A song to read by: “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” by Paul Simon

What I’m reading: “The Viking Heart,” by Arthur Herman

Published this week

— Artificial intelligence firms are, at this very moment, scraping news publishers’ reporting and using the information to power their generative products. Is doing so illegal, and if so, how should publishers respond in the meantime? Some are preparing to strike licensing agreements that will allow AI companies to use their data in exchange for a fee, while others are holding out until the courts have ruled on the legality of the practice. More than a few are doing both. I profiled the complex — but not unprecedented — situation media companies have found themselves trying to navigate. (Link)

— An exclusive I published Wednesday, which highlights a significant shift in strategy BuzzFeed announced internally on Tuesday. The company, facing a decline in search and social traffic like the rest of the industry, has responded by moving to sell and operate by brand rather than as an aggregated network. Its longtime publisher, Dao Nguyen, also stepped down. The pivot, while smart, represents the end of an era: BuzzFeed, long the epitome of a scaled, platform-driven publisher, is now abandoning the tactic. (Link)

On my mind

I and others have written a number of times about the looming end of the scale era, as social platforms and search send fewer and fewer readers to news sites, forcing publishers to prioritize channels like newsletters that involve direct connections with their readers. In this way, publishers are replicating in a digital environment a dynamic born from the analog era.

This increased emphasis on direct readership is one of several other trends shaping the industry that feel a bit vintage. 

A second such trend is the rising value of events — parties, launches, dinners, festivals, etc. — as a key revenue driver. Ask any publisher and they will tell you that events have been one of the bright spots of the last few years, but as a source once told me, they reflect a concession from publishers, which are effectively waving the white flag in the fight against platforms for ad spend. Fight only the battles you can win, I suppose.

A recent third has been the nascent return of print products. In the last few months, a handful of publishers have reintroduced print — and others plan to do so shortly. Every bone in my body tells me this is ridiculous, and yet I cannot help but wonder if there is some sense to it. After all, print is, like events, one of the few areas in which social media and technology companies cannot compete with publishers. It also dovetails with the increased emphasis on direct relationships with readers.

With smarter distribution tactics, publishers can print and ship only the specific number of magazines consumers purchase, keeping the expenses disciplined. It also offers an audience of digitally weary readers another oasis from their phone.

These trends and others — such as the increase in direct sales efforts — seem to suggest that the media industry is moving backward, regressing to a series of tried-and-true tactics that worked before the advent of the internet and could offer safe harbor in a turbulent moment. 

At a time in which, on a broad cultural level, the flavor of the day is nostalgia, this might not be a bad idea. The collective optimism about technology that colored the last decade has dimmed, a key factor in this prolonged moment of cultural stasis. 

I am reluctant to bet against technological progress; it seems unlikely that the answer to the problems facing the media industry lie in the rear view mirror. But perhaps this is a natural corrective to a period of overreach from Silicon Valley? Maybe things were the way they were for a reason.

The week that was

Last week was oddly off-balance — rather than start off quietly and crescendo into the weekend, the highlights of the last seven days all came at the beginning of the week.

It started Monday night, when the Vox Media title Punch held its 10-year anniversary party at Public Records in Brooklyn. Vox Media acquired Punch, a spirits and cocktail publisher, in August 2021, and I reported on the purchase at the time, so the invitation to attend felt like a bit of a full-circle moment. Plus, I figured a cocktail publisher would throw a pretty fun party, and I will generally take any excuse to visit Public Records, especially for a private get-together.

I ran into a few fellow media reporters, including Max Tani and Andrew Fedorov, and had a remarkably candid conversation with Amanda Kludt, the group publisher of Eater, PopSugar, Thrillist and Punch. I was particularly curious whether the Punch acquisition — like so many made during the pandemic — had resulted in any sense of buyer’s remorse, as Punch no doubt saw an uptick in readership during lockdown that must have since cooled. Amanda was adamant that Punch, led by founder and editor in chief Talia Baiocchi, had been a buttoned-up business before the pandemic and remains one today. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Adweek hosted an annual event called NexTech, which meant I and most of the staff shifted our base of operations to a Convene outpost at 1221 Avenue of the Americas. I moderated two panels on Tuesday, one with Jessica Probus from BuzzFeed and the other with Mary Murcko from theSkimm. On Wednesday after the event, much of the Adweek team went to a happy hour hosted by Bloomberg Media, which unfortunately caused me to miss a private party held by Overtime Media celebrating the launch of its fourth sports league.

By Thursday, having broken an exclusive on Wednesday amid moderating my panels and covering my colleagues’, I was dead tired and consequently did not leave the house. My weekend was equally tame, although I managed to see “Dream Scenario” and do a bit of holiday shopping reconnaissance in the city. I spent Saturday evening watching the University of Texas Longhorns eke out yet another painful win, and I have to admit I plan on watching a lot of college football next week.

One good rumor

Much has been made about the inexplicable commercial success of The Guardian. This recent Axios article outlines just how strong of a year it has had, and the good times show no signs of slowing. I have it on good authority that in its end-of-year donation campaign, The Guardian has already doubled what it took in last year, jumping from around $60,000 in contributions to $120,000. I wonder how much more money the company has to make before other outlets start experimenting with its guilt-trip of a reader revenue model?

Some good readin’

— Of course I read the David Zaslav profile, and yes Zaslav matching outfits at Cannes with Graydon Carter remains the funniest thing I have ever seen. (The New York Times)

— Is it just me or has GQ been on a tear lately? Their Men of the Year extravaganza mustered the kind of star power that publishers rarely see nowadays. Also, if you care about men’s fashion, Show Notes is a must-read. (GQ)

— Great scoop from Max. Newsrooms are imploding over how to cover the Israel-Hamas war. The Los Angeles Times is the latest. (Semafor)

— Happy to hear that i-D has a new forever home. The Hollywood Reporter broke the official news, but Lauren Sherman at Puck has owned this story (and many others) for months. If you care about the business of fashion or legacy media, Line Sheet — her newsletter for Puck — is also a must-read. (THR) (Puck)

Cover image: "Aegean,” by Philip Guston