In the news: The latest numbers from the Digital Publishers Revenue Index are in, and the news is a mixed bag.

There’s good news and bad news in the Q1 Digital Publishers Revenue Index (DPRI), published by the Association of Online Publishers and Deloitte. Michelle Manafy, of Digital Content Next highlights the report’s key findings. First, the bad news: According to Manafy, display and recruiting advertising were down 22.5 percent and 12.8 percent respectively in the first quarter this year. Nearly 80 percent of publishers surveyed plan to cut costs to offset these losses and others.

But there’s good news too. “Publisher revenue diversification efforts helped offset the ongoing decline in digital ad revenue for publishers,” summarizes Manafy. Many publishers saw subscription and online ad revenue growth, and B2B publishers in particular saw a boost from sponsorship, online video, and subscription efforts. Read more about the DPRI findings here.

Also Notable

Publishers Struggling to Gain Advertisers

The Covid-19 pandemic has made it even more difficult for publishers to court new advertisers. Advertisers are being more cautious than ever given the uncertain economy. Max Willens of Digiday.com sums up the problem in a recent piece: “While ad spending has rallied in several key categories over the past five months, many brands ... worry about going dark for extended periods of time as fall begins and winter looms. Because of the concern, many advertisers seem content to work more closely with publishers they already have relationships with, typically on smaller, cheaper campaigns that can be executed quickly.” This conservative approach is creating revenue problems for publishers whose brands are already strapped. Read more here.

The Growing Unionization Trend in Magazines

More and more newsrooms and magazine staffers are forming unions. What’s behind the surge in organizing efforts? Nicole Cohen of TheFashionLaw.com examines companies whose journalists and editors have recently formed unions. Key issues behind the surge, she says, include protection and voice, diversity and equity, care and solidarity. All this against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought labor issues front and center for a lot of journalists. Per the article: “Nicole Cohen, an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Toronto, and Greig de Peuter, an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, interviewed 50 media workers and union staff involved in this enduring organizing push for their book, New Media Unions.” Read the full piece here.

Folio: Stops Regular Reporting on Magazines

Several weeks ago, Folio: announced that it would stop daily reporting on the magazine industry. It’s a major shakeup for publishing professionals who have long turned to Folio: for updates on industry developments as they occur. Bill Amstutz writes in his letter to the Folio: community: “Our decision to eliminate regular industry reporting via FOLIO: doesn’t mean we are abandoning the FOLIO: community. It only means that we will be serving it in new ways.” Read the full letter here.

Bon Appétit Names New Editor-in-Chief

After a long summer of turmoil, Bon Appétit magazine has named book publishing veteran Dawn Davis as its new editor-in-chief. Kerry Flynn of CNN Business reports: “Davis is among the few influential Black executives at major publishing houses. During her more than 25 years in the industry, she has overseen the publishing of stories from marginalized voices.” Former editor-in-chief Adam Rappaport left the magazine earlier this summer after allegations of discriminatory behavior surfaced. Soon thereafter, key video talent quit producing videos en masse in protest against glaring pay discrepancies between white and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) on-air talent. The magazine has not posted new content to its popular YouTube channel in over two months. Read more here.

Editor & Publisher Names New GM

This week, Editor & Publisher announced on its website that media veteran Peter Conti is taking over as the magazine’s general manager. Read the press release here.

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For many companies, telecommuting will continue indefinitely, if not forever. How should publishers adjust expectations and evaluation metrics to reflect this new reality?

By William Dunkerley

We made a mistake. Last issue we identified five internal obstacles to recovering from the Covid crisis.

But we missed one that is quickly growing in significance.

What is it? It is an emerging relationship problem between publishers and work-at-home staff. It portends to be a major obstacle to success as we go forward.

You see, when the pandemic hit, most publications quickly jumped into a crisis management mode. That meant moving some or all staff members to working from home. Normally employees tend to respond to imposed change with resistance. But here the team pitched in, driven by a survival instinct.

That was largely successful. The adaptations made by publications helped most to survive one very enormous challenge.

Now, though, some of the crisis mode changes are still hanging on. They've become routine, at least for now. We're seeing two attendant unfavorable trends come from that. They deserve your attention. We hadn't picked up on them last month. We'll deal with them now.

