“Failing” New York Times, Vogue Hong Kong, Real Simple Q&A, Mobile News Aggregators, TFP InDesign Tip
Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news, stories of interest, and tips for media industry pros. Check out these posts on New York Times’ digital revenue growth, the launch of Vogue Hong Kong, the secret to Real Simple’s success, the affect mobile news aggregators are having on publishers’ traffic, and more.
As a Nieman Lab post points out, the “failing” New York Times is, well, not failing: Its just-released third-quarter numbers show digital subscription revenue hit $100 million for the period and is projected to reach $400 million for the year. And with an additional $200 million in digital advertising and other miscellaneous sources of revenue—as well as ongoing gains in digital subscriber numbers—the Times may well be on track to meet its “ambitious” goal of $800 million by 2020, the article says.- A bilingual edition of Vogue is launching in Hong Kong, Condé Nast International announced, though the title will need to find a niche alongside editions in China and Taiwan, WWD says. Expected in early 2019, Vogue Hong Kong will have a print version in traditional Chinese (vs. Vogue China’s simplified Chinese) and a digital version in both Chinese and English, according to the post. Competitors in the Hong Kong market include Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, which are published as part of a partnership between Hearst and the South China Morning Post Group.
- In a Mr. Magazine interview, Real Simple EIC Leslie Yazel and group publisher Daren Mazzucca share the secrets to what’s kept the almost-20-year-old brand fresh and competitive, what’s changed since its acquisition by Meredith, and challenges ahead. One of those challenges, says Yazel, is remaining useful and relevant—part of which is understanding that readers are looking for different things on different platforms. See Fipp’s site for the full Q&A.
- While Google, Facebook, Twitter, and the like by far remain the largest drivers of referral traffic to publishers’ sites, mobile news aggregators may be getting in the game, a Digital Content Next article says. For example, SmartNews, an app that aggregates news via a machine learning algorithm, now has 10 million monthly active users, growing 200% year over year, according to the report. Although it accounted for less than 1% of traffic this month, the aggregator came in at No. 11 among top referrers, it says, just behind Yahoo but ahead of Apple News.
On the Technology for Publishing Blog
- TFP Case Study: Read how we helped Christie’s, one of the world’s leading auction houses, reinvent how it delivers print and digital content, driving new opportunities on a globe scale.
- InDesign Tip: Want to convert footnotes to endnotes or endnotes to footnotes? It’s easy! Check out our new tip to learn how.
- ICYMI: We highlighted key Adobe MAX announcements, including new and updated Creative Cloud apps, previews of future products, and new InDesign features. And make sure to get a copy of our latest handbook, Using Adobe InDesign CC 2019, to quickly get up to speed on all the new features.
- TFP also launched Podcast Picks as part of our coverage of key industry trends and discussions. Our first is a Recode Media talk with Vanity Fair EIC Radhika Jones on how she’s making her job her own and why magazines have to “do it all” today.
Photo: The New York Times
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Posted by: Monica Sambataro
