Blockworks CEO Jason Yanowitz discusses how Blockworks has evolved the company from an events business to podcast network to news provider to becoming a data and information play with media, events and franchises feeding the core data and research business. This kind of shift is hard to pull off. Among the issues we discuss: Using podcasts for broad reach and affinityNews as a credibility driverPulling back on B2C events to focus on B2BUsing media to drive “negative CAC” for information...

Defector Media, the sports and culture publication launched four years ago by former Deadspin writers, is an example of the mixed picture for the future of the media business. On the plus side, it is a profitable, employee-owned publication with 42,500 paying subscribers supporting a $4.6 million business. At the same time, the company saw revenue growth drop to 2.2% from 18% last year and 16% in 2022. Defector's Jasper Wang joined me to discuss Defector’s plans to expand its ad revenue, the...

I was joined by Reid DeRamus to discuss the strategic and tactical decisions that go into building an independent media business. We discuss everything from choosing a business model, using the leverage of individual reputation, the value of consistency and authenticity, the mistake of over-reliance on optimization techniques, and the challenge of growth as tried-and-true methods wane in efficacy.

In this Spotlight episode, Josh Brandau, CEO of The Rebooting partner Nota, discusses how AI can be a critical tool for newsrooms in a more-with-less era. osh is a publishing veteran having been CRO and CMO at the Los Angeles Times. That informed his decision to create Nota since like other publishers he saw legacy media struggling to adopt technologies that underpin sustainable businesses.  We discuss the inefficiencies inherent in a lot of newsrooms that end up taking scarce resources away...

Fitt Insider, a media brand for the fitness and wellness industry, is a good example of the type of media brand that hits on many of the current trends in the industry: Niche. The fitness and broader wellness industry is a growing area that will only expand.B2B.  The most robust media models are B2B or targeting influential audiences with similar approaches.Direct. Fitt relies on podcasts for engagement and its 100,000 email subscriber list for audience data and a direct connection. Organic....

This week, I was joined by one of my favorite media entrepreneurs, Adam White. Adam has built Front Office Sports from a college project to the $10 million in revenue mark, with backing from Jeff Zucker's Redbird IMI. Some of the topics we covered: Why investing in creative strategy is critical to break through with big brands. The “faces and franchises” approach. The limits of built-if-sold projects. The decision to put off subscriptions.

Adam Mendelsohn operates at the nexus of sports, media, business and culture. Adam is a longtime advisor to LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter. He’s a communications advisor to many athletes and companies. And he’s recently rolled out his own sports platform, OffBall, which is something of a throwback to a pre-algorithmic era where Drudge report and other curators reigned supreme. We discussed: The genesis and vision behind OffBall, a new sports media ventureThe long-term...

This week marks an important moment in the history of digital advertising as the U.S. Department of Justice presses its case that Google is a monopolist in ad tech.  The seeds of this case were planted in 2007, when Google bought DoubleClick, a critical piece of internet advertising infrastructure that was widely used by advertisers and publishers in running ad campaigns. With DoubleClick in the fold, Google methodically grew to dominate all phases of digital advertising by piecing together a...

Scott Messer is founder of media advisory firm Messer Media and former svp of media at Leaf Group. Scott is in the weeds on the digital ad ecosystem, and he broke down the current state of play for publishers. We discussed why traffic declines are still the No. 1 challenge for publishers, why publishers are shifting from traditional monetization mechanisms, retail media as potential allies, and why “curation” is the latest hot new trend in ad tech, even if it sounds quite a lot like what ad...

In a spotlight episode of The Rebooting Show, I spoke with Affinity Global CEO Lavin Punjabi for his view of how publishers adapt their affiliate operations. Affinity operates NucleusLinks, an affiliate operations platform that serves as something akin to Google Ad Manager for affiliate operations. Some takeaways: Many publishers are playing catch up. Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest internet business models, with its growth turbocharged by the ease and rise of e-commerce. Many legacy...

On this week’s episode of The Rebooting Show, I was joined by Ana Andjelic,  a veteran brand executive and writer of the Sociology of Business newsletter. I wanted to try an episode with Ana because we focus on different ends of the media ecosystem. Among the issues we discuss: The internet’s impact on brands. “It forces you to compete on everything other than on brand. You compete on price, convenience, product recognizability, speed of your supply chain."​Product-led branding. “It’s...

This week, we are wrapping up a series on The Rebooting Show that examines the role of product at a time of distribution and monetization shifts. The twin themes that emerged are that publishers are increasingly focused on direct relationships with audiences and are in a back-to-basics mode of focusing product resources on critical business objectives, which often rely on loyalty. And the looming question: How will AI be used to make these businesses more effective while not losing their...

