High Value Publishing – Details, episodes & analysis

Eric Shanfelt and Jez Walters dig into the publishing news that mattered in May 2026, with a recurring theme tying most of the stories together: unique, authentic, non-commodity content wins. They cover the case for labeling AI content, how to become a Google Preferred Source, the newsprint supply squeeze, where AI is actually impacting publisher operations, Diario Vivo's live journalism events, Danny Sullivan's take on GEO vs. SEO, Stern's ground-up content reset, The Times' "fewer, better stories" growth strategy, and Anijam.ai as the AI tool of the month.

Links and resources mentioned in this episode are available on the website at https://nearviewmedia.com/

Eric Shanfelt and Jez Walters cover the latest news and developments affecting media companies and publishers. This month's topics include:

• AI missteps at major newsrooms — The New York Times, Ars Technica, and one of the Netherlands' most prominent news brands all made headlines recently for AI-related editorial failures. Eric and Jez discuss what went wrong and what practical guardrails publishers should have in place.
• Using AI to research your advertisers — Time magazine built an AI visibility tool to analyze how brands appear across generative AI platforms, then used those insights to sell sponsored content. Eric breaks down how any publisher can do the same with existing tools.
• Shipstead's open-source video tool — The European publishing house open-sourced VideoFi on GitHub, a tool that automatically converts text articles into short-form videos. Jez walks through how it works and why short-form video matters for audience growth.
• Dynamic pricing at the Washington Post — The Post is experimenting with dynamic subscription pricing, and not everyone thinks it's a good idea. Eric shares why industry voices like Sean Griffey and Rafat Ali are pushing back, and how it ties into the broader conversation around reader trust.
• DPG Media's free student subscriptions — The large Dutch publisher opened its entire portfolio of titles to students at no cost, signing up 93,000 subscribers in a week. Jez, who is currently reporting on this story, explains the strategy and what DPG is learning from the data.
• Reddit Pro opens to all publishers — Reddit's pro tools are now free and available to publishers, with features like RSS posting, AI community targeting, and analytics. Eric and Jez discuss how to actually get started and why most publishers don't yet have a Reddit strategy.

All links mentioned in this episode are available at nearviewmedia.com.

If you are a local or regional publisher, your Google Business Profile is one of the most overlooked assets you have. It is not just a “listing.” It is a credibility signal, a discovery surface in Search and Maps, and a practical way to build trust in your brand, your website, and your audience in Google’s eyes.

In this session, Eric Shanfelt breaks down how Google Business Profiles work for media companies, what matters most inside the profile, and how to turn it into a trust channel, not a set-it-and-forget-it directory entry.

You will learn how to:

• Claim and complete the core business info that Google relies on.
• Choose categories, service areas, and hours in a way that fits publishers.
• Build momentum with photos, reviews, and reputation responses.
• Use Posts and Offers to promote stories and subscription campaigns.
• Embed your Google Business Profile on your site.
• Tie it into your site’s entity signals and schema.

Key links:
https://business.google.com/

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

AI junk content, Meta’s new AI licensing deals, Google’s latest core update, experimental pay-per-article wallets, and creator-journalists with bigger followings than local newsrooms all collide in this episode of “What’s New in Publishing.”

Eric Shanfelt and Jez Walters unpack how these shifts are reshaping the playing field for news, magazine, B2B, and city/regional publishers, and what practical moves you can make right now.

In this conversation, they dig into:

• The surge of low quality AI content and why platforms should be forced to label and filter it.
• Meta’s AI licensing deals with big legacy brands and what they signal for everyone else.
• The Tow Center’s “AI deals and disputes” tracker and how publishers can use it. https://tow.cjr.org/ai-deals-lawsuits/ 
• SuperTab’s wallet based, time-boxed access model and where it might actually work.
• The November Google core update, AI overviews, and why generic how-tos are losing out.
• The reality of AI driven subscription pricing versus keeping things simple.
• The rise of creator-journalists like “Cody the weather guy” and what that means for local publishers.

If you run a niche B2B brand, a city or regional publication, or a specialist news site, this episode will help you sort out what actually matters in the current AI and search upheaval and where to focus your effort in the coming year.

