The Pressboard Podcast Pressboard

Lindsey Turrentine is Executive Vice President responsible for all content strategy and development at CNET, which is a part of Red Ventures. What does that mean, in my own words, not hers, Lindsey IS CNET, her tenure is over 23 years, she taught herself HTML in 1999 and was writing software reviews before people even knew what software could do. I definitely used this opportunity to learn more about commerce content, the state of the industry and where it’s headed, from one the most experienced people in the field.

Tom Allin's affiliate career path started at one of the world's biggest affiliate tech companies, which led him to one of the largest global publishing groups, and now he finds himself at Fast, helping to reinvent the space once again. You'll also notice a fun crossover between Tom's career story and that of one of my previous guests, Emily Jackson.

Regina Buckley is the President, US at Guardian News & Media.
The Guardian is well known in Britain, it’s been around for 200 years. In those terms, Guardian US, which recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary, is still in its infancy. And yet it brings with it the clear mission and purpose from across the pond.
Regina and I did into how the Trust structure of The Guardian and the journalistic mission at its core express itself through company culture, revenue, and the approach to the market.

Jessica Spira is the Group Vice President, Strategic Growth at Ziff Media. If you’re wondering who Ziff Media is, it’s just one of the largest and most valuable publishers in the world focused on shopping content. Mashable, PCMag, ReatailmeNot and more. If you’re thinking about buying a laptop, or earphones, or a robot vacuum, chances are you learned about it, found a deal on it or read a review about it on a Ziff Media website. They cover the entire customer journey.
Jessica’s path to her role was anything but conventional, and yet in talking to her the depth of her expertise and her vision around affiliate marketing seems as though it has been her lifelong passion. And there’s a nice bonus at the end of this episode where Jessica shares her favorite books and a reco on a Broadway show that you’ll definitely want to see. Here’s the wonderful Jessica Spira.

Emily Jackson may now the SVP of eCommerce at Forbes, but her childhood dream was to ride horses in the Olympics, which makes her path to the affiliate marketing world even more unlikely. We chat about how a trip across the pond led her to a role at the tech company Skimlinks, which led to Conde Nast and eventually to Forbes. Emily shares stories of an awkward interaction with Anna Wintour and explaining to her grandma that she doesn’t actually sell boots on the internet.

Ian Bell is the CEO and co-founder of one of the most popular product review sites around, Digital Trends. In a world full of Venture Capital backed startups and at a time when it seems that everyone is chasing a new business model each week, Ian and Digital Trends Media have run a bootstrapped, profitable and diversified revenue business, a rarity in the media landscape. We dig into the opportunities and challenges that come with this approach, and how it keeps them honest when it comes to the relationship they have with their audience.