Where is digital media going next?
The audience is fleeing or indifferent. This is a newsletter on how to win them back.
Why, hello there …
Hi, I’m Mike. For 20-plus years, I’ve had the pleasure and pain of working in the field of journalism. My road started in the cluttered college office of Georgetown University’s student newspaper, wound its way through National Geographic Traveler, looped through the neighborhood of a local news weekly, then zipped up then down the I-95 corridor between ESPN and, most recently, The Washington Post. It’s been a journey that has provided a plethora of memories (I once rode up in an elevator with Michael Jordan and down with Mike Tyson) and milestones (launching a video game coverage vertical at The Post) alongside a not-insignificant amount of frustration (boo, layoffs).
My time in the industry has produced a lot of questions and solutions, but, inevitably, the media’s antiquated financial model has meant every stop has involved endlessly chasing the elusive grail of financial stability. (Yes, even at places owned by Disney and the richest man in the world.)
Over 20 years, that has led to a lot of experiences, insights and perspectives on the overall world of digital media and its relationship with the consumer — read: the audience. For many outlets, their relationship with the audience is deeply flawed, if not altogether broken. It’s a subject I’ve mulled and mined for a long time, successfully at that, and it’s one I continue to consider (daily) during my time between jobs. This is a problem that can be solved, if you view it through the proper lens.
At the moment, my career journey metaphor is at a rest stop, preferably a Buc-ee’s with a well-stocked jerky bar and a Jason Isbell song playing in the background, biding my time as I look for my next opportunity. In January, I took a buyout and left The Post after nearly 10 years. In the days since, I’ve been filling my time with my passions (my family, sports, travel, cooking), freelance writing, consulting and musing about the state of the media world.
Given my experiences as both a creator and a consumer, I think I’ve got a pretty unique perspective about how media companies got into this current bind, what they’re doing to solve it and where things are heading next. I intend to use this Substack to share that perspective with you, as well as to engage with readers who share my passion for creativity and innovation and, hopefully, provide an insightful (and entertaining) look into the state of digital media in 2024. So, what can you expect?
1. We will explore and embrace the untraditional
Throughout my career I have been obsessed with two things: Innovation and audience. Those elements are absolutely essential to the health of any business. This is particularly true for a news industry that finds itself scrapping on a number of fronts in 2024.
How a media outlet relates with its current and prospective audience is of paramount importance, so as we discuss stories, trends or other media developments, the focus is going to be on the core interaction between the digital content and the consumer. It is also going to include looks at new approaches and tools publishers can and are adopting to produce and promote their content. In the process, we’re going to touch on a bunch of different subjects — sports, travel, cooking, music, politics (only when we have to, I promise), tech and entertainment. It’ll all be here in some fashion and it will all center on creating an effective, engaging and sustained relationship between content providers and their current and prospective audience.
Does that sound dry? Fair enough, but hear me out. These are some of the subject lines I’ve already started working up for future posts:
The media is surrounded by flames and their hose has 10,000 holes
Taylor Swift is the world’s foremost audience expert
How games can save the news industry
Please, God, let me kill the game story
AI isn’t coming for your job. But the person who understands AI is.
Newspapers need to sue more
Kim Mulkey: Friend of the media. No, really.
What news execs can learn from drug dealers
We know way too little about way too much and it’s going to kill us all
2. Regular updates and access
For now, my goal is to post three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) before noon, ET. Most of the time the post will center on my thoughts and experiences, but after 20 years in an industry, you get to know people. So occasionally we’ll be featuring the perspectives of people across the news industry.
Moreover, if there’s a topic you’d like to dive into, shout it out in an email or the comments and I’ll look into it for a future post. Oh, and speaking of interactivity …
3. We want to hear from you, but be ‘chill,’ not ‘sus’
In the parlance of my kids, I want this Substack to casually discuss weighty subjects in buoyant fashion. This will be a space for exploration and discussion, not a space for sermonizing or lecturing. I’m open to ideas and I want them to flow freely from you as much as from me, so please, contribute to the discussion with comments or emails. Just keep it clean and be respectful.
So that’s what you can expect to find here (and in your inbox) every week. I hope you’ll sign up, and I hope you’ll spread the word to your friends and colleagues who also may be interested in the digital media world. I look forward to speaking with you soon.
Want more from me? Let’s work together!
When I’m not writing here — or coaching or cooking for my family — I’m working with a growing number of clients to help boost their audience and revenue through my digital media consultancy, Launcher, LLC. If you’d like to work together, please reach out through LinkedIn to discuss my rates and availability. Referrals are also greatly appreciated.