Former Bloomberg and Protocol reporter Joe Williams is not your typical pitch target. He does write a weekly Substack newsletter called Billable Hours, in which he writes about enterprise tech topics. But time has marched on…
When between jobs, otherwise inaccessible tech editors have the time to explain how they view their own work. When they do, tech PR must take note.
Protocol lasted nearly three years. Such a shame. It was a publication that absolutely, positively should have succeeded. Why didn’t it? The official explanation: economic headwinds. Other factors might have been at play.
One year ago Tom Krazit Tweeted: “…some personal/Protocol news: I’m now the Enterprise Editor for Protocol | Enterprise, overseeing coverage and planning for a big expansion. We are hiring for five (5!) new enterprise reporters to work with me and @JoePWilliams31…”
Each June we study Similarweb data to see which Tier 1 brands are on the march. This year, far and away, it’s Protocol and Fortune.
PR pros often wonder how to measure the influence of a particular publication. Similarweb measures audience size and that’s great. How do you measure a publication’s relationship with its readers?
Apart from the new targets, there’s much to grasp about Protocol’s new investments in enterprise tech edit. In the biggest picture, Protocol owner Axel Springer is investing in Protocol across the board.
As TechCrunch is to funding news and hot startups, Protocol is to enterprise computing. Last year you couldn’t say that, especially after go-to reporter Joe Williams departed for Bloomberg. This year you totally can. Protocol recently hired three enterprise reporters and seeks two more.
Protocol has not only hired a boatload of top journalists in its first 18 months, but also has recruited almost 200 contributors whose work appears in a thought leadership vertical called Braintrust. If you represent thought leaders, you’ll enjoy this Q&A with Protocol associate editor Kevin McAllister — your pitch contact — and Protocol president Tammy Wincup.
PR pros can learn a lot about Protocol Enterprise as a brand — and about the art of interviewing — by watching the Mar. 9 Protocol Live web event, in which senior Protocol reporters Tom Krazit and Joe Williams interview executives from Google and industrial IoT startup Webee.
YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
While the NYT pursues its suit against OpenAI, the Financial Times has chosen to license its content to help OpenAI train current and future LLMs. The NYT seems to be on the wrong side of this issue, with the Associated Press and Axel Springer also choosing to see OpenAI as a source of income, rather than an enemy.
Here’s the opposing view, from Press Gazette’s Dominic Young, who advises publishers to play a game of chicken with OpenAI and its LLM competitors.
… and it has no problem disclosing how. Reporters still run the joint, but they are getting AI assistance.
The Atlantic’s Karen Hao, in conjunction with the Pulitzer Center, is designing a course in AI for journalists. Classes begin next month. Details here. Might be something to alert your friendlies about. Karen hopes to help train 1,000 journalists in AI over the next two years.
Joshua Topolsky‘s edit project for Robinhood is optimized for mobile but you can peruse it here. The design seems crazy. Context from Axios’s Sara Fischer here.
‘The Prompt” is not out yet, but you can sign up for it here.
That’s the strategy as expressed to NYT’s Katie Robertson by Axios CEO Jim VandeHei. First up: Eleanor Hawkins, Sara Fischer and Dan Primack.
