Tag: Publishing

What Small Publishers Can Learn from the Big Four’s AI-Defying Quarter

If you’ve been following the headlines, you might think AI is poised to hollow out the news business — stealing traffic, scraping archives, and churning out synthetic stories that compete with the real thing. And yet, four of America’s largest news organizations — Thomson Reuters, News Corp, People Inc (formerly Dotdash Meredith), and The New York Times — just turned in a combined \$5 billion in quarterly revenue and nearly \$1.2 billion in profit.

I first came across this coverage in the BoSacks newsletter, which linked to Press Gazette’s original report. The piece details how these companies aren’t just surviving in the AI era; they’re quietly reshaping their models to make it work for them. From AI-powered professional tools to content licensing deals with OpenAI, Amazon, and Meta, they’re finding ways to monetize their content and expand audience engagement — even as Google’s AI-driven search starts serving answers instead of links.

For smaller, niche publishers, the temptation is to shrug this off. “Sure, it’s easy when you have a billion-dollar brand and a legal department the size of my entire staff.” But there’s a lot here that is portable — if you focus on the right pieces.

Lesson 1: Own Your Audience Before AI Owns Your Traffic

One of the clearest takeaways from the big four is how much they’re investing in direct audience relationships. The New York Times hit 11.88 million subscribers, People Inc launched a dedicated app, and even News Corp’s Dow Jones division keeps climbing on digital subscriptions.

For small publishers, this means stop over-relying on algorithmic referrals. If you’re still counting on Facebook, Google, or Apple News as your main discovery channels, you’re building on borrowed land.

Action:

  • Launch a low-friction email newsletter that delivers high-value, niche-specific updates.
  • Incentivize sign-ups with premium extras — e-books, data sheets, or early access content.
  • Build community spaces (Discord, Slack, or forums) where your most engaged readers gather off-platform.

Lesson 2: Package Your Expertise as a Product, Not Just a Publication

Thomson Reuters isn’t just “doing news.” They’re integrating AI into products like CoCounsel, which bakes their proprietary legal and tax content into Microsoft 365 workflows. It’s sticky, high-margin, and hard for competitors to replicate.

Smaller publishers may not have the dev team to roll out enterprise-level AI tools, but the underlying idea applies: turn your content into something your audience uses, not just reads.

Action:

  • Convert your most-requested guides or reports into downloadable templates, toolkits, or training modules.
  • Create a searchable knowledge base for subscribers, updated with new insights monthly.
  • Partner with a lightweight AI platform to offer custom alerts or summaries in your niche.

Turn insights into income.

Don’t just read about what’s possible — start building it now. I’ve put together a free, printable 90-Day Growth Plan for Small Publishers with simple, actionable steps you can follow today to grow your audience and revenue.

Lesson 3: Monetize Your Archives and Protect Your IP

Both the NYT and News Corp are in legal battles over AI scraping, but they’re also cutting deals to license their content. The message is clear: your back catalog is an asset — treat it like one.

For small publishers, this could mean licensing niche datasets, syndicating evergreen content to allied outlets, or even creating curated “best of” packages for corporate training or education markets.

Action:

  • Audit your archive for evergreen, high-demand topics.
  • Explore licensing or syndication deals with industry associations, trade schools, or niche platforms.
  • Add clear terms of use and copyright notices to protect your content from unauthorized scraping.

Lesson 4: Diversify Revenue Beyond Ads

People Inc is replacing declining print dollars with more profitable digital and e-commerce revenue. The Times is making real money from games, cooking, and even video spin-offs of podcasts.

Smaller publishers don’t need a NYT-sized portfolio to diversify. You just need a second or third income stream that aligns with your audience’s interests.

Action:

  • Launch a paid resource library with niche-specific data, tools, or premium reports.
  • Run virtual events, webinars, or training sessions for a fee.
  • Sell targeted sponsorships or native content in newsletters instead of relying solely on display ads.

The Bottom Line

AI disruption is real — and it’s already changing how readers find and consume news. But the big players are showing that with strong brands, direct audience relationships, and smart product diversification, you can turn the threat into an advantage.

For smaller publishers, the scale is different but the playbook is the same:

  • Control your audience pipeline.
  • Turn your expertise into products.
  • Protect and monetize your archives.
  • Don’t bet your survival on one revenue stream.

It’s not about matching the NYT’s resources; it’s about matching their mindset. In the AI era, the publishers who think like product companies — and treat their audience like customers instead of traffic — will be the ones still standing when the algorithms shift again.

Memorable takeaway: In the AI age, resilience isn’t about the size of your newsroom — it’s about the strength of your audience ties and the creativity of your monetization.

