The Media Club · 2 September 2022 · 38 min

Journalists strike; Snap downsizes & The News Agents arrives

With Charlotte Tobitt, James Cridland, Dino Sofos, Lewis Goodall

Listen at themediaclub.com →AppleSpotify

• Reach Journalists Strike
• BBC News Restructure
• Snap Restructure
• The News Agents Launch
• True Crime Podcasts and Justice
• Media Pay and Cost of Living
• Politicians Avoiding Media
• Twitter Edit Button

In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is joined by Charlotte Tobitt (UK Editor, Press Gazette) and James Cridland (Editor, Podnews) to discuss the week's media news. Topics include the Reach journalists' strike over pay, potential BBC News strikes over channel closures, Snap's major restructure and layoffs, the launch of The News Agents podcast with Dino Sofos and Lewis Goodall, the conviction of Chris Dawson in the Teacher's Pet true crime case, and a media quiz covering a hot mic incident, Liz Truss cancelling an interview, and Twitter's edit button. The episode also touches on the broader challenges facing legacy media and the rise of podcasting.

Key takeaways

• Reach journalists went on strike over a 3% pay offer, citing cost of living and CEO pay.
• BBC journalists are considering strike action over proposed channel closures and job cuts.
• Snap laid off 20% of staff and cancelled original shows as part of a restructure.
• The News Agents podcast launched with Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall.
• Chris Dawson was convicted in the Teacher's Pet case, raising questions about true crime podcasts and justice.

In this episode

• Intro and news round-up0:00 · Matt introduces the show and gives a quick round-up of media news.
• Reach strike discussion0:00 · Charlotte and James discuss the Reach journalists' strike.
• BBC news restructure0:00 · Discussion on potential BBC strikes and channel merger.
• Snap restructure0:00 · Analysis of Snap's layoffs and content cuts.
• The News Agents interview0:00 · Interview with Dino Sofos and Lewis Goodall about their new podcast.
• True crime and justice0:00 · Discussion on The Teacher's Pet and the Chris Dawson conviction.
• Media quiz0:00 · Quiz on media stories of the week.
• Outro0:00 · Wrap-up and plugs.

Notable quotes

“It's very clear that there's a bunch of money going into the podcast industry over there.”

James Cridland · 0:00

“We're the ones that produce all of the content that enables Reach to make money. We should be being paid more fairly.”

Charlotte Tobitt · 0:00

“I think there's a real challenge about reinventing the TV news package for a new age.”

Lewis Goodall · 0:00

“We want to create a habit. We want people to find this as a useful space to learn about what's going on in the world.”

Dino Sofos · 0:00

“My suspicion is that we will see podcasts in the future which actually stop a court case going ahead and possibly allow some of the guilty to go free.”

James Cridland · 0:00

“It's only an edit button. How does it possibly take all of these people to make it happen?”

James Cridland · 0:00

Discussed

Reach · BBC · Snap Inc. · Global

Also mentioned: Jim Mullen · Tim Davie · Emily Maitlis · Jon Sopel · Bill Turnbull · Charles Wilson · Boris Johnson · Liz Truss · Rishi Sunak · Nick Robinson · Adam Fleming · Ros Atkins · Hedley Thomas · Chris Dawson · Lynette Dawson · Sam Haverson · Press Gazette · Podnews · The Australian · News Corp · GB News · Channel 4 · Netflix · Disney+

Mentioned or recommended

• The Teacher's Pet · podcast · Hedley Thomas
• The News Agents · podcast · Global
• AmeriCast · podcast
• Future of Media Explained · podcast · Press Gazette
• The Media Show · tv show · BBC
• Good Morning Britain · tv show · ITV
• GB News Day · tv show · GB News
• GB News Live · tv show · GB News
• Sounds Profitable Day · event
• Podcast Movement · event