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 ]
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Amazon displays employees' thefts on TV screens

Amazon has begun to broadcast video clips in its warehouses showing employees being fired for theft, Bloomberg has reported. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With Vinyl's Resurgence, Here's How Brands Are Capitalizing on Music's Most Analog Medium

The resurgence of vinyl has everybody talking, and listening. Maybe you've thumbed through a trend piece in The New York Times, crediting analog-loving millennials as the impetus for the revival. Or, you've read in Billboard or on Pitchfork about the trouble that comes with manufacturing vinyl.... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With the Resurgence of Vinyl, How Can Brands Capitalize on Music’s Most Analog Medium?

The resurgence of vinyl has everybody talking, and listening. Maybe you've thumbed through a trend piece in The New York Times, crediting analog-loving millennials as the impetus for the revival. Or, you've read in Billboard or on Pitchfork about the trouble that comes with manufacturing vinyl.... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #… stuff #field notes—enjoying #adweek magazine #stations dedicated #plant include #recording clients #extremely convenient #steve lanning #running projects #growing rapidly


Samhain Publishing to Shut Down Operations

The pioneering romance ebook publisher Samhain Publishing will begin shutting down publishing operations due to a steady decline in ebook sales. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meredith Shuts Down More Magazine

Nineteen-year-old women's lifestyle magazine to shutter after April issue as Meredith elects to "align resources against more profitable activities." The post Meredith Shuts Down More Magazine appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York magazine gets serious about video, especially on Facebook

Feeling the Facebook rush, New York Media is investing more toward video production in 2016, starting with hiring Business Insider and TV vet Matt Johnston as its first executive producer of video. The publisher will focus on creating news-driven video -- instead of recurring series -- for... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #top priority #social platforms #executive producer #york media #york magazine #facebook appeared #video production


Harper Lee laid to rest in private ceremony in Alabama hometown

The celebrated author's close friends and family gathered Saturday at a church in the small Alabama town of Monroeville, the basis of the setting of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Ozy leans on The New York Times and Wired to build its newsletter subscriptions

"A rising tide raises all boats" is the new distribution strategy for many publishers. While many sites have inked cross-promotion deals to get their content on other publishers' Facebook page, millennial news site Ozy is targeting partners' inboxes. With its co-branded emails, Ozy is... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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During Panels, Realities of Cuban Publishing Market Laid Bare

One of the goals of the U.S./Cuba Publishing Mission was to facilitate discussion about the cultural ties between U.S. and Cuban publishers. Although the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba has cast a long shadow--commercial trade between U.S. firms and Cuban ones remains illegal--publishers remain... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Conversation With The New York Times’ A.O. Scott

In Confessions of a Book Reviewer, George Orwell wrote that even the harried and poverty-stricken literature critic was nonetheless “better off than the film critic, who cannot even do his work at home, but has to attend trade shows at eleven in the morning and, with one or two notable... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2016-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penthouse magazine plans to expand its website and move offices to L.A.

Adult magazine Penthouse will expand its website to include daily updates and more interactive content as traditional print publications continue to pivot to growing online readership. ------------FOR THE RECORD4:25 p.m.: An earlier version of this story said Penthouse would close its print... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penthouse Folds Print Magazine After 50 Years

End date for print edition still undetermined as brand plans to focus on digital content. The post Penthouse Folds Print Magazine After 50 Years appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AppNexus Worthy Google Rival? Announces New Deals With 50 Publishers

Ad-tech company AppNexus announced Monday that it has signed deals with over 50 publishers including Axel Springer, Foursquare, Groupon, Hearst and NASDAQ in the last six months — positioning the company as more of a rival to Google&rsq ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global Kids Connect Conference Debuts in New York

The one-day conference offered an expert lineup of publishers, editors, and agents, who offered professional perspectives on everything from content creation and licensing to doing business in China. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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European and Arabic Literary Stars Shine Bright in New York

Three literary festivals took place this November in New York City: Editions/Artists’ Book Fair, New Literature from Europe Festival and the Festival Albertine. The post European and Arabic Literary Stars Shine Bright in New York appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Adblock Plus Is Meeting Publishers and Agencies in New York Next Week

Adblock Plus is hosting an event with publishers on the evening of Nov. 3, the night before the ad:tech conference kicks off in New York. Eyeo GmbH, the company that makes the popular Adblock Plus software (which claims to have more than 400 million desktop downloads), is hosting a small dinner... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York City Indie Bluestockings Nears Funding Goal

With 18 days left on its $50,000 fall fix-up Indiegogo fundraiser, feminist bookstore Bluestockings has raised $37,800. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Penguin Books story laid bare (even the naked board meetings)

Allen Lane, while knighted for services to literature, was never much of a reader. Were brothers Richard and John written out of their own bestselling story?Eighty years ago, three brothers – Allen, Richard and John Lane – founded Penguin Books in London. The brothers planned the venture in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Review to Launch Comics Imprint in 2016

New York Review Comics will launch in March with plans to release six graphic novels per year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Manga Fandemonium Reigns at New York Comic Con 2015

Fans turned out in droves to see Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, Kodansha’s new Attack on Titan anthology, and a slate of new manga titles and light novels coming next year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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