The Weekly Bulletin | March 18, 2025

Hi SODP community,

Let’s recap on what’s been happening, the new content, industry updates, tips, and more.

TIP OF THE WEEK

AI is reshaping digital news publishing, automation is cheap, content is commoditised, and search is being redefined, forcing publishers to rethink strategies for content creation and monetisation.

At the final session of WordPress Publisher Success Week, I hosted a discussion on AI’s growing impact on digital news media. Pete Pachal (The Media Copilot) and Matthew Karolian (The Boston Globe) joined me, sharing insights on AI’s influence on content creation, revenue models, and search.

AI-driven content is now widely accessible, reducing the need for mass-produced, low-value articles. Pete highlighted that while AI-generated “slop” exists, publishers are also leveraging AI for niche tasks. ESPN covers less prominent sports with AI-generated reports, and Quartz extracts financial data for quick news updates. While AI can automate routine tasks, publishers need to determine where it adds value beyond mass content production.

Matthew underscored a critical shift: traditional content distribution models are failing. AI-generated search results reduce clicks, pushing publishers to seek alternative revenue streams. Future monetisation could involve original reporting that AI cannot replicate, subscription-driven models over ad-based revenue, and direct audience engagement via AI-powered tools.

New AI-powered search tools like Perplexity challenge Google’s long-standing grip on information discovery. Unlike traditional search, AI-based tools provide direct answers rather than links, raising key questions. Will Google maintain its dominance? Can publishers optimise content for AI search engines? How will legal battles around AI training data shape the future?

The truth is that AI is here to stay. To integrate AI effectively, publishers should:

• Develop clear AI guidelines for content creation.

• Experiment with AI chatbots for user engagement.

• Leverage AI for internal workflows (e.g., summarisation, metadata tagging).

• Test off-the-shelf AI tools before investing in proprietary models.

Matthew shared how The Boston Globe uses AI-driven social media tools and WordPress plugins to streamline content distribution, proving AI can enhance, not replace editorial workflows.

Here are key takeaways:

1. AI accelerates commoditisation, making unique, high-value journalism more crucial than ever.

2. Publishers must rethink revenue streams, with subscriptions and direct engagement replacing ad dependency.

3. AI-powered search engines are reshaping traffic patterns, posing a challenge to Google’s dominance.

4. Practical AI adoption requires experimentation and clear policies to balance automation with editorial quality.

AI’s influence on news media is evolving rapidly. The time to act is now.

SODP POSTS

7 Best Self-Publishing Companies for Books

You’ve poured your heart into writing a book, not just to see it gather dust in the shadows of a crowded market. You are here to connect with readers, make profits, and leave a mark.

Self-publishing is the key to making that happen, but with the number of self-published books increasing by 264% in the last five years (and only 300 million books sold annually), the competition is fierce.

How do you ensure your story doesn’t get lost? It starts with choosing a self-publishing platform you can trust.

The right platform doesn’t just print your book. It empowers you with high-quality printing, marketing solutions, wide distribution services, and fair pricing so your work shines in the whopping $151.9 billion book industry.

The wrong one? It can bury you under fees, restrictions, and limited reach.

Your books deserve better than that. So, how do you choose a partner that has got your back? In this guide, we will walk you through what to look for and share the top self-publishing companies to bring your book to life with confidence.

Let’s dive in!

READ MORE

JOB BOARD

➡️ BuzzFeed is looking for a social media strategist who will help her to shape how her content is distributed across social platforms, drive engagement, and experiment with new storytelling formats. (NY). SEE MORE

➡️Gannett  is seeking a commentary editor to solicit and edit compelling opinion essays for publication at USA TODAY, identify writers with expertise to address issues in the news, edit their submissions and work with other opinion editors (US). SEE MORE

COMMUNITY BUZZ

Industry News

➡️ From automating review responses to suppressing negative search results, AI is making online reputation management (ORM) faster, smarter, and more effective. But while AI offers powerful tools, businesses must use them strategically to maintain authenticity and trust. READ MORE

➡️ Fabrice Canel from the Microsoft Bing team told SEOs that instead of focusing on traffic and rankings, they should focus on conversions and click value. He said on X, "SEOs should focus on conversion. "He added, "What’s the quality & conversion value of these clicks/searches? READ MORE 

Social Media Discussions

➡️ Adam Gent on LinkedIn:

Did you know Google manages its search index using session logs (click data)?

The DOJ trial revealed that Google stores session logs detailing the pathway consumers take through its search engine to their destinations.

While many SEO professionals discuss how Google uses click data for rankings, these user interactions also play a crucial role in managing the search index itself.

According to the Google Search Engine Monopoly Ruling:

"Indexing benefits from user-side data... User-side data enables a GSE to know which pages must continue to be maintained in the index."

-Testimony from Prabhakar Nayak (Google)

CONTINUE READING

These are the highlights for the last week.

Until next!

Vahe Arabian and the editorial team at SODP