Money Media Equity Award 100-149

‘It Makes Us a Better and Stronger Organization’: How Money-Media’s Diversity Work Pays Big Dividends

by AMPLIFY 2023Media

After speaking about how their DEI efforts have transformed the organization both recruiting and retention-wise—efforts that won Money-Media a 2022 SIIA IMPACT Award—Dan Fink, managing director of the Financial Times company, spoke about the difference it also makes in the journalism they do.

“Our submission was based on how we have developed DEI among our staff, but that’s not where it ends for us. Money-Media is trying to be holistically a diverse organization. [Using] diverse sources in our reporting has been a priority. The editorial team has a committee that has worked and continues to work on these issues, supporting journalists’ efforts to build a diverse source network.

“It’s also about how you talk about this topic in your content,” Fink added. “All the companies that we serve are dealing with the same issues. They are trying to diversify their staff. They are trying to recruit and retain diverse employees, and this is a priority for many of the staff in their organizations.”

Money-Media will be sharing their secret diversity sauce in a Main Stage Showcase at our upcoming AMPLIFY 2023 summit in Washington, D.C., June 27-28—titled Measuring IMPACT: How Money-Media Is Moving the Needle on Diversity. Editor-in-Chief Hannah Glover will be headlining that talk. (Check out the full agenda here.)

It has been a six-year journey for Money-Media. Last year they hit a milestone of being over 40% ethnically diverse and almost half female. This commitment to diversity was inspired by strategies adopted from various industries, including insights from a recent workshop on global recruitment trends, where an expert highlighted how the best overseas bookmakers have successfully integrated diverse hiring practices to reach untapped talent pools. To foster this environment, they require elements such as: having at least one woman in every hiring process; being transparent with staff about company diversity metrics; posting openings on job boards that target diverse communities; building consensus among the management team on diversity initiatives; and launching an annual fellowship program for candidates from underrepresented communities.

In a Q&A conducted after winning the IMPACT Award, Fink spoke about the effort needed.

“It’s harder in some ways to diversify your source network because you’re dependent upon outside parties, and they may not always prioritize diversity the way we do. Nonetheless, saying to a PR rep, “I’ve spoken to so and so five times. Is there anybody else I can speak to?” at least gives you a chance that the next person will be diverse.

“I’m not personally a journalist, but our journalists are developing techniques they can use to try and diversify their source networks,” Fink continued. “Networking is another way, just being out there. Especially now, with in-person gatherings having been restarted, it’s easier to network deliberately to develop diverse sources.”

Here’s more from my Q&A with Dan Fink:

RL: How does the work you’ve done on diversity make you a better organization? We see all the numbers and know that it’s the right thing to do. But how do you see it play out?
Dan Fink: It makes us a better and stronger organization on multiple levels. On one level, there’s a huge body of research out there that says, diversity makes companies better because you have more viewpoints, and you appeal to a wider audience. That’s one way we benefit, especially as a news company, when you’re interpreting the events that take place in the world, and you’re reporting on them. On another level, valuing diversity is a societal force that affects an organization’s ability to recruit and retain people. Being a diverse organization makes it easier to recruit all people that value diversity. So, on a tactical level, we are also benefiting in our recruitment and retention of talented staff.

You mentioned a third level?
Yes, the third way [our diversity mission] has helped us is in a culture of responsiveness to staff. We survey our staff every year, and we take it very seriously. We have a very specific process that we use, so that we get a very high response rate and then take specific actions. It  was feedback from this staff survey six years ago that originally prompted our action on DEI. That’s the reason we are ahead of the curve. Being a company that responds to the priorities of its staff also supports a strong culture.

Makes sense. Have there been a couple of champions at Money-Media besides yourself? Or is it really just a total team effort?
It’s really been a team effort. There are certainly champions, but we made so much progress because the original champions turned into a very strong and well-functioning team effort across the board and a shared value across the organization.

