It all starts here

02:18 Why an editorial mindset matters: Journalists spot compelling stories and serve as audience advocates, creating content people actually seek out

05:46 Service journalism: Creating "necessary" content that serves rather than sells by addressing audience challenges

07:08 Opinion-driven content: Why op-eds with strong viewpoints on timely topics drive the highest engagement

11:05 The bullseye approach: Identifying your core audience vs. trying to reach everyone, resulting in more focused content

17:55 Building editorial teams: How brands can develop corporate journalism functions and balance creativity with business goals

Lydia Chan (01:48)

Okay, Stephanie, welcome to the show. I'm really excited for our conversation. You have such a deep and rich editorial background, from being an award-winning journalist to leading editorial and content strategy. I really want to explore how that editorial mindset and approach really impacts audience engagement. So let's start with a brief intro for our audience.

Stephanie Paterik (02:14)

Lydia, thank you so much for having me here. I love just the concept of your show and the chance to dig into the nitty-gritty of content. My background: I currently am editor in chief of The Trade Desk, which is an advertising technology platform. It's a demand-side platform that helps buyers and advertisers buy media and find the best places to buy media at a time when there have never been more options. And I oversee all of our content teams. So we have The Current, which is our news team full of journalists. We have the Edge Academy, which is creating on-demand education in advertising and technology. We have the Resource Desk, which is more traditional product and content marketing and case studies and research. So it's this rich kind of content universe. My background is as a journalist. spent 20 years working as a newspaper and magazine journalist. I started as a local reporter covering the overnight cops beat and City Hall and worked my way to magazines. I spent several years as editor at Adweek and really just love the intersection of business and creativity. I find I'm often one of the more business-minded people in a room full of journalists and one of the more creative-minded people in a room full of executives. So it's like being a bridge who can speak, you know, both languages and connect both sides of the house.

Lydia Chan (03:47)

Yeah, that's awesome. So let's talk a little bit more about that, right? Like, is it so important to have kind of that editorial mindset and build a team of journalists, right, within a business environment?

Stephanie Paterik (04:02)

It's important for so many reasons, but the biggest is that journalists have, I think, two really valuable skills. I have a lot, but two I want to talk about are a nose for a good story, like really being able to spot what is something, just what's a great story, what is going to be interesting to someone, what is going to hold someone's attention, and that's not necessarily everything that moves within a brand, right? And so I think that they're able to see everything going on in a brand, everything going on in a company, and really filter out, what are those most interesting moments that people are going to connect to? And I think all the research shows, you know, Gen Z and younger generations don't want to feel like they are being sold to or advertised to directly. They want to be entertained. They want something adding value to their life. So that skill becomes really important, not just for media companies, but for all companies. And related to that, when I was a newspaper reporter, I always saw myself as a stand-in for the reader. So not all the million people who live in your city can go behind the police tape and interview the cops or can interview the famous author who's traveling to town or have time to go to the city hall meeting. And so as a reporter, you're really that stand-in. And I think that when the Trade Desk, for example, hires a group of journalists, we really become reader advocates and advocates for people in the industry and really help the company connect with what people need to hear and what they're interested in knowing right now.

Lydia Chan (05:45)

Yeah, I really love that, this kind of idea of peeking behind the curtains, right? Especially in an organizational setting, think, for me, I think about the different types of content that we've created for our clients, and there's this bucket of, say, like, thought leadership-type content, right? But it always kind of feels like talking at your audience.  But I think when you take this sort of, like you mentioned, behind-the-red-tape approach, it feels like an insider kind of look. And I think for the audience, that makes it feel so real. It makes it feel really genuine in that they're actually getting that insider glimpse into something that is very valuable.

Stephanie Paterik (06:32)

Right. That inside, the appeal of the inside scoop is one thing. And I love what you said, too, this idea of talking at the audience versus talking with the audience. And I think that that's something really important to notice: the distinction between an editorial mindset and a campaign mindset. Like a traditionaln, it is a one-way communication. It's like, I have a billboard, and I'm putting it up, and you're going to see it. You know, there's no invitation to have a conversation. Whereas, you know, an editorial mindset, which again, anyone can adopt whether you're, you know, a classic newsroom or not, is really all about stoking community and stoking a conversation and creating something that feels like the town hall, you know, for your particular readership and community.

