Episode 6: The world of paid content (Ramona Pringle & Sean Stanleigh)

Newsrooms & journalists use their stories to drive reach, subscriptions, and their social license to be in business. Their copy is their product tho they don’t describe it that way.But, news brands, companies and platforms have other ideas. The short hand in the backrooms is mixed and confusing: sponsored content, native, advertorial. For many, all of it a series of dirty words dripping in bad writing and ugly stock photos. Content that brands and corporations pay for is definitely some form of journalism, but often supported by paid efforts on search & social, designed to grow revenue for those who decide to use the tactic.On this episode of the Middle, the world of paid content & search. We talk to two industry experts who follow trends and the human impact of this work closely.Sean Stanleigh is the Managing Editor of the Globe and Mail’s Content Studio which is the content-marketing arm of The Globe and Mail. He describes his team’s work as “blending journalistic intuition and experience to craft great storytelling on behalf of brands, positioning them as thought leaders with influential audiences across multiple platforms.” He is also co-chair of Lab351, the company’s internal business incubator, which is training employees to think like entrepreneurs. Sean’s roots are in journalism and he has worked in senior editing roles at The Globe and the Toronto Star.Ramona Pringle is an educator and an expert who focuses on innovation in storytelling, interaction design, and the intersection of digital media. She specializes in digital multi-platform production and has developed and produced work for CBC, TVO, CTV and PBS where she worked as interactive producer on Frontline’s Digital Nation. Ramona is a faculty member in Ryerson University’s RTA School of Media and the Creative Director of Ryerson University’s RTA Transmedia Centre, an incubator for the future of storytelling and media.