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

Should publishers block AI bots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity from crawling their sites? If so, what is the smartest way to do it?

In this session, Eric Shanfelt shows you how generative AI is impacting publication search traffic, which types of publications are most at risk, and a practical framework for deciding whether blocking AI crawlers makes sense for your business. He then breaks down step-by-step how to actually block these bots at the robots.txt and firewall level without accidentally cutting off Google and other legitimate search engines.

You'll learn:

• How quickly generative AI usage is growing and what that means for publisher traffic.
• Which publishers face the highest AI threat level (national news, hobby/enthusiast, B2B, city and regional lifestyle, city and regional business) and why.
• Real examples where blocking AI bots did not impact on organic search or overall visits.
• A simple recipe for blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt and keeping that list updated.
• Why you also need firewall or hosting level rules, not just robots.txt.
• When it makes sense to geo-block your site from countries with heavy bot activity.
• Common mistakes to avoid, including accidentally blocking normal search engine bots.

Whether you run a national news or B2B trade site, or a local consumer or business publication, this episode will help you decide where you stand on AI crawlers and give you a clear, practical playbook for protecting your content.

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

Eric Shanfelt teams up with Jez Walters from What’s New in Publishing for a concise, no-nonsense update on the most important stories and developments impacting the future of publishing.

In this session we cover:

• OpenAI honoring robots.txt, but getting around it using Common Crawl.

• Who is actually losing traffic from AI overviews ... and who is actually gaining traffic.

• How publishers are making money by licensing their archives.

• Nextdoor News accounts and Reddit Pro tools for publishers.

• Third party cookies / Privacy Sandbox update and implications publishers.

• The email deliverability bar is getting higher.

• Looking to sell your media company? Buyers now expect a clear AI strategy.

Key links:

https://whatsnewinpublishing.substack.com/

https://about.nextdoor.com/publishers

https://www.business.reddit.com/blog/reddit-pro-for-publishers

https://collingwood.group/the-collingwood-market-report/

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

Why do some digital media companies thrive while others fail?

With over 30 years in the industry, digital media veteran Eric Shanfelt has seen what works and what doesn't. In this reboot of the "High Value Publishing" webinar series, Eric breaks down the 7 essential characteristics of a successful digital media company.

• Commitment from executive leadership.
• Content readers actually want.
• Website-first publishing.
• Simple, scalable business models.
• Effective execution.
• Knowing and using digital KPIs.
• Staying current, but avoiding "Shiny Object Syndrome"

This is the essential starting point for any publisher, owner, or media professional looking to build a sustainable and profitable digital business.

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

If implemented properly, Meta Ads can be a cost-effective way for a publisher to drive website traffic and grow their email list.

In this High Value Publishing session, Eric Shanfelt is joined by digital industry legend, Dennis Yu. Dennis is the CTO and co-founder of BlitzMetrics and a former search engine engineer. He's managed billions of dollars with Meta ad campaigns.

Eric and Dennis show two different, cost-effective, ad campaigns for publishers: one to drive website traffic and another to rapidly build email lists. They show how each campaign is built, what they looked like, and how you can do it for your brand.

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

As publishers, our email reputation and deliverability is critical. Google Postmaster Tools is a free tool that any publisher can use to see how well they are doing at delivering email to Gmail and Google Workspace users. Think of it like Google Search Console, but for email. It provides insights into email performance, sender reputation, and potential deliverability issues. Google Postmaster Tools provides insight into your:

• Spam Rate
• IP Reputation
• Domain Reputation
• Feedback Loop (FBL)
• Email Authentication (DKIM, SPF, DMARC)
• Email Encryption (TLS)
• Delivery Errors

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/

In this week's session of High Value Publishing, we're shifting focus from our usual digital strategies to reflect on what lies ahead for media companies in 2024 including:

• The enforcement of stronger email authentication by Google and Yahoo.
• The removal of third-party cookies, particularly in Google Chrome.
• The integration of Artificial Intelligence into search engines.
• Google's focus on EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) for search rankings.
• The need for publishers to differentiate their advertising offerings from competitors and programmatic offerings.
• The importance of excellence in fundamental operations like website, email, social media and subscriptions.

Learn more at https://nearviewmedia.com/