Ashwin Saddul is the Founder and Managing Director of Better than Paper, a service that helps to democratise the publishing industry by providing publishers of all sizes with cost-effective software to build digital magazines. From the start "it was all about levelling the playing the field and giving publishers the chance to experiment with their own format," Saddul explains. "The technology is affordable so you can go out and experiment, fail quickly and learn quickly."

The Corporate Responsibility Manager of TI Media, Jane Mortimore, explains exactly what her role entails, the four pillars she focuses on and how she is navigating these uncertain times.

A lesson we learnt last week was that when we all pull together as an industry we can achieve great things. Later this year, we look forward to the axing of a digital reading tax, as Rishi Sunak announced in his March 2020 Budget. ​​​​​​​I spoke with Owen Meredith, PPA MD, who charts the success of our #AxeTheReadingTax campaign and what this now means for publishers in the UK.

Winner of Best Branded Podcast at the Publisher Podcast Awards was The River Group's audio creation for Holland & Barrett, Healthy For Men. We spoke with its producer, Andy Greening, about the secret behind this success and the podcast he has recently produced for The River Group, Content Talks.

The biggest story in the world at the moment is a science story and "right in the wheelhouse" of New Scientist, a brand that has gone from strength to strength in the last two years. Emily Wilson, Editor of New Scientist speaks to PPA about the process behind editing a weekly magazine, the driving forces behind its first circulation rise in 12 years and how the Coronavirus will be dominating the front page this month.

Colouring Heaven magazine launches a new paid-for newsletter this week, dedicated to giving colourists the chance to discover new illustrators and artists.

Having worked in the publishing industry for over thirty years, Adrian Barrick has taken on roles in all areas, from reporter, to editor to publisher and now editorial director at Incisive Media. In this Under the Radar interview, Barrick charts the change in the industry he has experienced first hand and reflects on the highlights of his career, which have included winning PPA Editor of the Year and launching a magazine, website and awards in three weeks.

With only two days to go until The PPA Awards entry deadline, we spoke to the Editor of the PPA Magazine Brand of the Year, 2019. Launched in 1897, Country Life has been in publication for over 120 years and this year celebrated a decade of ABC print increases, testament to to the strength of the title's editorial and loyal audience."The best piece of advice I ever received was that you must put the reader first," said Mark Hedges, Editor of Country Life. "A reader is the most precious thing."

Last September, DC Thomson Media launched a new glossy, monthly magazine, aimed at women over 55. This marked the biggest women's magazine launch in over a decade, and it is Ali Kirker who sits at the helm as Editor. Since getting her first job at Jackie magazine when she was 17, Kirker worked across the industry, in both newspapers and magazines, with a little detour into finance, before returning to magazines to edit Platinum.

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, the annual celebration which brings this community together to celebrate the impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers and the economy. We spoke to Felix Page who is coming to the end of his apprenticeship at Haymarket and the start of his full-time contracted position as a reporter on Car & Accessory Trader (CAT) magazine.

After years of experience working across the magazine industry, from TV Hits, to Company to Good Housekeeping, Victoria White now works to provide commercial content to brands outside of Hearst as Editorial Director of Hearst Content Agency. "Brands are really hungry for content," she tells me, which can include in-store magazines, websites and social channels. "The world of commercial content is incredibly creative and expansive."

Anthem Publishing has unveiled its brand new website www.anthem.co.uk, along with the rebranding of its logo and shop site.

In November this year, TI Media launched a brand new luxury travel product to add to their portfolio, called The Caribou. The Editor, Stephanie Wood, spoke to us about the challenges of launching a new brand and the advantages of knowing your specific audience.  

Visit The Caribou

The new website for Vegan Food & Living is now live, the first of Anthem Publishing’s brands to undergo a complete overhaul.

Brooks, ON Running, Decathlon and Tikiboo are among the winners of the UK’s running awards, created by Women’s Running magazine. The full results are to be announced at the end of this month, online as well as in the magazine’s biggest ever awards special print issue.

B2B and consumer independent publishers gathered under one roof at etc.venues, 133 Houndsditch last Friday for a morning of presentations followed by an afternoon of awards recognising the very best talent in the UK independent publishing industry.