Ready to grow? Grab the free, printable 90-Day Growth Plan for Small Publishers and start building your audience and revenue today.

Ride the AI Wave: Strategic Integration Over Litigation

Combined Strategic View – Forward-Looking Angle (Rooted in Bo Sacks’ Facts)

In his newsletter BoSacks Speaks Out: Notes from the Algorithmic Frontline, veteran editor Bo Sacks lays out a stark reality: AI has already ingested decades of Pulitzer-winning journalism without compensation; Judge Alsup’s ruling against Anthropic offers only a narrow copyright reprieve; Getty Images is pioneering revenue-sharing for AI-trained image datasets; and niche print titles like Monocle, Air Mail, and Delayed Gratification thrive even as legacy printers and binderies collapse. These are the hard facts on the ground.

These facts point to a stark choice: fight the tide or ride it. Relentlessly suing OpenAI or Anthropic over scraped archives may score headlines, but it won’t keep pace with machine learning’s breakneck advance—and it diverts precious resources from innovation. Instead, forward-thinking publishers should turn Bo Sacks’ own evidence into a blueprint for growth:

1. Automate & Accelerate

  • Archive Mining: Apply AI to sift your own backfiles—precisely the content under dispute—to surface timeless stories worth republishing or expanding.
  • Bite-Sized Briefs: Convert long features into “5-minute reads” or multimedia snippets for mobile audiences, mirroring slow-print curation but optimized for screens.

2. Elevate Craft with AI

  • Instant Fact-Checks: Use AI assistants that cross-verify claims on the fly, speeding up verification without sacrificing accuracy.
  • Rapid Design Mockups: Integrate AI-powered layout previews to iterate cover and spread designs in minutes, recapturing the precision Bo Sacks mourns in lost binderies.

3. Data-Informed Revenue

  • Smart Pricing: Leverage real-time engagement signals to adjust sponsorship and ad rates dynamically—echoing Getty’s revenue-share ethos but tailored to your audience.
  • Segmented Offers: Use simple clustering techniques to distinguish your premium-print devotees from casual readers, then craft subscription tiers and perks that drive loyalty and lifetime value.

Why this matters: The tools Bo Sacks warns are “already at home” in our archives have upended every stage of publishing—from discovery and design to distribution and monetization. Legal victories may buy time, but strategic integration of AI buys relevance. By running small pilots, measuring impact on both costs and engagement, and retiring manual processes that no longer move the needle, publishers can turn today’s adversary into tomorrow’s catalyst—and deliver the richer, more personalized journalism readers are hungry for.

Read, Swipe, Renew: The Times’ Broadsheet-to-Mobile Makeover

I recently read Dominic Ponsford’s Press Gazette piece, “The Times: From loss-making broadsheet to profit on a tiny screen,” and it’s a fascinating case study in digital reinvention. Here’s what stood out:

  1. A “Finishable” News Experience
    The redesigned Times app caps its daily top-story list at around 35 items, creating a sense of completion rather than an endless scroll. It’s like choosing a concise playlist of your favorite tracks instead of wading through hundreds of songs—readers know they can actually finish it.
  2. Human-Centered Journalism with AI Support
    While AI helps with smarter search, editorial suggestions, and personalized story recommendations, The Times draws a firm line at AI-written articles or automated fact-checking. It’s a reminder that, for now, trust in news still hinges on human reporters and editors.
  3. Mobile-First Features That Drive Loyalty
    Push notifications, intuitive page-turning navigation, embedded puzzles, and a digital replica of the print edition have all contributed to higher engagement and renewal rates among app subscribers—now the outlet’s most valuable audience segment.
  4. From £72 m Loss to £61 m Profit
    Since launching its paywall in 2010, The Times has largely maintained flat revenues but flipped a £72 m loss into a £61 m profit by mid-2024. A big part of that success comes from a subscriber base (629,000 and growing 8% year-on-year) that values this curated mobile experience—one third of whom live outside the UK.

What You Can Take Away

  • Design for completion. Limiting daily story counts can boost reader satisfaction and loyalty.
  • Use AI as a behind-the-scenes assistant. Let it power search and personalization, but keep storytelling human.
  • Experiment and listen. Push new features, measure engagement closely, and iterate based on real reader feedback.

Whether you’re building a news app, running a subscription model, or just curious about how legacy brands adapt in the digital age, The Times’ journey offers plenty of inspiration. Check out the full article for all the details and consider which lessons you might apply to your own projects.

Beyond the Scroll: How Magazine Publishers Can Reclaim the Reader’s Mind

“Recognize that not everything with a pastel icon and a ping is there for your benefit.”
— BoSacks

The Dilemma: Competing with the Slot Machine

Once, the publisher’s task was daunting but clear: deliver stories, images, and ideas that made readers linger. Today, it’s like trying to read poetry in the middle of a casino. The pings, scrolls, and algorithmic lures of Big Tech have reduced attention to a commodity—and readers themselves to “users,” tugged endlessly by invisible levers.

