Subscriptions, GenAI, and apps were on the minds of newsmedia executives in 2024, according to a review by INMA senior editor Dawn McMullan.

“Of the 777 blogs we produced, it’s always a fun look at the end of the year to see which ones resonated most,” she says.

Two priorities – other than awards – showed through the list of topics.

“Subscriptions and reader revenue continue to be a priority interest, with three of the top ten – written by INMA ‘readers first initiative’ lead Greg Piechota – specifically about the subject and all ten touching on it.

McMullan says there’s considerable interest in what big brands are doing, specifically the New York Times and the Washington Post.

INMA’s chief executive and executive director Earl Wilkinson also looked back to the lessons of 2024 in an end-of-the-year blog ‘What publishers can control and not control’.

Priorities he listed included: the importance of journalism; that there is no subscription volume ceiling; how GenAI will impact the news ecosystem; fighting or embracing tech companies; and the news brand as centrifugal force.

McMullan’s ‘top ten’ included Piechota’s list of why digital news subscriptions are stagnating, and his review of lessons from the Washington Post boycott, and the ‘Trump Slump”.

INMA’s Sonali Verma looked at the many ways media companies are already using GenAI – citing India Today’s AI news anchor (pictured top) – while product and tech initiative lead Jodie Hopperton looked at the New York Times’ new super app – “a master class in formats vs. content” – and a review to include live images.

INMA blogger Anjali Iyer looked at triggered emails at the Washington Post, where she is head of lifecycle marketing, and pronounced them an opportunity for personalised engagement and lasting connections.

Iyer also looked at how the Post’s Newsprint “personalises journalism and drives engagement”, using a quiz to provide personalised recommendations and identify individual reader types.

Back to subscriptions for number eight, with Piechota’s ‘ten commandments’ that news subscription executives should memorise.

Founder of UK-based Axate Dominic Young wrote in January that news publishers should “get serious about rebooting business models”, warning that there were disadvantages in relying solely on subscriptions to provide a revenue stream.

And McMullan’s ‘top ten’ ended as it had begun, with Greg Piechota’s June blog on consumer willingness to pay for online news.