At the Media Product Forum earlier this month, I spoke with Gannett head of product Renn Turiano, Hearst Newspapers chief commercial officer Bridget Williams and Millie Tran, chief digital content officer at the Council on Foreign Relations. The conversation revolved around the shifting product priorities at publishers at a time when the weight of most publishing businesses is shifting from catering to the whims of platforms to a more independent path. That requires a change in focus to...

At last week’s Media Product Forum, which The Rebooting held in collaboration with WordPress VIP, I had a discussion with Dotdash Meredith chief product officer Adam McClean and The Daily Beast svp of product Samantha Winkelman about their respective product strategies. While both owned by IAC, the publishers are at vastly different sizes, with The Daily Beast having three people in product to DDM’s 75. The connective tissue of both: A focus on audience needs.

In a session recorded at The Media Product Forum in NYC, Bloomberg Media global head of product Marissa Zanetti-Crume shares how the media organization takes an audience-focused approach to building products. Marissa highlights the importance of understanding user behavior, particularly the shift towards personalized, relevant content delivered efficiently. She shares insights on Bloomberg's recent homepage redesign, the role of AI in enhancing user experience, and the strategic decisions...

In a discussion held in Cannes, I sat down with Jason White, chief product and technology officer at The Arena Group, and Johanna Bergqvist, general manager of the managers at The Rebooting partner EX.CO. A part of the conversation that resonated was how White has zeroed in on revenue per session as what he calls the “God metric” that prioritizes session depth over raw page views. This is a recognition that traditionally digital media publishers have focused on eyeballs without understanding...

In a session recorded at the Cannes Lions, Hearst Magazines CRO Lisa Ryan and Jen Dorre join the show to discuss how the publisher is responding to the shifts in advertising to performance-focused channels, including retail media and platforms.  Skip to topic: 00:00 Introduction01:36 Realism in Publishing and Growth Strategies04:45 Focus on Audience and Data Utilization07:33 Innovative Ad Products and Consumer Engagement13:03 Challenges and Opportunities in Attribution14:26 The Role of Brand...

In this episode recorded at the Dotdash Meredith villa in Cannes, Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel and Axios senior media reporter Sara Fischer discuss the impact AI is set to have on the publishing business. Skip to topic: 00:00 Introduction03:04 Challenges and Opportunities in Publishing05:44 The Role of Algorithms in Media13:02 AI Deals and Legal Considerations22:47 AI's Impact on Business: Myth vs. Reality25:38 The Future of Print and Digital Media31:36 The Role of Credibility and...

This episode from Cannes of The Rebooting Show, presented by Outbrain, features David Kostman (CEO of Outbrain), Kate Scott-Dawkins (Global President for Business Intelligence at GroupM), and Johanna Mayer-Jones (chief advertising officer of the Washington Post). They discuss the ad market's growth contrasted with the decline in ad revenue for news publishers. Emphasizing the value of trusted journalism, they explore the importance of advanced audience targeting and AI in creating brand-safe...

Semafor editor in chief Ben Smith sees a fragmenting media landscape and impatient owners running headlong into the peculiarities of newsroom culture, where bosses have never had an easy time. Enter the hard-charing Brits. Also: check out Ben’s new podcast, Mixed Signals, in which Ben and co-host Nayeema Raza unpack the real conspiracies of modern media. Skip to topic: 00:54 Introducing Ben Smith and Mixed Signals04:14 Podcasting and Media Expertise09:09 Challenges in Modern Newsrooms20:11...

In the wake of Jeff Bezos buying The Washington Post in 2013 and the heady “Democracy Dies in Darkness” days following the 2016 election, The Washington Post was considered a credible rival to The New York Times. That’s no longer the case. New CEO Will Lewis is embarking on a turnaround at the Post, which lost $77 million last year. As Lewis put it, “We are in a hole, and we have been for some time.” On this week’s episode, Matt Cronin, founding partner of House of Kaizen, joins to discuss...

Publishing is shifting from prioritizing breadth to rewarding depth. That starts with understanding the audience — and its segments — more granularly in order to create a more sustainable and varied business foundation. Cory Munchbach, CEO of BlueConic, shares her view of the next chapter. Skip to topic: 00:00 Introduction and Media Challenges01:02 Welcome to The Rebooting Show01:44 Discussion on Audience vs. Consumer03:38 Key Takeaways from the New Growth Agenda07:22 Challenges in Media...