Protocol layoffs raise some troubling questions

When Protocol, a new site focusing on technology coverage, launched in February, expectations were high. After all, the man behind the site—Robert Allbritton, who owns it through his holding company, Capital News—also helped create Politico, one of the most successful digital media companies of the last 20 years or so. And it sounded like Protocol was going to duplicate the Politico model: hire a bunch of talented writers away from leading publications, set them loose on a topic, and then rely on a combination of advertising and high-end subscription revenue to pay the bills. Lather, rinse and repeat until it works. Except that’s not what happened. This week, Protocol laid off 13 of its employees, according to one report, and it appears that more than three-quarters of that total—or 10 staff in all—were reporters and editors. The site’s entire complement of editors and reporters numbered about 25 before the layoffs, according to Protocol‘s About page, which means that Allbritton just laid off almost half of the site’s newsroom. Obviously, no one in the media industry could plan for the pandemic, and it has thrown a wrench into the revenue plans of virtually every news publisher out there, big or small. Companies have been cutting salaries, putting reporters and editors on paid leave, and taking other steps to curb their spending in the hope that they can survive the virus-triggered downturn in advertising. But it’s difficult to think of a publisher that has taken the kind... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-23 11:45:31 UTC ]

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Editor & Publisher Magazine Sold to Digital Media Consultant

A decade after rescuing it from an imminent shutdown, Duncan McIntosh has sold newspaper industry trade magazine Editor & Publisher to consultant Mike Blinder for an undisclosed sum. In an announcement late last week, E&P indicated that its upcoming October issue will be the first... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-09-03 20:10:05 UTC ]
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How Life Has (and Hasn’t) Changed at Unionized Digital Media Companies

The rise of unionization in digital media is normally framed in one of two extreme ways: as an innovation-killing millstone Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-08-29 15:09:31 UTC ]
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‘It definitely adds more complexity’: How life has (and hasn’t) changed at unionized digital media companies

The collective bargaining agreements ratified at publications including The Dodo and Vox Media have required more information about how their companies are organized. The post ‘It definitely adds more complexity’: How life has (and hasn’t) changed at unionized digital media companies appeared... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-08-29 04:01:18 UTC ]
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Sea-weed? Boston seafood chain celebrates legal pot with trippy campaign: Marketer's Brief

Welcome to the latest edition of Marketer's Brief, a quick take on marketing news, moves and trends from Ad Age's reporters and editors. Send tips/suggestions to [email protected]. A Boston-area seafood chain is giving new meaning to baked fish. Legal Sea Foods is celebrating the legalization... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-21 19:13:12 UTC ]
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Closing of Pacific Standard and Topic Shows Perils of Depending on a Rich Patron

With the loss of the two award-winning publications, digital media got a little less brainy in the summer of ’19. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2019-08-17 18:10:31 UTC ]
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Eastside startup to rollout digital media service with Woodinville Weekly

Eastside Media Corp. was founded by Eric LaFontaine, former Puget Sound Business Journal Publisher Mike Flynn and former USA Today Sports Vice President Patrick Scanlon. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-08-16 05:46:26 UTC ]
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Meet the 2019 FUSE Media Summit Advisory Board

The FUSE Media Summit returns this Nov. 19-21, once again connecting digital media and technology executives for 2 ½ days of expert insights, boardroom case studies, and peer-to-peer discussion. To develop an impactful program, we're working closely with a group of all-star advisors that... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2019-08-13 16:55:01 UTC ]
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Verizon unloads Tumblr in deal with WordPress owner

Verizon has announced the sale of Tumblr, the fallen online community left over from the Yahoo acquisition, to the owner of WordPress, the website publishing company. On Monday, Verizon Media said it was unloading Tumblr, but did not disclose the terms of the deal. Axios reported the sale was... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-12 22:12:36 UTC ]
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Agency Brief: WPP revenue rises but profits dip in first half; MediaMonks ramps up production

WPP reports its second-quarter earnings on Friday,with some better-than-expected surprises. The company sees its revenue return to growth, up 1.6 percent in the first half of the year and 2.3 percent in the second quarter. In North America, revenue rises 0.4 percent in the second quarter but... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-09 19:31:00 UTC ]
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Yet another brutal week for American journalism

On Wednesday, without prior warning, Pacific Standard, an award-winning magazine that has done substantive journalism on environmental and social justice, announced its imminent closure. The Social Justice Foundation, a nonprofit backed by SAGE, an academic publisher, yanked its funding from... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-08-09 12:12:17 UTC ]
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How Hearst’s Product Team Helps Build Audience, Revenues

“We don’t do anything without an audience opportunity and a revenue opportunity,” Robertson Barrett, President of Digital Media at Hearst Newspapers, Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-08-08 15:06:02 UTC ]
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Cisco names Dentsu's Isobar its digital marketing innovation agency of record

Cisco has added Dentsu Aegis Network's Isobar to its roster of agencies, naming it digital marketing innovation agency of record (say that 10 times fast). Under the partnership, Isobar has signed onto a one-year retainer contract with the IT, professional networking and cybersecurity solutions... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-06 18:07:06 UTC ]
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UM promotes Deidre Smalls-Landau to U.S. chief marketing officer

IPG Mediabrands’ UM has promoted Deidre Smalls-Landau to U.S. chief marketing officer, effective immediately. She will retain her current position as global head of culture while adding oversight of UM’s strategic branding, platforms and initiatives to her remit. Since joining IPG Mediabrands... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-06 16:00:00 UTC ]
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SmartNews becomes first unicorn news startup since 2015

It’s a challenging time in the digital media industry. BuzzFeed Inc. and Vice Media Inc., which defined a generation of news SmartNews Inc. announced Sunday a new investment valuing the business at... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2019-08-05 20:24:37 UTC ]
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SmartNews becomes first unicorn media startup since 2015

It’s a challenging time in the digital media industry. BuzzFeed Inc. and Vice Media Inc., which defined a generation of news SmartNews Inc. announced Sunday a new investment valuing the business at... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2019-08-05 20:24:37 UTC ]
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How NBC News’ vertical sites became audience engagement laboratories

Since they launched in 2017, three NBC News sub-brands, Mach, Better and Think, have become laboratories where the news publisher is learning to more effectively serve its readers' needs. The post How NBC News’ vertical sites became audience engagement laboratories appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2019-08-05 04:01:49 UTC ]
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Snap Inc. Poaches P&G’s Craig Stimmel for Its Global Head of Brand Role

Snap Inc. turned to the consumer-packaged-goods sector to fill its new global head of brand role, tapping Procter & Gamble head of digital media and global partnerships Craig Stimmel. Stimmel revealed that he was leaving P&G in a LinkedIn post earlier this week, but he did not indicate... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-08-02 18:24:30 UTC ]
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Democracy is under attack. But how to protect it while Trump is in the White House?

Review of 'Ill Winds" by Larry Diamond and 'The Democracy Fix' by Caroline Fredrickson. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-08-01 17:46:08 UTC ]
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Future Plc Acquires SmartBrief for $45 to $65 Million

Future plc has acquired Washington, D.C.-based online B2B publisher SmartBrief, the latest move in a string of purchases aimed at expanding the London-based media giant's presence in the U.S. Expected to close on Wednesday, the agreement involves an initial purchase price of $45 million—funded... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-07-30 16:09:27 UTC ]
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Drake is bringing LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted to Canada

This marks the first international expansion of the athlete-centric digital media startup. Four years after its initial 2015 founding, LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s digital media startup Uninterrupted is expanding beyond American borders for the first time. James and Carter have struck a... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2019-07-30 11:00:26 UTC ]
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