Medium Just Laid Off 50 Employees and Shut Down Offices in New York and D.C.

Medium founder and CEO Ev Williams disclosed today in a blog post that his four-and-a-half-year-old company is eliminating 50 jobs and shutting down offices in New York and Washington, D.C. In a philosophical letter to the public, he recounted how his team's ultimate goals had gotten off course thanks to the monetization model known as advertising.  "We set out to build a better publishing platform—one that allowed anyone to offer their stories and ideas to the world and that helped the great ones rise to the top," Williams wrote. "In 2016, we made big investments in teams and technology aimed at attracting and migrating commercial publishers to Medium. And in order to get these publishers paid, we built out and started selling our first ad products. This strategy worked in terms of driving growth, as well as improving the volume and consistency of great content." While it appears Medium is doing away with its sponsored posts ads product, he wrote that 2016 was his company's best year in terms of key metrics. For instance, published posts jumped roughly 300 percent year over year, and monthly visitors reportedly reached 60 million in December, representing a 140 percent year-over-year increase. Medium, a digital storytelling platform, has even attracted scores of public figures—most notably President Barack Obama—to get their messages out.  Meanwhile, publishers of all sizes have been able to try to make money off their Medium stories, which have been sponsored in... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2017-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #generate revenue

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Q&A: Hearst Magazines’ New Chief Content Officer Kate Lewis Wants to Focus on Improving Collaboration

Kate Lewis has been named chief content officer at Hearst Magazines, only the second person to be named to the position. The appointment comes days after Joanna Coles confirmed that she would be departing the company. Lewis first joined Hearst Magazines Digital Media in 2014 as vice president,... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #vice president #improving collaboration #hearst magazines #kate lewis


Amazon's 32GB Fire HD 8 Tablet is only $60 today, nearly 50% off

If you need an affordable tablet for watching videos, reading ebooks, and casual gaming Amazon has dropped the price of the 32GB Fire HD 8 with Special Offers to $60 for 48 hours only—its lowest price ever. That’s nearly half off the Fire HD 8’s $110 retail price, and $30 to $40 less than what... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2018-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #special offers #reading ebooks #watching videos #lowest price


Kate Lewis named chief content officer of Hearst Magazines

Hearst Magazines on Wednesday named Kate Lewis chief content officer, succeeding Joanna Coles, who left following the ascension of Troy Young to president.Effective immediately, Lewis will direct content strategy across print and digital for the company's magazine brands, oversee... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #consumer marketing #magazine brands #effective immediately #troy young #hearst magazines


Watch Hearst Mags Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles exit by treadmill

The rumor that Hearst Magazines' Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles would be leaving the company broke on Friday (see this New York Post story), and it wasn't exactly a surprise (given that she was just passed over for the company's presidency). What is a surprise is how she chose to make it... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #hearst magazines #company broke


'Just use cat videos': New York Times boss wants Facebook to cut out news

Mark Thompson says site’s attempts to rank news outlets sounds like ‘controlled society’Facebook should consider completely removing news from users’ feeds unless it can find a way to avoid low-quality stories clogging up the site, the chief executive of the New York Times has said.Mark Thompson... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #good books #closed doors #mark thompson #cat videos #news sources #news outlets


New York Rights Fair To Colocate at Javits Center With BookExpo in 2019

After testing the preferences of 2018 attendees in surveys, BookExpo and the New York Rights Fair have announced that while the two events will continue to be independently produced, they'll both be together at the Javits Center in 2019. The post New York Rights Fair To Colocate at Javits Center... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #javits center


Job Opening: Key Account Manager at the Frankfurt Book Fair New York

Book publishing job opening: the Frankfurt Book Fair's New York office is hiring a Key Account Manager to work with customers in the US and Canada. The post Job Opening: Key Account Manager at the Frankfurt Book Fair New York appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones employee signs deal for 'sizzling' debut

Simon & Schuster UK has signed a two-book deal for a "sizzling" debut police procedural by Waterstones Sheffield event manager Russ Thomas. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Films based on books take 44% more at the box office

Films based on books take 44% more at the box office in the UK and 53% more worldwide than original screenplays, research from the Publishers Association (PA) has shown. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #original screenplays #box office #films based


'The English Patient' was voted the best book to win Booker Prize in 50 years

Michael Ondaatje's novel "The English Patient" won the Golden Man Booker Prize, a special award established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the prestigious British literary prize, on Sunday night. "The English Patient" beat out four other books to claim the award, which was voted on by the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #sunday night #michael ondaatje #english patient


Buckingham Palace celebrates 50 years of Man Booker Prize

Publishers and past winners joined the Duchess of Cornwall at a reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate 50 years of the Man Booker Prize last night. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #buckingham palace


The Man Booker at 50: flawed – but still the best way to judge our literature

The public is invited to choose a ‘Golden Booker’ from five decades of winners. Time will tell if future readers agreeThe passage of time, 50 years of literary hoo-ha, has been both cruel and kind to the Man Booker prize, which will next month celebrate its half-century (the majority of those... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #british readers #man booker


Spotify Taps CNE President Dawn Ostroff as Chief Content Officer | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_81446" align="alignright" width="150"] Dawn Ostroff[/caption] Condé Nast Entertainment’s Dawn Ostroff is leaving her post as president and is heading to Spotify to take on the role of chief content officer. In her new position, Ostroff will lead Spotify’s content... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #growth strategy #michael cahill #lou ferrara #silicon valley #tech ethics #covering automation #tech reporter #economist covering #tim mahedy


Spotify Taps Condé Nast’s Dawn Ostroff as Chief Content Officer | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_81446" align="alignright" width="150"] Dawn Ostroff[/caption] Condé Nast Entertainment’s Dawn Ostroff is leaving her post as president and is heading to Spotify to take on the role of chief content officer. In her new position, Ostroff will lead Spotify’s content... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #michael cahill #lou ferrara #silicon valley #tech ethics #covering automation #tech reporter #economist covering #tim mahedy


Online Bookstore Bookwitty.com Shuts Down

Bookwitty.com, the global, online bookseller based in Paris, has stopped taking and fulfilling orders and is shutting down the site. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook, New York Times Execs Get Into Heated Debate Over Ad Policy

Campbell Brown, head of global news partnerships at Facebook, said publishers have "welcomed" the company's approach to including them in their political ads policy. Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times, called bullshit. Brown and Thompson were discussing the findings in the 2018 Reuters... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #ad policy #heated debate #mark thompson #campbell brown


BookExpo and New York Rights Fair Extend Their Partnership, Polling Attendees

With many hoping that BookExpo and its rights center–the New York Rights Fair–can get together under one roof, attendees are being surveyed, organizers say, to assess feedback and plan for the future. The post BookExpo and New York Rights Fair Extend Their Partnership, Polling Attendees appeared... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #rights center #post bookexpo


New York Rights Fair, BookExpo Sign Partnership Agreement

The organizers of the New York Rights Fair and BookExpo have announced a multiyear partnership for joint management of the fair. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eighty librarians condemn deal between Home Office and SCL

Eighty library professionals have signed an open letter condemning a deal between the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) and UK Visas and Immigration that will see libraries provide biometric visa support services. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #home office


Oval Office comes to Waterloo courtesy of PRH

Penguin Random House has unveiled a replica Oval Office inside London Waterloo station complete with a Donald Trump lookalike and secret service bodyguards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #oval office