Publishing vs. COVID-19
Posted on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 3:36 PM
In the news: How are news editors adapting to the unique challenges
presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic?
The news
industry was already facing its fair share of struggles before COVID-19
put the entire world on pause. Now, the pandemic has sent the global
economy into a tailspin and forced many struggling publishers to lay off
or furlough employees.
But the news isn't all bad. This week, Nu
Yang of Editor & Publisher spoke with top news editors about
how they've adapted to the coronavirus. For instance, Seattle Times
executive editor Michele Matassa Flores tells Yang that from the early
days of the pandemic, "the newsroom was already in brainstorming
sessions discussing coverage and going over what tech hardware and
software they needed if they had to work remotely."
What's
more, Yang reports, "We're seeing more collaboration and unity among
news organizations around the world, and ... the crisis has reminded
people about the importance of local journalism."
Read more here.
Also
Notable
Publishers Face Affiliate Fee Challenges
As
we wait for the worst of the pandemic to pass, some publishers have
reported that they're seeing lots of traffic to commerce content,
reports Lucinda Southern of Digiday.com. But there's a downside to this
spike in consumer interest, she says: "This huge surge in demand can
also threaten publishers' commerce revenue lines as retailers close
their affiliate programs and merchants reduce commission rates to zero
for products in high demand.... As a result, publishers could be losing
out on 25% of revenue by sending traffic to retailers that have lowered
commission rates to zero." Read more here.
Playboy
Shutters Print Edition
After 66 years, Playboy
magazine has published its final print issue. Greg Dool of Foliomag.com
reports that the brand will switch to a "digital-first" strategy moving
forward. However, he notes that CEO Ben Kohn has indicated that the
magazine will publish "some special editions and collections in print
next year." Read more here.
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