Whatsapp and Linkedin: How publishers can finally cash in on mega platforms
And we speak to New York Times opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury about why metrics don't matter for her 150-strong team
Good morning and welcome to your weekly Future of Media newsletter from Press Gazette on Thursday, 5 October, brought to you this week in association brought to you this week in association with United Robots – the automated editorial content specialists. Recently, they supported Media Voices to write a white paper, Practical AI for Local Media, which is available to download now.
Nearly everyone of working age in the UK and US is on messaging app Whatsapp and social network LinkedIn.
Yet both of these platforms are fairly low down the list of traffic sources for most news publishers.
But with Twitter and Facebook both on the wane as referral sources that could be about to change.
As Whatsapp launches Channels, a service whereby publishers can broadcast stories to subscribers on the app, we've charted how UK publishers are faring so far on Whatsapp.
And we spoke to Reach engagement director Daniel Russell about how the publisher is already driving millions of page views per month via 80 Whatsapp Community groups.
Whatsapp is owned by that most fickle of tech companies, Meta, so we have to be cautious. But it looks like it could become an excellent way for publishers to reach readers on a platform which they can control (unlike algorithm-driven Google, Facebook and Tiktok).
He runs a newsroom of 250 editors and writers making Linkedin itself now one of the biggest business news publishers in the world.
And we have an interview with the editor of the New York Times. Not executive editor Joe Kahn but opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury.
She runs a 150-strong editorial team and reports directly into chairman and publisher AG Sulzberger giving her complete independence from Kahn and his news team.
Kingsbury told us why she might publish a piece from Donald Trump, how the economics of comment writing stacks up and why she doesn’t let subscription metrics impact her commissioning decisions.
If your journalism has made a difference today is your last chance to enter Press Gazette British Journalism Awards 2023. The deadline extension expires at MIDNIGHT tonight.
See the full list of categories here.
Or go directly to the entry portal here.
Remember if you are from a previously under-represented group at these awards (which includes women, the disabled and those in minority ethnic groups) you can enter for free if your employer won’t pay.
New from Press Gazette
Why is 20-year-old Linkedin now ‘cool’ ? We’ve not changed, says editor-in-chief
“You’re going to see us increasingly find ways to be able to support newsrooms and high-quality news content and journalists, and make sure that they’re being successful on Linkedin, because we think it’s really important.”
New York Times opinion editor: ‘I don’t have pressure around metrics in any way’
“We have no coordination between our news side and opinion from an editorial standpoint.”
Whatsapp for publishers: How Reach is driving millions of page views via messaging app
“It’s something that our audience loves, we get a lot of messages saying this is the best thing that you do.”
Promoted report
How local media derive value from AI today
All AI is not created equal.
In fact, many proven applications of it have generated concrete results for publishers for years.
In this white paper, the team at Media Voices maps out how local news publishers deploy AI and automation to launch new verticals, drive conversions, attract new audiences, create personalised products and more.
It spotlights use cases from media companies including NTM Group, NRC Media, Stavanger Aftenblad and RADAR, who derive value from AI and automation every day.
Must-reads from Press Gazette you might have missed
Major news publishers block the bots as ChatGPT starts taking live news
GB News fires Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson as Dan Wootton investigation continues
Sun and Mail publishers hatch plan to combine print operations
Guardian and Mirror take down Dan Wootton story after legal warning
Boss of new global health newsroom: ‘There is no for-profit model for what we’re doing’
Future targets resilient luxury sector with new print title The Blend
Our latest podcast
Podcast 57: What is the Murdoch Factor?
Press Gazette editor in chief Dominic Ponsford discusses ‘the Murdoch factor’ with Peter Jukes (author of Fall of the House of Murdoch and co-founder of Byline Times). What is the key quality which has enabled Murdoch’s success and what does the future of media look like without him?
