The BSME held the second of its Lockdown Lunches on Wednesday 22 April, where leading editors were invited to discuss how they’re navigating the coronavirus crisis.
The global pandemic has ripped up media norms and editors of magazines and websites are facing myriad challenges with every passing week. Join the editors as they answer the following question: Creating content in the Covid-19 market – what's working?
Our panel for the discussion were:
MARIA PIERI, Editorial Director, National Geographic Traveller (UK)
LAURA ROWE, Editor, olive
JOHN L. WALTERS, Editor, Eye & Pulp; Director, Eye Magazine Ltd
SINEAD MCINTYRE, Editor-in-Chief, Fabulous
10 Things We Learnt:
Summarised by Alexandra Meunier
BA journalism student, Roehampton University
1: The “new normal”
Magazines have a real opportunity to support people by providing useful and helpful content. Sinead McIntyre from Fabulous talks about the success of ‘instructional stories’ such as quick recipes or recreating take-away dishes. It has a huge appeal to the readers as people can apply what they have learnt to their lives.
2: Making it work
The good news is you can still use content you already have. All you need is to take a different editorial approach and rethink certain aspects of your stories, “the content hasn’t changed, the content frame has changed,” says John L. Walters from Eye Magazine. He also suggests using this strange period of time to explore and showcase your archives.
3: Exploring different models of distribution
Laura Rowe, editor of olive magazine mentions the importance of offering diverse models of direct subscriptions. Adapting to everyone’s needs with temporary subscriptions or presence on Apple News can help reach more consumers. Other options such as on-site promotions can also work very well, with National Geographic Traveller gaining 900 subscribers in just one day thanks to an exclusive magazine offer.
4: Producing more online content
As people cannot access newsstands as easily as before, magazine distribution has taken a huge hit explains Maria Pieri. It is the moment to reflect and find new ways to provide content. Online resources like websites, blogs and social media should now be at the heart of your creative process. Moving your content online will help you connect with your readers. “We’ve seen digital traffic increase more than we had anticipated,” reveals Laura Rowe.
5: Be a positive voice
As we are all facing a difficult change, magazines should champion the production of optimistic content. Stories could highlight altruistic people such as the ones transforming their business to accommodate others, or ‘hero’ restaurants that deliver to people’s homes, advises Laura Rowe. The Editor-in-Chief of Fabulous, Sinead McIntyre explains how she is taking a similar approach by staying away from ‘heavy’ content and instead offering practical and joyful stories.
6: Be consistent
Don’t diverge too much from your original tone of voice. You should aim to be as genuine as possible as it is something readers will look for throughout your pages. John L. Walters recommends for magazines to stay ‘true to their nature.’
7: A way to escape reality
Try offering content that will provide a way for individuals to evade their daily routine. People are looking for new modes of entertainment. For instance, olive’s podcast has been growing in popularity. Reframing your content also works well here. For instance, Maria Pieri shares the example of ‘armchair travel’ stories such as ‘our favourite long reads or five ways to explore during lockdown.’ It offers the possibility of using old work from a new perspective while helping the reader explore new horizons.
8: Listen to your readers
Be mindful of the feedback that your readers provide. Analyse data and try to be flexible. Things are constantly changing; you should be able to adapt and move things around if needed.
9: Covid-19 content
For Laura Rowe referring to Covid-19 can be tricky as the situation is constantly evolving. It means you should be careful with the work you commission, especially if it is Covid-19 related. You should aim to produce content that will still function post Covid-19, points out Maria Pieri.
10: Rely on PR
During these strange times, public relations professionals continue to be essential. They will help you deal with any issue you might encounter and will assist you in the creation of contingency plans. You will need to rely on their expertise more than ever before, to navigate this complex situation.
We’re aiming to run a BSME Lockdown Lunches every other Wednesday at 12pm. Register now for our next online discussion on Wednesday 6 May at 12pm
Lockdown Lunch social media:
Jasmina Matulewicz, BA journalism student at Roehampton University
