Targets to Reach for


Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport.

It's another international break (in football). The perfect opportunity for attention to turn to the domestic women's game. The appetite for women’s football in the UK seems to be growing, thanks in no small part to the decision to move coverage of games not shown on linear TV to YouTube. Per The Guardian, numbers are up threefold from last season when fans had to use the extremely clunky FA Player to watch the games. After the first three matchdays, total live views had cleared 1.5 million.

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Reach Hacks "Not Allowed to do Journalism"

A journalist on one of Reach’s national publications has spoken of the strain the growing demands of editors at Reach is putting on staff. These outlets tend to have small staffs but are being asked to publish evermore stories. Quantity, not quality, increasingly seems to be the name of the game.

Reach owns national brands like The Mirror and Daily Star and local brands like The Manchester Evening News and the Live set of websites. Last week, HoldTheFrontPage got hold of an email written by someone they refer to as “a senior Reach editor”. This person called on his troops to produce “at least eight stories a shift” to help improve traffic.

Press Gazette confirmed that that email came from Graeme Brown, who runs Birmingham Live. I’ve been told his edict was specifically about the brand he runs. A further email from Paul Rowland, Editorial Director (Live Network) following newsroom feedback read...

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The Addition

Charlotte Henry is a journalist and broadcaster who creates and runs The Addition newsletter and podcast; an award-winning publication looking at the crossover between media and technology.

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Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. We all want to work on projects we're passionate about, but sometimes compromises need to be made. This is particularly true in the current media environment. Is there a way to turn that passion into profits and, therefore, a sustainable media business? Peter Houston from Media Voices and Magazine Diaries/Grub Street Journal comes back on the podcast to discuss it all. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on...

Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the need for the WSL to get more competitive if it is going to maintain media interest. This weekend was very illustrative. The managers like to emphasise how difficult the league is. Tottenham's Robert Vilahamn called the WSL "crazy competitive" in a press conference on Friday. Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor has said similar. However, only Vilahamn's team ended up in a...

Welcome to The Addition, where I cover the crossover between culture, media and sport. What's this? A newsletter on a Thursday? Yes! I thought that you might appreciate your second dose of independent media reporting and analysis earlier in the week, so I'm now going to publish on a Thursday instead of a Friday. Not that long ago, I revealed the strain hacks at Reach are under as their bosses impose ever more demanding targets on them. It’s all in the name of traffic. Of course. Since then,...