Hi there,
Punchbowl has burst onto the scene with its buzzy newsletter products, but I’ve also been impressed by its events business.
In 2023, so far Punchbowl has held or scheduled at least 22 sponsor-supported events. Most follow a consistent formula:
An interview with a political figure, often a congressperson
A “fireside chat” with the event’s sponsor
In-person (in Washington DC) and virtual
The events double as reporting that can help fuel the newsletter – for example, an event with House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry supplied a key quote featured in the next day’s newsletter.
In May, Punchbowl offered a scaled-up version of their formula with its Women Challenging Washington event, hosting multiple panels & networking sessions. (Attendees could also get headshots, which I thought was a cool perk.)
Each event is generally supported by one or two sponsors, spanning categories such as finance (e.g. Goldman Sachs), pharma (e.g. AstraZeneca), and tech (e.g. Google). The event’s moderator, often Punchbowl Founder & CEO Anna Palmer, will interview the headliner guest as well as the sponsor, which brings continuity to the event.
There’s so much value in an effective, repeatable formula – and it seems that Punchbowl has found one.
To go deeper:
Punchbowl’s events schedule
A Semafor deep dive about Punchbowl’s reporting
Axios pieces about Punchbowl’s new financial services coverage and text alerts
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And here’s the latest news in digital media:
Launches:
Yahoo Finance is launching a number of new video shows.
The Examination, a health news nonprofit, launched with a model anchored around collaboration with major outlets, including WaPo, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and USA Today.
Billboard and TikTok partnered to create a “top 50” song chart.
Publishers are creating Taylor Swift and Beyonce reporting beats.
Benchmarks:
Cuts:
The Dallas Morning News is offering buyouts.
The Toronto Star’s parent company is cutting 600 jobs and seeking bankruptcy protection for the newspaper unit.
Publishers & government:
The White House sent a letter to top news companies asking them to increase their scrutiny of the impeachment inquiry.
The RCFP and 62 media organizations urged the Supreme Court to continue live audio of oral arguments.
More on publishers:
Hedge fund founder Ken Griffin subpoenaed ProPublica for documents related to stories about his tax returns.
Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner was removed from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his comments diminishing the contributions of Black and female artists.
The MailOnline will pay “substantial damages” after publishing a false claim.
Politico Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza is reportedly in talks about joining the NYT.
AI & platforms:
AI-generated articles by G/O Media’s A.V. Club have copied content from IMDB.
Microsoft’s MSN published a garbled, inappropriate obituary, apparently generated by AI.
Adobe is paying bonuses to contributors whose work is used to train its AI model.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino made a number of new hires, including executives from NBCUniversal, Warner Bros, and Dow Jones.
Artifact added a “links” tab.
Interesting reads:
An experiment giving readers a say in what stories are pursued (Nieman Lab)
Background on politicians’ retaliation against local papers via revoking public notice contracts (Freedom of the Press Foundation)
An interview with Future CEO Jon Steinberg about his business and “high-intent” media (Press Gazette)
How live blogs are still working for top publishers (Press Gazette)
The Seattle Times’ 127th anniversary message (Seattle Times)
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