Michelle Fyrne, group editor of SoGlos, on revamping regional media

Subscribe to the Journalism.co.uk podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud and Spotify

SoGlos is an independent media publication that launched in 2007 to provide the local readers of Gloucestershire with the very best arts and entertainment updates for their local area. Over time it expanded into lifestyle coverage, and then, prompted by the pandemic, into local business coverage as well.

You could think of it as a 'Time Out for Gloucestershire', providing a mixture of news coverage and evergreen content on events. For the last 15 years, this model has stood the test of time, garnering 22k sign-ups to its free membership, 85k followers across social media, 34k newsletter subscribers and 146k monthly visitors to the website.

It has built up a loyal following of readers alongside strong commercial contacts. Both of which are key for the next phase in SoGlos’ development.

Marking its 15th anniversary, the publication has revealed the fruits of a year-long effort to revamp its operations: a suite of new tools turbo charge its membership offering and overhaul its website for the better. The cookieless future and the urgency to collect first-party data has also driven these plans.

In this week's podcast, SoGlos group editor Michelle Fyrne says that they have a working blueprint to scale the business up. She'll be telling us about that vision: from the new pandemic-inspired change in editorial direction, to the latest pivots in their revenue streams and a CMS designed by journalists to make their journalists' lives much easier.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).