#MediaRevenue - David Clinch

Welcome to a delayed, and slightly shorter than usual #MediaRevenue newsletter.

There has been a lot of discussion online in these last few days of this graphic that indicates people spend more time with games on the NYT app than they do with news.

In my expert opinion, this is simply the New York Times wrapping news inside a business model that includes the monetization of games and multiple other engagement products. This is quite similar to what they used to do in a printed newspaper.

If you are not the New York Times, the lesson to learn here is to add engagement products of your own that drive attention time, regularity, registration and revenue. Connecting those engagement products, like news quizzes, to your own content is even better.

See how this is being done in the new Atlanta News Quiz, and let me know your thoughts.

Here is a short version of the #MediaRevenue stories impacting the industry this week:

The Washington Post’s first AI strategy editor talks LLMs in the newsroom: Phoebe Connelly is The Washington Post’s first-ever senior editor for AI strategy and innovation. Appointed to the role in February, Connelly joins a wave of dedicated AI editorial and product strategists entering major newsrooms. - Nieman Lab.

How the Atlantic Went From Broke to Profitable in Three Years: Subscriptions now account for two-thirds of revenue, compared with a little less than half when Thompson took the helm. Thompson said plenty of challenges remain, including finding ways to sustain subscription growth and attracting young audiences. He is most concerned about artificial intelligence’s potential impact on the news business.??- WSJ.

Karlie Kloss Is Relaunching LIFE Magazine: Kloss and Kushner’s Bedford Media on Thursday announced a deal to bring LIFE Magazine back to print and digital distribution, as part of an agreement with Dotdash Meredith to relaunch LIFE as a publication on a regular cadence and vibrant media property. - Variety.

Financial Times launches first generative AI tool for subscribers: The FT has released its first generative AI feature for subscribers. The tool, available in beta, allows users to ask any question and receive a response using FT content published over the last two decades.?- FT press release.

Here’s How Google’s Generative AI for Newsrooms Product Will Work: Google showed the tool to the New York Times early on, but any notion that big newsrooms might use it didn’t get very far. The company is testing it with a group of small publishers, like 10 people and under. - BigTechnology.

A Tough Season, But Not a News Apocalypse: Charting the trends, problems, a blip and some caveats. - Second Rough Draft Blog.

Sports Illustrated’s Owner Sues Energy Drink Mogul After Chaos at Magazine: Authentic Brands Group, which owns Sports Illustrated, is accusing Manoj Bhargava of failing to pay millions of dollars for the rights to publish the magazine. - NYT.