Cuttings
Cuttings: Breadth, Depth and WhatsApp
Insights into audience development, newsletter strategy, and just how much bigger than us Facebook is.
Playing the algorithm game
Can you really “cheat” the LinkedIn algorithm by hiding links in comments? Or is there something else at work?
Journalism
Report and Connect: a manifesto for the survival of journalism in the AI age
A call for us to stop letting the tech companies define our work, and reset our focus on the audiences we need to survive
Future of Media Technology
From Traffic to Trust: Publishers’ response to AI
How can publishers respond to AI killing their traffic? Focus less on algorithms and more on audiences – and put community back at the heart of their journalism
Future of Media Technology
The Economist in the age of AI
Luke Bradley Jones on why The Economist is less exposed to Ai risk than many, how they're preparing anyway – and why they're on Substack
Social Media
When did you last reply to someone on a social network?
A little more conversation, a little less promotion, please
audience strategy
Friday night's fine for linkin'
Lots of good stuff to read – and think about – over the weekend
AI
How are audiences feeling about AI in 2025?
More research showing just how wary audiences are of AI being used in journalism
audience strategy
Audience Strategy: further reading
Some links, mainly for my Audience Strategy students - but of possible interest to others.
newsletters
The newsletter inquisition
Some insights into newsletter strategy, based on unanswered questions from a Smartocto webinar
audience strategy
An uncomfortable audience success story
GB News is generating £600k in audience revenue in under a year… Plus more on Reddit's strategy and some mental health resources.
reuters institute
Finding news audiences in the social media shift
In the first of a series of pieces inspired by the 2024 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, we look at the dramatic changes happening in social and what they mean for you.