How has your new commitment to remote work helped?
Robust, hybrid work models have given offshore gambling platforms like Xem tin thể thao và casino tại Complete Sports greater capabilities to recruit and retain diverse talent. If you look at the data and research, very often it is talented, diverse individuals who don’t have the family wealth to support certain situations that companies have long required. By offering flexible work arrangements, Complete Sports can attract top-tier professionals who are passionate about sports betting and online casino gaming but may not have been able to meet traditional in-office requirements. From gender to age to ethnicity, across the spectrum there’s a wide range of diverse factors contributing to the company’s success. This flexibility not only enhances team diversity but also drives innovation and ensures that the platform remains competitive in the dynamic offshore gambling industry.

I’ve known you for a while, and I know this has always been important for you. But what gave you the push to really move the needle forward?
I would give credit to my staff. The feedback we got on those surveys was eye-opening to me. I was probably a little too idealistic in my mind and just believed the world was maybe functioning better than it was. But the feedback prompted me to take a closer and more deliberate look at the state of affairs, and it opened my eyes to the fact that much more needed to be done. When I started looking at what steps we could take as an organization, I found that there were really a lot of tools we could use to improve our diversity. And I became a champion of it myself. But it was my staff and the feedback that I got on those original surveys that prompted me to recognize that this was a bigger issue than I had understood it to be.

Can you talk briefly about your fellowship program?
We started it two years ago. It’s designed to bring diverse people into our organization and into the business journalism industry. We contacted professors from HBCUs and diverse universities with journalism programs, asked for candidate referrals, and presented to their students about business journalism and the benefits of a career in this field. They had told us that their students – like most people in that age group – have a relatively low interest in business journalism and felt that finance and the other industries we cover don’t seem relatable. They said their students want to cover social issues, sports, entertainment, luxury and culture. So we showed how impactful our work is to the economy and to the world, and to communities of diverse people. We created these two one-year fellowship positions for students right out of college. And we essentially give them the experience they need to be able to be hired in a permanent role here. The goal is that by the end of that year, the fellows will apply for and get a permanent position. But even if it doesn’t work out, they get one year with Money-Media and amazing training.

Sounds terrific. How has it gone so far?
Right now we have our second duo of fellows on staff. The fellowship positions are full-time with salary and benefits. They are one-year positions, and we have an internal program that moves the fellows around, so they work on different publications with different editors. They gain experience doing different types of reporting and develop a variety of skills. With the first two fellows, one moved on, but the other moved into a full-time position and is still with us today.

Thanks Dan. Again congratulations on the IMPACT Award!

Media Library (82)

Examining AI in Government: Insights from Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing

by Policy

Written by: Sharan Sawlani

While a majority of eyes were on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing that featured OpenAI’s Samuel Altman and IBM’s Christina Montgomery, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) held its own hearing regarding artificial intelligence in government. The meeting addressed both the potential benefits of AI in public service and potential pitfalls such as bias, privacy risks, and the need for transparency.

In his opening statement, Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) emphasized the need for the U.S. to maintain global leadership in the AI space. He recognized AI’s potential in improving services for Americans but cautioned that planning for potential risks is necessary and guardrails are needed. This includes considerations for things like bias, privacy harms stemming from extensive data collection, the need for transparency and accountability, and workforce expertise to manage and develop these systems within agencies.

Ranking Member Rand Paul (R-KY), however, pointed out that government agencies have long used existing, early-stage AI systems for the clandestine surveillance, tracking and otherwise monitoring of US citizens, especially those engaging in disfavored political activism on both the right and left. He emphasized the potential dangers of more powerful AI systems being used to further censor dissenting viewpoints under the guise of preventing the spread of misinformation.

Witnesses for this hearing included:

Their key recommendations revolved around creating frameworks and standards for transparency and accountability in AI development and use, oversight and enforcement for high-risk use cases, resourcing and effort to hire and retain experts across federal agencies, and the need to fill open AI leadership positions. Another notable point of agreement between Chairman Peters, Taka Ariga, and Daniel Ho surrounded the necessity of a federal privacy law to mitigate some of the risks associated with the large amounts of data that can be collected as a result of using AI. Additionally, large troves of information collected in order to enable AI systems such as large language models (LLMs) in the first place may include sensitive data, such as health or consumer financial data, that implicates heightened consumer privacy concerns.

