dead. 

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This week we hear from two of the three editors of The Paper, an intimidatingly-sized Welsh indie magazine. Oliver Gabe and Owen Davies take us through the annual publishing plan, why they launched the title with a live variety show, and what makes the title feel truly distinctive in a saturated marketplace.

In the news roundup Esther, Peter and Chris discuss some items of relatively good media news, before segueing into the bad. We ask whether generalist media titles are one end of a seesaw and bespoke local and specialist titles are the other, and discuss why 'distinctiveness' and 'community' are too often used to paper over cracks in media business models. 

Media Voices has a new look! Don't forget you can visit our refreshed and revamped site at voices.media, and sign up to our newsletter and community forum while you're there.

As part of a special four-part podcast series, supported by the Google News Initiative, we’ve been talking to publishers and experts across Europe who are working to find resilient business models. We spoke to them about the state of the local news market in their regions, how they’ve evolved company culture and practice, and what tools and trends they’re working with to prepare for the next decade.

What metrics should local news publishers be focusing on, and what new tech is out there to support growing businesses? Our fourth and final episode explores the tools, tech and trends – including AI – which organisations are using or looking to use in the future.

Experts featured in this episode:

• Jayne Savva, Group Features Editor (news), DC Thomson

This series is supported by the Google News Initiative. They work with publishers and journalists to fight misinformation, share resources, and build a diverse and innovative local news system. Find out more about their programmes, tools and resources at newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

As part of a special four-part podcast series, supported by the Google News Initiative, we’ve been talking to publishers and experts across Europe who are working to find resilient business models. We spoke to them about the state of the local news market in their regions, how they’ve evolved company culture and practice, and what tools and trends they’re working with to prepare for the next decade.

To build a sustainable – and successful – publishing business requires staff to be on board with changes, as well as a collaborative environment with good communication. For local news organisations, external relationships with audiences also need work. In this third episode, we speak to some local news organisations about getting company culture to the best possible place.

Experts featured in this episode:

• Doug Smith – Lead architect, Table Stakes

This series is supported by the Google News Initiative. They work with publishers and journalists to fight misinformation, share resources, and build a diverse and innovative local news system. Find out more about their programmes, tools and resources at newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

As part of a special four-part podcast series, supported by the Google News Initiative, we’ve been talking to publishers and experts across Europe who are working to find resilient business models. We spoke to them about the state of the local news market in their regions, how they’ve evolved company culture and practice, and what tools and trends they’re working with to prepare for the next decade.

In part two, we explore the challenges and opportunities that local news organisations are facing with finding sustainable revenue streams, as well as looking at some specific case studies of publications across Europe to find out what mix they’re using.

Experts featured in this episode:

• Prof. Dr. Wiebke Möhring, Professor of Journalism, TU Dortmund Institute for Journalism

This series is supported by the Google News Initiative. They work with publishers and journalists to fight misinformation, share resources, and build a diverse and innovative local news system. Find out more about their programmes, tools and resources at newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

As part of a special four-part podcast series, supported by the Google News Initiative, we’ve been talking to publishers and experts across Europe who are working to find resilient business models. We spoke to them about the state of the local news market in their regions, how they’ve evolved company culture and practice, and what tools and trends they’re working with to prepare for the next decade.

In this first episode, we look at some of the historical context around the state of local news, shifts in the UK and European markets, and what ‘good’ local news might look like. We also do a deep dive into some of the issues facing the UK local news market, as well as the continuing value of local news to communities.

Experts featured in this episode:

• Doug Smith – Lead architect, Table Stakes

This series is supported by the Google News Initiative. They work with publishers and journalists to fight misinformation, share resources, and build a diverse and innovative local news system. Find out more about their programmes, tools and resources at newsinitiative.withgoogle.com

In the second episode of this two-part series from Mx3 AI, a new pop-up conference we collaborated on with Media Makers Meet, we look at why, how and when publishers are integrating AI into their newsrooms.

AI is not a pie-in-the-sky dream for media companies: it hasn’t been for years. For close to a decade questions about whether AI will replace or empower journalists have been raised at conferences and in newsrooms.

Over the past few years the conversation has changed. It is now no longer a question of ‘if’ AI will be integrated throughout the newsroom, but ‘when’.

In December, Media Voices collaborated with Media Makers Meet on their Mx3 AI conference in London. The speakers – drawn from across the media industry from recruitment to newsroom – confirmed that AI is already suffusing the industry. But where they offered invaluable insight was around ensuring it is used effectively and with consideration for the business goals and employees of publishers.

As the official report from the event notes: “A key theme throughout… was the need for publishers to act immediately and start experimenting with AI, albeit with clear business goals at front of mind.”

This episode is the second of a two-part series from Mx3 AI. The first, looking at opportunities, regulation and risks around AI, can be found below this episode in the feed. There is also a corresponding report from the event, written by Media Makers Meet, available to download here.

Media Voices and Media Makers Meet would like to thank FT Strategies, InsurAds, Labrador CMS, Miso, Sub(x) and Zuora for sponsoring the conference.