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 Monday, October 11th 
by The Fix Team

Succeeding in the tumultuous 2020s

Hello and a big welcome to our new subscribers from the European Commission, the University of Ljubljana, The Hindu, t-online, The Daring, Journalism.co.uk, Mediahuis, Global Girl Media, Agi, Lane Press and many others. 

Earlier this fall, The Fix had the pleasure of presenting its thoughts on the future of media at Twipe’s Digital Growth Summit 2021 – “The Next 10 Years in News”.

The pace and fickleness of technological growth make forecasting hard. Ten years ago, ebooks seemed poised to disrupt publishing and Google Glass was described as “the future of journalism”. Hardly anyone predicted a global pandemic. 

Thus, maybe the most important advice for publishers is to stay (or become) agile, particularly by incorporating the voices of young people. “While gender and racial diversity is rightly the subject of many surveys, age diversity [in newsrooms] is often overlooked,” writes The Fix’s Jakub Parusinski.

In this vein, it’s also important to prepare for “fast bundling and unbundling” of products. Newspapers used to provide a broad bundle, from news to classifieds and football scores. Tech upstarts brought about a “great unbundling”, wrecking publishers’ business models in the process. But don't expect it will go forever – be prepared for frequent “bundling-unbundling episodes.”

There are other, more specific pieces of advice for publishers to consider, such as paying more attention to marketing and solving the challenge for data labeling. For a deeper dive, check Jakub Parusinski’s summary of 5 ideas to help media managers succeed in the next decade and Twipe’s writeup of 10 key takeaways from the summit.

 
From The Fix
 
5 ideas to help media managers succeed in the next decade
Jakub Parusinski
Insights from the Digital Growth Summit 2021: The Next 10 Years in News
Why is Sweden the world leader in podcast listening?
David Tvrdon 
There are a few countries sitting at the top of the podcast listening ladder, but Sweden provides some useful insights in what has been driving the podcast revolution
Tackling the Pan-European media space (and living to tell the tale)
The Fix team 
In the new episode of Media Insider, three founders share stories of building their pan-European audience
The Fix’s Library: Five Books for Media Managers
Anton Protsiuk
Books to help make sense of the erratic and fast-changing world of journalism
Academic journals adopt new business models
James Breiner
Reduced university subsidies and digital competition threaten their survival
What we are following 
 

“If 2020 was ‘the year of subscriptions’, 2021 has been ‘the year of the light readers’”, argues a recent INMA report, adding that satisfying “casual, infrequent, and picky” readers is key to a successful subscription business. Nieman Lab provides a useful summary.

Reporters have been subject to harassment and assault from anti-vaxxers, CPJ reports. Journalists from Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Italy discuss the physical and mental harm risks tied to covering anti-vaccine movements.
Publishers often use multimedia content to attract users’ attention. But audio can be easily overlooked. Journalism.co.uk lists four major ways newsrooms can use audio to achieve greater engagement and boost participation from audiences.
Industry news
 
One of the biggest media stories of the last week has been the publication of Pandora Papers, a massive document leak that has exposed masked wealth and task avoidance among government officials and other powerful people in multiple world countries. Although it’s mostly a political and social story, there’s an important media angle here as well, particularly one of international cooperation between dozens of outlets.

The project united some 140 media from across the world. Over 600 journalists worked in concert, coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. As Axios’ Sara Fischer notes, this “blockbuster investigation” “shows that when reporters agree to work together and not to out-scoop one another, the impact of their work can be explosive”.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to two journalists advancing independent media under authoritarian regimes. Maria Ressa of the Philippines is the CEO of Rappler, an online news publisher, while Dmitry Muratov of Russia is the chief editor of newspaper Novaya Gazeta. 

Both outlets were targeted by the governments of Rodrigo Duterte and Vladimir Putin, respectively. In the Philippines, government agencies opened an investigation against Rappler; Ressa was arrested and convicted. Novaya Gazeta has lost 6 journalists since 2000, murdered for their investigative work, most famously Anna Politkovskaya. As Reuters notes, it’s the first Nobel Peace Prize for journalists since 1935.
Last week saw two concerning attacks on CEE region journalists in the CEE region. In Poland, police raided the home of journalist Piotr Bakselerowicz and confiscated computer equipment as part of a criminal investigation into threats received by members of the parliament. Bakselerowicz works for Gazeta Wyborcza, a leading Polish newspaper, and has been investigating the government. Gazeta Wyborcza leadership and independent observers criticised the actions as an attack on democracy and freedom of press.
 
In Ukraine, investigative journalists from the “Schemes” TV program were physically attacked while interviewing Yevhen Metzger, a board chairman at state-run Ukreximbank. According to a report, “[Metzger’s] guards used force against the camera operator and took away equipment and video materials” after Metzger had taken issue with one of the journalists’ questions. After a video of the assault was released, despite the guard trying to delete it, Metzger apologized and was suspended from his post. His actions were widely condemned and the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal investigation into the attack. 
Four BBC journalists were disciplined for violating social media guidelines over the past year. The rules were implemented by new Director-General Tim Davie in 2020. According to the Press Gazette, the BBC hasn’t provided details into who was disciplined or for which specific violations. Among other requirements, the rules ban “virtue signalling” and criticising colleagues, and place strict impartiality requirements on senior leaders and reporters in news and other “factual journalism” divisions. 
In May Twitter purchased Scroll, a subscription-based service that aggregates content from news sites and removes ads. This week, the company officially announced Scroll will shut down as a standalone product within a month. It will become part of Twitter Blue, the company’s new subscription service. 

As The Verge notes, “there’s not a lot of details in Scroll and Twitter’s announcement of what the changeover will look like”. The move wasn’t unexpected but underscores Twitter’s push to develop subscription products. 


Find the full version of our weekly digest on our website
Opportunities and deadlines
 
Data Dilemmas seminars. A consortium led by Arena for Journalism is organizing three half-day online seminars on working with data (and its consequences) for journalists, academics, and NGO workers. Discussions will dive into cybersecurity, abuse of personal data, and the lobbying power of big tech. Participation is free. 
More info: https://bit.ly/3AeZh3f  
When: October 19-21 
Webinar on Inequality. How to report on inequality and its impact? Journalists covering poverty and injustice will hear from Paul Overberg, data reporter from the Wall Street Journal and Kiyadh Burt, senior analyst at the Hope Policy Institute. 
More info: https://bit.ly/3iF28N0 
When: October 27

The European Press Prize. Submit written article entries to win the European Press Prize in one of four categories: investigative reporting, distinguished reporting (exceptional reportage/ storytelling), public discourse (opinion) and innovation. Journalists from 47 Council of Europe countries and Belarus are eligible to apply. 
More info: https://bit.ly/2YpRXoB 
Deadline: December 10 

Job Openings
 
Director of News and Current Affairs. BBC is looking for a director of news and current affairs. Responsibilities include setting the strategic direction and overseeing editorial output of the News and Current Affairs division. 
More info: https://bit.ly/3iGnt8G 
Deadline: October 22 
Product Manager – Data. The Guardian is looking for a product manager to build data products working with business analysts and data developers. Key requirements include experience in working with data platforms and stakeholder management. 
More info: https://bit.ly/3lk48vz 
Deadline: Open until filled
Managing Editor. Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty is looking for a candidate to oversee news production, set strategy and goals, and provide editorial feedback for Current Time, a Russian-language digital TV and news network. Requirements include 10+ years of management in the TV industry and experience in the former Soviet Union media landscape. 
More info: https://bit.ly/3mJnBVU 
Deadline: Open until filled 
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