The Atlanta Journal Constitution Hosts Its First Upfront

Regional news publisher The Atlanta Journal-Constitution hosted the first upfront of its 156-year history last Tuesday, part of a broader bid from the news outlet to reintroduce itself to audiences and marketers as a modern media company. The term upfront has historically referred to a marketing event hosted by television networks in May to showcase their upcoming programming for advertisers. However, in recent years, it has expanded to refer to a range of content exhibitions. Despite this more inclusive turn, few news publishers have hosted an upfront. The AJC used the half-day gathering to draw focus to a stable of editorial franchises and cultivate deeper, more direct relationships with advertisers, according to chief revenue officer Beth Bowers. “It was less about striking deals and more about showing marketers what the AJC has been up to for the last year and a half,” Bowers said. “They perceive us as a storied newspaper, but we are a modern media company. It was kind of a coming-out party.” The publisher, which, alongside Axios, is owned by the privately held Cox Enterprises, has lately undergone a reinvention of its brand and a widening of its ambitions. In January 2023, it hired former CNN executive Andrew Morse as its publisher and president, and it has placed newfound emphasis on growing its digital subscriber base, which now tops 100,000 paying members. The publisher sees an opportunity to serve as the regional news institution of the South and has invested accordingly, hiring 75 new staff this year. Year-to-date advertising revenue from its owned-and-operated properties is up 14%, and its overall revenue is in the high eight-figure range, according to a person familiar with its finances. The AJC sees advertising as critical to that evolution. Like other premium publishers, it has sought to work more directly with brands, selling multichannel packages that span web, print, newsletters, podcasts, and events. By using its upfront to showcase the breadth of its offerings, the publisher hopes to expand the size and number of its marketing partnerships. Centering key franchises The AJC highlighted six key franchises during its upfront, which span categories including sports, lifestyle, and politics. Politically Georgia, its politics franchise, has taken on an outsized influence in light of the key role Georgia has to play in the presidential election. It also has a podcast, traveling event series, newsletter, and other distribution arms. Two other franchises, Access Atlanta and its Food & Dining section, spotlight culture, nightlife, and retail, and the former makes ample use of creator partnerships and social media. A new franchise, called UATL, is similarly oriented toward culture but focuses specifically on Black life and culture in the city. Two of its most popular franchises, unsurprisingly, revolve around sports. Dawgnation follows everything related to the University of Georgia Bulldogs, while the sports vertical more broadly covers everything from the Braves to the Hawks. Dawgnation, specifically, has a popular podcast called DawgNation Daily. When pitching these products, AJC often packages multiple surface areas together in one buy, giving brands comprehensive attention share around their context of choice. The publisher has also worked to grow its events portfolio, and this year, it will host between 25 to 30 experiential activations. The rise of publisher upfronts Very few news publishers host upfronts, although lifestyle publishers like Condé Nast and BuzzFeed have lately embraced the format. But as publishers of all varieties have worked to cultivate more direct relationships with advertisers, more might soon adopt the concept. This month, the food publisher Food52 is hosting its first upfront, and in October, the business publisher Workweek will host its first upfront in Austin. Food52 is using the opportunity to spotlight its video inventory and its retail media qualities. Workweek is debuting a new product, its Partner Platform, to marketers from firms like Indeed, PWC, and Microsoft. Together, the slate of even less traditional upfronts reflects the growing desire from publishers to work on a more integrated, partnered basis with their advertising clients, according to Bowers. “It’s not the time of the year people do upfronts, but that keeps us out of the clutter,” Bowers said. “This gives us a reason to reach out and pitch.”

Publishing News

The Atlanta Journal Constitution Hosts Its First Upfront

The event was part of a broader bid for the 156-year-old publisher to reintroduce itself

Mark Stenberg

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