Profiling jobs in the media industry
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Hello and a big welcome to our new subscribers from the European Commission, Mediahuis, Delfi Meedia, AgoraVox Italia, and many others.
Recently The Economist lamented “the scourge of job-title inflation”. As companies try to save money and impress clients, they conjure up more senior-sounding titles. Thus, titles lose value and have less meaning – “[a] senior vice-president is someone in middle management; an assistant vice-president is three years out of university; an associate vice-president has just mastered the alphabet”.
Most companies, especially in Europe, haven’t gone to such lengths to puff up their employees’ positions – but job titles might indeed be confusing and mean different things in different organisations.
To help our readers understand different jobs in the media industry, we at The Fix have launched a series where we ask leading news media professionals about their positions – what they actually do, how they make decisions, what excites them about their work, and what they can advise newcomers in their fields.
The positions we’ve profiled so far include Head of Audience Development, Head of Audio and Newsletters, and Head of Paid Content. New instalments are on the way; to follow, make sure you’re reading every edition of this newsletter, and you can also follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Also, we’d love to speak to new people with different positions in journalism and media management. If you’d like to tell us about your job, drop a line to our editor at anton@thefix.media
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Tortoise Media and the success of “slow podcasts”
Anna Sofia Lippolis
Tortoise is a slow news startup that has increasingly focused on audio. What can its achievements tell us about users’ needs and their relationship with slow content?
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Under threat, local newsrooms innovate to survive in Georgia
Teona Sekhniashvili / International Press Institute
Local newsrooms in Georgia survive through innovation and building relationships with their communities
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Audio articles: Should you use real voices or deploy AI?
James MacLeod
As audiences spend more time listening on the move, audio articles have emerged as a crucial tool in news habit formation (sponsored by BeyondWords)
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10 digital tools that will make technology your ally
Amélie Reichmuth
How to make your work easier in 10 digital services
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How publishers can leverage LinkedIn to reach their audience – 7 tools
Bohuslav Romanenko
By not taking advantage of LinkedIn’s offering you might be missing out – even if you are not a business news outlet
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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was created during the Cold War as America’s effort to penetrate the Iron Curtain. Russia’s war in Ukraine has “breathed a new life” into the broadcaster , The New York Times writes in its profile of RFE/RL’s resurgence in Central and Eastern Europe .
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Axios has been among the most successful digital media startups in the US. Its subscription business Axios Pro was launched a year ago and has reached over 3,000 paid subscribers with $2 million in revenue. Digiday covers the product’s success and the challenges amidst the uncertain economic situation.
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The Associated Press makes most of its money from licensing its stories to other publishers, but the nonprofit news agency wants to diversify its revenue streams by selling more advertising. Axios reports on the organisation’s push to attract more consumer traffic.
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Meduza, one of the biggest independent news outlets targeting Russia, was deemed an “undesirable” organisation in the country. The publisher is based in Latvia but reports primarily in the Russian language and predominantly for readers in or from Russia. Previously it was designated a “foreign agent” in Russia and later blocked in the wake of the Kremlin’s crackdown following the invasion of Ukraine, but the latest designation is a step further, effectively outlawing Meduza in Russia and criminalising any links to the outlet like providing financial support or even sharing its materials. (As The Fix reported before , Meduza stopped collecting donations from Russia early last year and invested more resources in its English-language reporting, partly because the possibility of being deemed “undesirable” had loomed large) .
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In the UK, Richard Sharp’s position as chairman of the BBC is under investigation following the allegations that Sharp helped Boris Johnson, prime minister at the time, secure a loan shortly before his appointment in early 2021. As The Guardian reports, “the appointment of the prominent Conservative donor to lead the broadcaster is now being probed by William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments”. The government and Borish Johnson himself deny the allegations, arguing that there was no conflict of interest in the process of Sharp’s appointment. |
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Multiple tech and media companies in the United States cut jobs over the past several weeks amidst economic uncertainty and advertising slowdown. Vox Media, a digital media company which owns multiple news brands like Vox and New York magazine, conducted a 7% cut of its workforce, resulting in 130 people being laid off. The Washington Post, a national newspaper that benefited from the Trump bump but has struggled with retaining paid subscribers more recently, laid off 20 journalists (around 2% of the newsroom) and decided not to fill 30 open positions.
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Opportunities and deadlines
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Media Blend Hackathon. Apply for a three-day hackathon in Vienna that will gather media professionals and innovators from across Europe. Applications can come from teams and from single participants. The organisers will provide mentorship, networking opportunities and kick-off grants of €5,000.
More info: http://bit.ly/3Rr4jUB
Deadline: March 17
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2023 Knight Media Forum. Join the Knight Foundation’s first annual event for leaders in philanthropy, journalism and technology. The speaker list includes industry leaders from NBCUniversal, American Journalism Project, Black Voice News and many more.
More info: http://bit.ly/406Ra6K
When: February 22-23
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Peggy Grisham Idea Grant. The National Association of Science Writers (NASW) will support US-centred projects that would benefit the field of science writing. Individuals or group can get a grant up to $15,000 (€ 13,870).
More info: http://bit.ly/3XGbVVx
Deadline: February 1
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Communication Adviser. International Media Support (IMS) will hire a person for their Communication Unit. You will be responsible for supporting a specific region and planning for, producing and editing content according to IMS’ audiences, among other things. The position is based in Copenhagen.
More info: https://bit.ly/3Y15dJh
Deadline: February 7
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Chief of Party/Country Director. Internews seeks a Chief of Party for a media support project in Eastern Europe. You will provide strategic guidance and oversee project activities that help media outlets develop engaging content and support the efforts of local civil society organisations. The position is based in Vilnius.
More info: http://bit.ly/3kMVDLT
Deadline: Open till filled
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Head of Innovation and Audience Engagement. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is hiring a senior manager to lead the organisation’s innovation strategy across all platforms and bureaus. A successful candidate will have at least five years of team management experience and collaborative work across departments in a large media organisation and seven years in content production in a large news organisation. You will be based in Prague.
More info: http://bit.ly/3RdCLBR
Deadline: Open till filled
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