How Bustle is making magazines work online | Trouble in tech media
And how publishers should respond to being overtaken by social media content creators in terms of global adspend
Welcome to this week’s Press Gazette Future of Media newsletter on Thursday, 19 June, brought to you in association with Sophi by Mather – the leading paywall intelligence engine, now trusted by over 300+ news brands worldwide.
Gadding around at the Cannes Lions festival earlier this week I bumped into a delegate with the job title "influencer" on her official pass.
“Jeez you must be doing well to be here as a brand in your own right”, I told her. (She had an official festival pass, full price €4,295, and wasn’t just freeloading at the fringe events like myself.)
Twiggy Jalloh shared that she is a beauty and wellness journalist who previously worked full-time at British Vogue. As an entrepreneurial young person she has found there are more opportunities to be had working with marketers directly as a content creator in her own right on Instagram, Tiktok and so on.
Hers is a story which highlights the challenge publishers have competing with a world of social media creators and influencers, which is set to overtake them in terms of marketer adspend this year.
We've found out how publishers should respond to the rise of the creator economy on social media.
More than half a dozen technology companies now have trillion-dollar valuations.
So why isn't the world of tech media doing better?
Like everyone else, tech publishers have had to contend with the end of classified advertising, the decline of print and competition from social media platforms (notably LinkedIn in the B2B space). But something else appears to be afoot following big cuts this year at Techcrunch, Business Insider and elsewhere this year.
We've taken a closer look at the world of tech media and spoke to one publisher who is bucking the trend. The Stack has a similar model to Press Gazette with a focus on events, high-quality native content and a fledgling paywall operation.
And magazine journalism does not need to be a story of decline, according to Bustle editor in chief Charlotte Owen. US-based BDG Media runs digital titles with a very magazine-like ethos, even publishing monthly digital front covers.
Bustle and its sister titles (like Nylon and The Zoe Report) have increased their focus on exclusive content and access. And it appears to be paying off, with revenue up 25% year on year so far in 2025.
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Bustle focuses on originality and access as revenue grows 38%
Bustle editor in chief Charlotte Owen is making digital magazine brands pay in the digital age.
Tech media challenges: ‘World of churn for clicks is disappearing’
“Technology vendor brand marketing is largely absolute drivel that turns people off.”
Rise of the influencers: How publishers should respond
“Influencers understand platforms, algorithms, the tricks of the trade. More importantly, they understand their audiences.”
Must reads from Press Gazette
Daily Beast gains on Reddit and Facebook as Google traffic falls
Walking the mobile notification tightrope: How to engage audiences while avoiding overload
Mediahuis Ireland reaches 100,000 digital subscriber milestone
How 20-strong PA Media puzzles team feeds growing publisher demand for brain teasers (Promoted)
Latest podcast: Video masterclasss with PA Media's Joe Pickover
UK national news agency PA Media has massively ramped up its video output in recent years and is able to provide live video feeds of news events across the country. Here PA head of video Joe Pickover explains how publishers can make video work for them in a podcast edition which is presented by Press Gazette in association with PA Media.