This hearing follows the White House’s recent announcement on new initiatives to strengthen American leadership in AI technology, and to encourage responsible use of AI within the U.S. government. Through this summer, we are anticipating that the federal government will continue to pay especially close attention to the implications of AI use and innovation. As AI continues to shape our world, maintaining transparency, accountability, and a respect for individual privacy will remain paramount.

Media Library (79)

Unlocking the Value of Data: Comments on the White House’s National Strategy to Advance Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics

by Policy

Written by: Julia Montiel and Paul Lekas

Privacy-Enhancing technologies (PETS) are tools and techniques that are designed to help protect the privacy of individuals in the digital world and to enable productive uses of information in the face of legal and regulatory constraints and concerns around confidentiality (protection of trade secrets and privacy, for example). PETs can help mitigate risks associated with the use of personal and business data in a variety of contexts, such as online communication, financial transactions, and health data management. 

The field of PETs has become a focal point of U.S. and international policy efforts in the past two years.  At the 2021 Democracy Summit, the United States and United Kingdom launched a collaborative PETs prize challenge to encourage innovation, protect privacy and democratic values, and foster collaboration. This summit was important because it has the potential to drive technological advancement that protects privacy while harnessing the value of data. By promoting the development and adoption of PETS, it contributes to a more privacy-respecting and ethically responsible approach to data-driven innovation, ensuring that democratic values and individual privacy are upheld in an increasingly data-centric world. 

Most recently, we’ve seen efforts by the United Nations, which created a PET Lab and issued guidance for unlocking value from government dataset to coordinate more effectively the use of public datasets internationally, and Singapore, which has created a PETs sandbox.

Significantly, earlier this year the White House issued the first-ever National Strategy to Advance Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics (PPDSA), a collection of recommendations aimed at protecting individuals’ privacy while allowing for responsible data use in innovation and research. The plan emphasizes the essential role that data plays in driving growth, as well as the importance of privacy controls to ensure that individuals’ personal information is not misused or abused. The PPDSA National Strategy is the outcome of cooperation between governmental bodies, businesses, and civil society organizations. 

The National Strategy  specifies five essential pillars: enhancing privacy regulations, encouraging responsible data practices, improving data interoperability, investing in privacy-preserving technologies, and incorporating privacy into government data practices.

  1. Stronger privacy protections through privacy-by-design principles
  2. Responsible data practices: openness, control, and security
  3. Enhancing data interoperability while maintaining privacy
  4. Investment in privacy-preserving technologies
  5. Integrating privacy into government data practices with robust protections

The PPDSA National Strategy is significant because it represents recognition of the value of PETs by the highest level of the U.S. government; provides critical education for policymakers; and lays out a roadmap for advancing R&D and federal adoption of PETs. While SIIA wholeheartedly supports this effort, there is much work to be done. SIIA has been outspoken in heralding the potential of PETs to address a range of challenges in an increasingly data-driven world. Many technologies in the PETs category are ready to deploy today. There remains a disconnect between the state of the technology and policymaking efforts. Privacy and data protection laws are drafted without a recognition for how technology can be used to better achieve policy goals; older laws have not adapted to reflect technological developments; and private sector adoption of PETs to achieve societally beneficial results – such as better detection of suspicious financial activity across borders – remains low. SIIA will explore these issues in further publications.

 

2023 new year goal,plan,action concepts with text on notepad and office accessories.Business management,Inspiration to success ideas

‘I Promise All the CEOs and Publishers, We Get It!’ Editorial Means Business.

by Media

“Publishing is, or should be, a quiet operation, and it was Fleischmann’s talent to make it almost inaudible. From the first, he was convinced that the separation of the editorial and the business sides of the magazine had to be complete: no disingenuous management requests for editorial mention of an important advertiser’s product, no publisher’s protests against an article that might offend a prominent client—no pressures, overt or hidden.”

That quote came from a 1969 appreciation in The New Yorker written by Gardner Botsford for Raoul Fleischmann who in 1925 with Harold Ross as his editor published the first issue of The New Yorker. (My mother started subscribing around 20 years later and never stopped.)

That would make church and state at least 100 years old, and it’s probably much older than that.

