Media Voices Podcast Media Voices

On this week's episode of Media Voices we hear from Jack Marshall, Co-Founder of Toolkits, a business information and consulting company focused on subscription publishing. We talked about his past life as a media reporter at Digiday and the WSJ, what opportunity he and co-founder Shareen Pathak spotted in the market, and what advice he would give to publishers with subscriptions.

In the news roundup we discuss what lessons we learned from listening to 150+ podcasts, ask what the Twitter chaos means for publishers (and Peter's stock), and touch upon the Guardian's evolving newsletter strategy. Music and sound effects via Chris' home office.

This week we spoke to Snigdha Sur, Founder & CEO of The Juggernaut; a content and community platform for global South Asians. She talked about founding a media business with a business background rather than a journalism one, and how her knowledge of media VC and funding has influenced how she runs the publication. She also shares what she’s learned from a paywall, and bringing people in through free content like the newsletter and their new podcast, The Juggernaut Interviews: Founders.

In the news roundup we discuss all the news that occurred while we were off on our hiatus. We ask whether Musk's mooted takeover of Twitter will have an impact (no in short-term, yes in long-term); examine the launch of TalkTV and its subsequent fail to register any viewers; and the rushing revival of the advertising market. In the NIBs we explore whether local news sites do local news any more, the end of Facebook's podcast support, and Le Monde stretching itself into the US. 

Springer Nature's flagship Nature Podcast has been a strong competitor in our Awards. The podcast scooped the Best Science & Medical Podcast in 2020, and in 2021, also won the Best Coronavirus Podcast category with Coronapod. Judges described it as "like listening to smart, welcoming friends," praising its excellent content and truly global scale. Nature Podcast is in the race again this year, shortlisted both for Best Limited Series and Best Science & Medical Podcast.

Peter spoke to Nature's Senior Multimedia Editor Benjamin Thompson about Coronapod. He talked about planning a dedicated Coronavirus podcast with a team all working from their homes, the importance of maintaining audience's trust, and keeping coverage of the pandemic going after Coronapod had been folded back into the main podcast.

This year’s Publisher Podcast Award winners will be revealed on April 27th at a live event in London, as well as streamed online. See our tickets page for more details. Entries for next year’s Publisher Podcast Awards will open in September. Think you’ve got what it takes to win an award? Sign up to our mailing list at www.publisherpodcastawards.com

The winner of the Best Hobbies & Special Interest Podcast at 2021's Publisher Podcast Awards was The Week in Art from The Art Newspaper. Judges noted how the presenters made an in-depth topic very accessible, the passion of the interviewees, and strong commercial performance of the podcast, as well as the contribution it makes to the broader Art Newspaper brand.

Peter spoke to Ben Luke, podcast host and review editor at The Art Newspaper. He talked about how the podcast and its format came about, why they chose a single sponsor per season revenue model, and what value The Week in Art brings to the publisher's wider audience.

This year’s Publisher Podcast Award winners will be revealed on April 27th at a live event in London, as well as streamed online. See our tickets page for more details. Entries for next year’s Publisher Podcast Awards will open in September. Think you’ve got what it takes to win an award? Sign up to our mailing list at www.publisherpodcastawards.com

The winner of the Publisher Podcast Hero of the Year award at our first ever Publisher Podcast Awards in 2020 was Christopher Phin. We were constantly impressed by his efforts to not just transform DC Thomson's podcasting efforts, but also to help others in the industry improve through shared knowledge, resources and endless enthusiasm.

Peter caught up with him later that year to find out how his role as Head of Podcasts had come about at DC Thomson, the value podcasts bring to a publishing company, and more. He also shares six essential reasons publishers should look at podcasting, and how to warm editorial staff up to being in front of a microphone. We're releasing it as a special bonus episode as part of our mini series looking at lessons publishers can learn from award-winning podcasts, showcasing best practice, hints and tips from the best in the industry.

This year’s Publisher Podcast Award winners will be revealed on April 27th at a live event in London, as well as streamed online. See our tickets page for more details. Entries for next year’s Publisher Podcast Awards will open in September. Think you’ve got what it takes to win an award? Sign up to our mailing list at www.publisherpodcastawards.com

For two years running, The Week Unwrapped has scooped the ‘Best News Podcast’, fending off competition from some of the biggest names in publishing. Judges for 2021’s awards highlighted the superb audio quality, the skill with which the hosts presented a genuine and insightful conversation, and strong brand alignment.

Peter spoke to The Week’s Digital Editor and podcast host Holden Frith. He discussed how their signature three story format had to evolve during the pandemic, the importance of varied points of view within the episodes, and why the podcast is addressing an audience in its own right rather than just being the magazine in audio form.

Note: This episode was recorded prior to Future PLC’s acquisition of Dennis Publishing, owners of The Week.

This year’s Publisher Podcast Award winners will be revealed on April 27th at a live event in London, as well as streamed online. See our tickets page for more details. Entries for next year’s Publisher Podcast Awards will open in September. Think you’ve got what it takes to win an award? Sign up to our mailing list at www.publisherpodcastawards.com