As BoSacks warns, the game is rigged: every feature of modern platforms is built to keep us hooked, our focus fractured, and our time for sale. In such a world, magazine publishers could be forgiven for feeling obsolete. But in truth, it’s in this chaos that the publisher’s mission is needed most.

The Magazine’s Legacy: More Than Content

Magazines have always offered something different: not just information, but context; not just images, but experiences. The weight of a well-made issue in hand, the rhythm of page after page, the immersive escape of a story told with intention—these are not relics. They’re the antidote.

When every digital platform feels like an endless scroll, what readers crave—whether they realize it or not—is a place to pause, reflect, and connect more deeply. Magazine publishers don’t need to join the attention rat race. They need to double down on what they already do best.

Turning Crisis Into Opportunity

From Fracture to Focus

It starts with the courage to do less, but do it better. In a world where infinite content is the problem, curation is the solution. Publishers can choose to publish fewer stories, but make each one count—well-researched features, slow journalism, and essays that reward more than a passing glance.

Remember, print magazines thrived not because they were fast, but because they were focused. That’s a lesson worth reviving online. Replace infinite scroll with a finite, carefully-crafted issue. Highlight narrative arcs, not just clickable headlines. Treat every digital edition as a destination, not a distraction.

Redesigning for Reflection

Design is more than aesthetics; it’s psychology. Digital spaces don’t have to mimic the anxiety of the feed. Publishers can create “distraction-free” reading modes, slow down the pace, and signal to readers that this is a place for focus. Subtle cues—a clear beginning and end, less clutter, fewer pop-ups—can turn a screen into a sanctuary.

Rebuilding Relationships

The era of the faceless “user” is over. Magazine readers are a community—curious, discerning, and seeking more than just a dopamine rush. Publishers can rekindle relationships through thoughtful engagement: host live events, invite readers behind the scenes, and foster real dialogue in spaces designed for slow conversation, not viral outrage.

Editorials can take the lead, naming the manipulations of Big Tech and offering tools for digital well-being. By being transparent—about ads, data, and editorial process—publishers can offer the kind of trust that algorithms never will.

Advocacy and Innovation

Now is the moment for publishers to become champions of digital wellness. Imagine a future where magazines are at the center of teaching digital literacy, collaborating with educators and wellness experts, and pushing for ethical standards in tech. Instead of chasing engagement, imagine building loyalty and membership around genuine value—offering exclusive, ad-free experiences or print editions that reward commitment, not compulsive behavior.

The Publisher’s Challenge—and Invitation

BoSacks ends his essay on a note of hard-earned hope. “Maybe one of you will read this, pause, and put the damn phone down for five minutes. That’d be a start.” Publishers can do more: you can give readers a reason to linger, to think, to be human again—even if just for a few pages, or a few precious minutes.

The question is not how to keep up with the scroll, but how to lead readers out of it.

Publisher’s Checklist: Reclaiming the Reader’s Mind

  • Publish with intention: Focus on quality over quantity—feature fewer, deeper stories.
  • Design for attention: Offer clean, distraction-free reading experiences, online and off.
  • Reframe the reader relationship: Treat readers as community, not users; foster dialogue, not just clicks.
  • Educate and advocate: Use your platform to teach digital literacy and call out manipulative tech.
  • Champion wellness: Partner with wellness experts; offer guidance on screen time and mindful media.
  • Innovate value models: Build membership and loyalty around substance, not addictive mechanics.

Editorial Strategy Guide

  1. Editorial Calendar:
    Schedule quarterly “deep issues” focused on themes that reward long-form, investigative, or narrative journalism. Balance topicality with timelessness.
  2. Digital Experience:
    Develop a “reading room” digital section—minimal UI, no autoplay, and a clear beginning and end to each story or issue.
    Offer print or printable PDF versions for offline consumption.
  3. Community Engagement:
    Launch slow forums, member-only Q\&As, or periodic live discussions that prioritize depth over volume.
  4. Content Mix:
    Add regular columns on digital wellness, attention, and the psychology of media. Bring in guest experts and voices from education, mental health, and technology.
  5. Revenue and Partnerships:
    Prioritize partnerships and sponsors aligned with well-being, education, or the arts. Experiment with reader-supported models (memberships, donations, exclusive access) that reinforce your mission.

Remember:
Your greatest strength as a publisher is not speed, but significance. In an age of distraction, offering depth, focus, and meaning is an act of leadership. The world doesn’t need another feed; it needs a place to think.