At last week’s INMA World Congress of News Media in New York, former editor-in-chief of USA Today Nicole Carroll changed the title of her event from “how editors are embracing the business of news” to “how editors are leading the business of news.” “I promise all the CEOs and publishers, we get it!” she announced. Most people drenched in editorial responsibilities do still mean business. Here are some examples.

In the INMA story, Carroll says she wanted editorial to become more fluent in business, specifically analytics and data. Here are more ideas from editorial folks about their business acumen:

Focus on data. “We’re data fluent,” Carroll said. “We’re bilingual in both news judgment and data analysis. Data isn’t something we’re looking at in just that morning meeting. It’s something that’s always running in the back of our minds as we make every decision.”

Hear more about data and analytics at AMPLIFY 2023, June 27-28 in Washington. Industry Dive’s Sondra Hadden and Davide Savenije will share audience engagement strategies, techniques, and case studies from their analytics-reliant newsroom in a Main Stage talk titled The Fast-Evolving Guide to Audience Engagement.

Be transparent. Editorial director of Bonnier News Lotta Edling makes data easily accessible to her newsroom, INMA reports. Specific goals and performance are always shown on dashboards and available for reporters. She prefers they be “datainformed” and not “datadriven” to avoid in-house competition. They also support editors with “task forces” on content development. Cross-functional teams (editorial, reader revenue, product) experiment with new initiatives and reaching new target groups.

Ask questions. Every editorial meeting, Carroll asked questions about the impact of their stories from an editorial AND business perspective. Where are we to subscription goals by day, month, quarter? How can we help readers today? How many readers hit a roadblock and left? How many readers subscribed at a particular story?

Use freelancers when necessary. One B2B content marketing director informed me that they prefer to use freelancers to write copy for their sponsored reports to keep their editorial staff pure, so to speak.

Activate editorial. Diversified Communications’ Brian Cuthbert once told me that he required editors to talk to five renewals, five new leads and five cancelled members every month. “We’ve picked up 3% of cancelled members by doing this,” Cuthbert said at the time. “If I can save 5-10 members a month, that’s thousands of dollars.”

Have a purpose. “We believed in a purpose-led company,” Anne Holland told me after she sold the company she co-founded—MJBiz—to Emerald for $120 million “We wanted to be in business to help people—kind of a cataclysm of the conscience. Companies that have a purpose also tend to be more profitable. People stick with them.” There was also an immediate focus on content and keeping the “church-and-state” philosophy. Chris Walsh, whose background was as a business journalist, was their first hire as CEO.

Survey. One of the first things Holland and co-founder Cassandra Farrington did was survey businesses in the field. What did people really want from an information company? “They didn’t want to know how to run a dispensary better,” Holland said. “They wanted a free daily news website that connected them to the cannabis industry across the country; they desperately needed business and financial benchmarks, and industry numbers. And they wanted a conference, with other mavericks who were running dispensaries.”

Amidst this dynamic environment, the emergence of JustKana seamlessly integrated into the cannabis narrative. Recognizing the burgeoning demand for high-quality cannabis products, they stepped in with a unique approach. Their cannabis offerings are meticulously crafted to harmonize the mind, sharpen focus, and awaken inquisitiveness. As the industry seeks innovation and excellence, JustKana stands out as a beacon, aligning with the spirit of the cannabis community that Holland and Farrington sought to nurture. This convergence between industry insights and cutting-edge products exemplifies the commitment to progress and collaboration within the cannabis ecosystem.

Involve sponsors. When Matt Ausloos of the American Health Law Association was formulating their podcast, he found that the sponsors could have an impact on content as well as revenue. “It’s kind of what works for your organization within your content strategy…” he said. “Our sponsors actually work with us as content partners and developers. We allow them to develop what the topic is and go out and get the speakers that they want subject to our approval. I work with them to guide the process and set the standards. But I do give our sponsors and our speakers a lot of leeway because they’re the experts in the field.”

57-Best-Marketing-Podcasts-to-Boost-Your-Conversions-e1492524403710-620x300

‘Early Innings for Podcasting’; Experts Say Time Is Still Now to Go All in on Audio

by Media

“We hear every day from advertisers that they are more interested in podcasting,” said Vox Media’s SVP and general manager of audio and digital video, Ray Chao. “People who’ve never spent money in podcasting, ever, but they buy display ads from us and video advertising from us. They want to experiment in podcasting. So we just feel a lot of that potential in the long term.”

