FT Strategies

And that's a wrap! This month we finished our first ever AI Launchpad programme with eight news publishers from across Europe. So much has changed since we started in February - time moves differently in AI - and this made the journey all the more exciting. Thank you to our fantastic cohort of companies for your innovative spirit, my colleagues from FT Strategies who worked with me to build this from scratch, our partners from the Google News Initiative for your critical support.... & if you're interested in AI & News stay tuned for the programme report, coming soon! A few names to thank in particular Alexandra Stafford-Blythe Ignatius Roberts Benedicte Autret Jim Egan Liat Fainman-Adelman Isabella Croes Jack Briggs Shak Ebrahimjee Hani Chkess Krum Arnaudov Galen Terziysky Galya Prokopieva Maria Toycheva Dimitar Mitkov Jose Gutierrez Cuellar Alvaro Gonzalez-Ripoll Viguera Gonzalo Téubal Rodríguez Mustafa Arslan Serhat İnce Nuri Topçugil Aydın Çetin Bart Janssens Mariëlle Vermeer Yves Van Dooren Sarah Owsik

📢 We are delighted to announce that John Ridding, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Times Group, will be joining us at this year's News in The Digital Age Event. Under his stewardship, the FT has transformed its business to become a multi-format publication, ranging from text to audio, video and data visualisation, with global operations spanning 37 international bureaux. After overseeing the FT’s acquisition by Nikkei in 2015, John assumed the role of special executive director on the Nikkei board. He also serves on the board of Bonnier, the Swedish media group, Wilshire, the US-based investment and index business and Room to Read, the global charity that supports literacy, especially for girls, in low-income countries. Registrations for this invite-only event are now full, however, those interested in joining the waitlist for the in-person summit should contact programmes@ft.com. #NITDA24

In an era marked by diverse economic and market challenges, a rigorous cost management strategy is vital for media organizations pursuing sustainable revenue. However, with increased pressure on the top line (declining referral traffic, print circulation and advertising revenues) as well as rising costs (labor, supply chain, materials and technology), the route to financial sustainability is not always obvious.  Here are some practical methods that will help media organizations improve profits by examining four key areas: people, process, technology, and capital operating expenditures (capex/opex). | By George Adelman, Principal and Jhanein Geronimo, Associate Consultant – FT Strategies https://lnkd.in/eMkUiUgb

In today's challenging economic landscape, media organisations must manage costs rigorously to ensure sustainable growth. With declining revenues and rising costs, achieving financial sustainability has become complex. Our latest article offers a comprehensive framework for media companies to enhance profitability by implementing targeted cost reductions and efficiency improvements. It focuses on four key areas: People, Process, Technology, and Capital Operating Expenditures (CapEx/OpEx). Read the article here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwrEkVhN

📈 Over half of funders have increased their support for journalism over the past five years - but there is still an urgent need to establish financial sustainability in the media industry due to economic pressures and funding cuts. Real-world examples illustrate potential pitfalls, such as the influence of donors on editorial content. In this blog FT Strategies Principal George Adelman explores philanthropy as a means of capacity building for long-term impact, drawing lessons from international aid. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eU-uBZ77

🔍 El Confidencial needed to diversify its audience and attract younger readers to remain a sustainable business. El Confidencial took part in the Google News Initiative and FT Strategies Audience Diversity Academy, to learn how to attract and retain younger readers. It successfully reimagined its approach to diversifying content, without comprising on the insightful stories and important news they are known for. This case study reveals the frameworks and approaches the publisher used to capture the attention and interest of the youth in today's digital world: https://lnkd.in/e-CQUYSZ

🚀 This week marks the start of the third edition of Artificial Intelligence Launchpad, which we are running in partnership with Google News Initiative. Over the next five months, the participating publishers will embark on a journey to craft an ambitious and responsible vision for AI in their organisation, guiding them through live experiments to test their ideas. Learn more about our programmes with Google News Initiative here: https://lnkd.in/eRxbQfxg

🚀 This month's Learning Machines newsletter reflects on our inaugural AI Launchpad programme, which explored how to transform AI proofs-of-concept into user-facing products or integrate them into daily workflows. We also discuss publishers' increased use of AI in audio production to reduce workload, with advancements in text-to-speech and voice cloning, as seen in ElevenLabs' AI voices in their Readers App. Not subscribed? Register for free here: https://lnkd.in/edT6KXr9

🎉 Congratulations to the participants who have just graduated from the prestigious Journalism Innovation and Leadership programme at University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). FT Strategies is proud to have supported and participated in this important initiative that fosters the next generation of diverse news media leaders and strengthens the journalism industry to support their communities into the future. #journalism #journalisminnovation #JILeaders #UCLAN #FutureOfNews

⚡In partnership with the Google News Initiative we worked with The Irish Times to transform their digital subscription business and achieved a remarkable 30% uplift in sales. Through utilising the power of data analysis, we gained valuable insights into readers' behaviour, preferences, and engagement patterns to deliver more tailored content. This personalised approach ensured that readers received the right content at the right time, leading to an increase in conversions and subscriptions. Read the full case study here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eVbHwjac