In trendy and media trade media at least, the Substack-as-new-model-for-journalism story seems to have already come and gone. Yet there’s so much more left to tell. Perhaps the Substack story’s next phase is best told inside out, through the eyes of a newly self-minted author — such as James Ledbetter.
You’ll struggle to find a better wordsmith than SC Media senior staff writer Derek B. Johnson. SC’s most recent reportorial hire writes clearly and fluidly, with voice, just as he did previously at Federal Computer Week. Security-minded PR pros might say, “Awesome! Will he cover my client?”
VentureBeat veteran Dean Takahashi discusses his views of virtual events (attends them and hosts them too), and laments the end of an era when a vendor’s headquarters was something to write about.
Fast Company technology editor Harry McCracken sheds light on newsgathering at physical and virtual events, and changes in FC edit coverage brought on by Covid and other factors. Interview was conducted July 2020.
Like us all, The Information’s Kevin McLaughlin is trying to cope with Covid’s impact on his daily routine. The veteran newsgatherer misses face-to-face interactions with his colleagues. He too has his views on the value of virtual events.
Barron’s associate editor Eric Savitz weighs in on virtual events — those from Barron’s and others — and what it might take for them to succeed. One thing is for sure, Eric says: “People are trying to make them work.”
Timothy Prickett Morgan, editor of The Next Platform, discusses his views of virtual events, why editors mingle in the first place, and how to get his attention in the era of Covid. Interview was conducted July 2020.
Axios newsletter author Ina Fried discusses her views of virtual events large and small, and the single most important thing PR pros should do when preparing to pitch.
Veteran IT freelancer Mike Vizard discusses his views of virtual events, whether he covers enterprise startups, and shares how he thinks of “news” these days. Interview was conducted July 2020.
If it wasn’t before, Fast Company’s Work Life section became perfectly positioned when legions of readers began working where they lived and living where they worked. “I will say what our editor-in-chief, Stephanie Mehta, has said about Work Life, which is, it’s table stakes for us,” says deputy editor Kathleen (Kate) Davis.
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Well, for now it’s Jim Jordan… but such news illustrates the kind of world we seem to be headed for. Adweek has the details, subscription required.
No “predictions” post will appear on this site. That said, quite a number of subscribers have asked for a Zoom/MS Teams presentation on what 2025 will bring. A conversation is precisely the right tool for the job. After the election — and with AI transforming publishing and life — “2025” is best discussed among peers, not predicted. So if you’d like to have a confidential group exchange on what stands to unfold, and why, and how comms pros can come out on top in spite of it all, drop a line and we shall schedule something.
According to Adweek, Omnicom CEO John Wren and IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky were in merger talks for eleven and a half months before the transaction was announced this week. Amazing that it didn’t leak.
Should PR pros stop visiting X, with all its lies and hate? It’s only going to get worse. Or are tidbits from targets too important to walk away from? Click here to watch tech edit vet David Strom and I disagree (at high speed) about this, as one compelling visual after another pops up on your screen. In 2025, SWMS will officially launch “SWMS Sound Thinking,” designed to be “argumentative insight in six minutes or less.” Each segment will explore a timely and controversial topic of interest to tech comms pros. This prototype runs 5:25. Hope you enjoy it — feedback vital and welcome! –Sam
New EIC Jamie Heller has asked her reporters to start going on camera — for the BI TikTok channel — to explain the big, deep-divey story they just published. Other publications do this — especially archival Fortune. BI is now on that too. Game on.
At this time last year, Eric Newcomer and his two podcast co-hosts — Max Child and James Wilsterman — each formed an “AI startup fantasy team” and picked five AI startups to seed their rosters. We’re now in year 2 and it’s time to draft again. The podcasters wonder… which startups do they dump? Which do they add? The player whose startups accumulate the most total value by Nov. 1, 2028 is the winner, so there’s plenty of time to make adjustments. Here’s a link to the AI fantasy team podcast — you may need a password. Not sure.