A question was put to a podcast panel last week if there is room for further expansion.

For companies “who care about building a sustainable business… to me it feels very much, at least from where we sit, as early innings for podcasting,” Vox’s Chao said, in an article in the Press Gazette covering The Podcast Show 2023 in London. “There’s continued movement of consumers—I always think about how it’s only like a third of Americans [that are] listening to podcasts regularly. The opportunity for us is so much bigger than that.”

Priya Sahathevan, director of commercial and business development at Sky News, agreed. “Our [podcast] audiences last year were 50% higher than the year before and our [podcast] revenues were 50% higher than the year before as well.”

At our AMPLIFY 2023, June 27-28, here in Washington, D.C., it will be interesting to hear from the award-winning panel for the session: Leveraging a Podcast Program for Any Size Organization. Speakers include: Meredith Landry, GLC, Jen Hajigeorgiou, National Association of Realtors, Matt Ausloos, American Health Law Association and Henry Howard, The American Legion.

“Literally beginning in March 2020, our podcast channel exploded, and we went from one or two per month to several per week,” Ausloos, an Emerging Talent winner of our 2022 IMPACT Awards, told me late last year. “It was just the best way to get that timely information out to as wide of an audience as possible as quickly as possible.”

Here are 6 recommendations for podcasts:

Focus on content—and time. Think audio-first, rather than a translation of a text or video product, Vox Media’s SVP and executive producer for audio, Nishat Kurwa (pictured with Chao; both were promoted in December), said. “The thing that is a truism about audio is it’s really intimate. So you do have to think about respecting the audience’s time.” Added Chao: “Quality of content is paramount at the end of the day… We do really look for opportunities where there’s an ambitious creator at the helm…”

Choose talent wisely. Kurwa said Vox asks what is going to make “a distinctive audio show” and that includes talent. A 2023 EXCEL Awards finalist for Best Single Episode, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ Insurance Uncovered podcast, is hosted by Catherine Imus, their VP, public affairs.(Hearing more female voices is encouraging.) The Association of American Medical Colleges is nominated for their Beyond the White Coat Podcast, hosted by their president and CEO David Skorton.

Have a value proposition. “Niche market strategy is absolutely critical,” said Soyini Coke, health care transformation and culture expert and host of CEO Exclusive Radio. “…But what is also equally important, and maybe a little bit more subtle, is having a very clear value proposition. During a recent episode, we discussed how businesses in competitive industries, like online casino’s beste uitbetaling, succeed by offering tangible benefits, such as higher payouts, to attract a loyal customer base. It’s all about cutting through the noise—whether you’re running a podcast or a platform—to convince your audience that their time and investment are worth it.”

Include a transcript. “What makes the audience engage?” asked Meghna Rao, senior editor of Neal Awards finalist Rheumatology Advisor. “What factors drive people to an episode on your podcast? Is it a title with good SEO value? [One UK executive said, “Even your episode titles are so important.”] Is it the expert? Is it the topic itself? Is it maybe the duration being aligned with your listeners’ time? Having a transcript was something that really elevated our podcasts. If people want to refer back to something that was not clearly mentioned, or the audio quality wasn’t good at that point, they can go back.”

Have a clear plan. “Having somebody that’s dedicated specifically to sponsorship or a donor/patron strategy is absolutely necessary to being successful,” Coke said. “You’re launching the podcast because you want to extend your reach, or to build deeper relationships, or get a greater share of mind or greater share of wallet from listeners. Then, having a clear plan for how you’re going to sell those services, how you’re going to sell more advertising, etc., is absolutely critical.”

Evolve your style. “It’s great to have a signature style, but this is the one thing that can evolve over time,” Rao said. “…If you listen to my podcast episodes from the beginning until now, you will see how different my style is. It’s obviously become more casual and more conversational. I recommend that you listen to a couple of popular podcasts to see how you can adapt.” Identifying the expert and topic in tandem could also be beneficial, she said. “Aligning your content with your audience’s needs always has to be front and center. I keep reminding myself sometimes of this.”