New Digiday Magazine, Meredith’s Revenue Increase, Gannett’s Bid for Tribune Publishing, Keeping Up With Evolving Content Platforms, AEM Mobile Tip: Creating Collections, Infographic: How Adobe Experience Manager Mobile Works (v2016.4)
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing stories about Digiday’s launch of a magazine focused on the changing media landscape, Meredith’s financial results, Gannett’s move to buy Tribune Publishing, Vox Media’s new gadget blog, and more.
- Publishing industry news site Digiday launched Pulse, a new quarterly magazine focused on covering the future of media. Its first issue takes an in-depth look at the profound impact platforms from Facebook to Snapchat are having on publishers and their content strategies, with Ask.com CEO Neil Vogel saying in the cover story that he’s “absolutely petrified” of their growing power. Other stories in the issue include a profile of The Awl founder and former Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who’s now the platform relationship manager at Vox Media; a look at Facebook’s recent push for live video; and a piece in favor of the “distributed domain” from Cory Haik, Mic’s chief strategy officer. According to the site, the next issue will cover the rise of programmatic ad buying and how that’s affected publishers. Given the fast pace at which platforms are “upending” the industry, this is a resource you might want to check out: Either download a copy or sign up to receive one of a limited number of print issues.
- Folio reported Meredith’s latest revenue numbers are looking good, despite downward industry trends. It said the publisher’s National Media Group, which includes Better Homes and Gardens, Shape, Parents, and other popular consumer titles, brought in $281.84 million for the quarter that ended March 31, a 2.4% year-over-year increase. The group’s operating profit was $34.78 million, a 48% jump, while circulation revenue inched up to $96.62 million from $96.04 million a year ago. What’s more, ad revenues for the group grew a healthy 6.7% to $125.85 million over the same period last year, with digital advertising accounting for 25% of that, according to the company. Noting Meredith’s total revenue increased 6.2% to $422.77 million for the period, the report pointed out that net earnings more than tripled with the $60 million fee it received from Media General for backing out of a merger in January.
- Gannett’s hostile bid to buy Tribune Publishing for $815 million grabbed headlines as well, with columnist Ken Doctor, for one, taking a look at questions the move raises. Here are just a few: Will the deal happen despite Tribune owner Michael Ferro’s resistance? (“Expect a deal.”) How large would Gannet become? (“62 million in total official circulation.”) Does Gannett know what to do with metros? (“A huge departure for Gannett.”) What is Gannett’s secret sauce? (“Its balance sheet.”) Poynter offered its take on the development as well, noting that Tribune staffers are nervous about layoffs given Gannett’s reputation for cost-cutting and CEO Robert Dickey’s statement that the acquisition would result in $50 million in “synergies.”
- And Vox Media is putting a new twist on an old idea with the launch of Circuit Breaker, a “classic gadget blog” but published as a Facebook page rather than as a website. The New York Times said it will cater to “hard-core gadget fans” instead of covering broad culture- and business-related stories as many of the leading tech sites now do. According to editor Paul Miller, the outlet will focus on new and emerging products, such as virtual reality headsets, drones, home automation tech, hoverboards, and the like. Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff sees Circuit Breaker serving “a high-demand category,” with its audience “explicitly interested in buying things,” the Times said. It will also be available as a blog on The Verge’s website, but editors will mostly be concentrated on the Facebook page, which will include a continuous feed of news and video, especially given the site’s recent moves to increase live video.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- TFP CEO Margot Knorr Mancini highlights recent coverage and resources to help you stay on top of the rapid changes and competition among content platforms.
- AEM Mobile Tip: Collections offer endless possibilities for building a hierarchy of content in AEM Mobile apps. See this week’s tip from Monica Murphy for all the details! Also check out our updated infographic on the major things you need to know about AEM Mobile and how all of its components work.
- Don’t miss TFP’s April Book Picks: With publishers increasingly turning to platforms like Facebook, Apple, and Google to expand their reach, this month’s recommended reads explore the impact of these large ecosystems and offer guidance on how to harness the emerging model successfully.
- Also take a look at our latest Infographic Pick of the Week, which provides helpful tips and best practices for using mobile push notifications.
Image: Digiday
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