So what's going wrong now? In short, here's the story:

Supervising and Evaluating from a Distance

Many publishers are feeling a lack of control. They can no longer see their staff working at their desks and on task. They wonder if they are getting their money's worth from the people. That's creating anxiety for the publishers.

In compensation, they are often initiating Zoom meetings, sending emails, or texting without a real purpose -- just to be sure that everyone is there. They may not be conscious of their motivation, but it is happening nonetheless. Beyond that, some publishers, many of whom have had their own workdays extended by the crisis, are contacting work-at-home staffers outside of normal working hours.

Some staffers are beginning to feel put upon. Many are reporting that accomplishing their work is requiring significantly more time than it took in the office environment. Some fear that they will be evaluated negatively if they are not always on call.

In my view, both the publishers and the staff members need to adjust better to today's work environment. There also needs to be more of a common vision of what is expected all the way around.

Reassessing the Concept of the Workday

One thing publishers should consider: Is the traditional concept of a 9-to-5 workday now necessary or appropriate for all staffers? Isn't getting a job done satisfactorily more important than whatever time on task is required?

There's an old story from the logging industry in Germany. A group of workers goes out into the forest each day. They work hard chopping wood with their axes. But there was one wood chopper, Wolfgang, whom everyone regarded as a slacker. Many times during the day he would take a break and sit behind a tree for a while. Other workers would often chide him, saying, "Oh, Wolfie, you are so lazy." The only problem was that by the end of the day, Wolfgang had chopped more wood than any of the others. One day a wood chopper named Gunter asked, "Wolfie, how is it that you are always taking breaks, yet you out-chop everyone else?" Wolfgang replied, "Easy -- each time I take a break, I sharpen my ax."

That's an example of how productivity does not necessarily correlate with time on task.

This is something we as publishers need to realize and keep in sharp focus:

If an ad salesperson can satisfy her sales objectives perfectly, what difference does it really make how long she took doing it?

Similarly, if an editor can produce content of the quantity and quality that you want, what difference does it make how long it takes him to do it?

Shifting to a Goal-Oriented Focus

We're now talking about management by focusing on the goals each staffer is expected to achieve instead of supervising their time. To do this, there must be a clear and shared understanding on the part of publisher and staffer alike of what can be reasonably be accomplished. That should result in identifying objectives and key results. This will provide the worker with clarity on what needs to be accomplished. And it will provide the publisher with a way to measure results. The publisher can then respond with satisfaction over success, or to intervene helpfully if an employee is falling short of the objectives.

To start with, though, publishers must accept that working at home does not provide a work environment equivalent to that of a traditional office. A home-based worker can be confronted by an abundance of distractions and interruptions. Another member of the household also may be working from home, too. If your staffer is a parent, there could be a student engaged in remote learning or a toddler underfoot. Pets may provide additional interruptions. And the work environment could be filled with reminders of home-related chores that are waiting to be done.

We publishers need to accept this as a reality.

At the same time, work-at-home staffers must realize that none of those potential distractions can be an excuse for failing to meet one's responsibilities. Those staffers must be prepared to somehow achieve key results. Perhaps that can be done by sharpening one's ax, like Wolfgang. Or if a home-related responsibility interferes with doing a task as planned at 9:00 a.m., the staffer may choose to do it at 9:00 p.m. instead if that doesn't interfere with deadlines.

The matter of initiating contact with your staff members outside normal work hours needs to be handled with some sensitivity. I think if you foresee a need for occasional after-hours contact, you should seek general permission from the staffer. You should encourage that person to let you know if such contact becomes problematic so that you can discontinue the practice.

In future issues we'll provide guidance for fully implementing the concept of objectives and key results and transitioning away from supervising time on task.

William Dunkerley is principal of William Dunkerley Publishing Consultants, www.publishinghelp.com.

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During this time of crisis, we stand ready to answer any specific questions our readers may have, time permitting. You can contact us at:

crisis-help@stratnewsletter.com

When the national health crisis subsides, publishers unfortunately should not expect to easily resume business as usual. Economists are predicting tough times ahead. In addition, the impact of the crisis may well result in different expectations of us on the part of our audiences. STRAT will provide a series of articles to help you all through the period of recovery and readjustment.