Lydia Chan (07:26)

Yeah, I really liked that. I think, you know, with all the guests that I've had on the podcast, there was this theme emerging of actually creating content that the audience actually values. Right? So this idea of serving versus selling.

Stephanie Paterik (05:46)

I love that. That's such a perfect way to put it. And we think about that too. Service journalism is a term that's really meaningful to me. And it can play out in a lot of different ways, but really it comes down to, you know, we see ourselves as serving our audience. and really tapping into what they are struggling with right now? Like, what are their biggest challenges? What is keeping them up at night? What is changing faster than they can, like, wrap their arms around? And how do we really help them navigate that change? And so, you know, working in advertising and tech and media, those are all industries going through rapid transformation. And working inside a tech company has been a really amazing experience for me as a journalist, because it is like being behind the curtain and seeing the speed of innovation and the speed of change, and then figuring out how to help the industry as a whole navigate that curve.

Lydia Chan (08:39)

Yeah, you talked about also the most popular type of content on your site being the opinion pieces, right? And how that creates a space for conversation, for peer-to-peer discussion. And I think that is such an important metric, if you will, right? It's like, are there discussions outside of the content? Because creating content that maybe goes nowhere or doesn't spur critical thinking, Ik, is a lost opportunity, right? So why is it so important to create content that fosters dialogue, that builds community?

Stephanie Paterik (09:18)

Yeah. The current.com, which is our new site that covers the advertising industry, and particularly the digital advertising industry, had a really ambitious goal in 2024, which was to publish 100 op-eds. And we didn't have much of an op-ed program in place. We had run a few. They had done well. So we challenged ourselves to really create a really robust network and recruited a lot of executives from around the industry. And like you said, it turned out to be some of our most popular content; our two most popular stories of the year were op-eds, and one of them was written by the Trade Desk founder and CEO. So we found that there's an appetite for hearing from both our internal execs as well as executives around the industry. There are two themes. There are common denominators in the op-eds that get the most traction, and one is that they're talking about something really timely. And so rather than, like, evergreen op-eds that are going to be interesting, you know, two or five years from now, it's like, what are people talking about right now in this moment? And what is your take on that? The second is truly having an opinion. And there are so many op-eds or so much thought leadership that is really more about, like, education or how-to or explaining something. And so when we work with executives who are trying to find what they want to write about, really, I love to prompt people by saying, like, what's your most unpopular opinion? Like, what are you ready to throw down about? And what's an opinion you have that someone could disagree with? And that's the thing to write about, not three ways to X, Y, and Z.

Lydia Chan (11:08)

Yeah, I really liked that. I think that's very common, right? It's almost like regurgitation of facts or whatever you hear on podcasts or read in certain publications, but there's no, again, is that dialogue and that opinion, and, you know, just have some sort of human emotion towards whatever it is that you're reading, right? And I think that's what people are really trying to seek out, right? They're trying to seek out how this piece of content or how this fact or article is making you feel and what actions it's provoking, perhaps.

Stephanie Paterik (11:51)

Yes, and I think people want to get outside of their bubbles. I think everyone is aware, to an extent, that we're each sort of in a bubble or an echo chamber, and each industry in itself serves as that. And so by creating content that allows peers to learn from each other, it's a way for them to say, Ok, there's this big global thing happening. How is that playing out in your bubble? And what can I learn about that and bring into my world too?

Lydia Chan (10:30)

Yeah, I really like that. And maybe a small segue to talking about your bullseye approach to identifying your key audience segment. Expand a little bit more on that. How does that impact the way you approach storytelling and the type of content being created when you kind of use this bullseye approach to, hey, who's the key target? And then the sort of aspirational audience and then the almost like, outliers, right, sort of this ripple effect of reaching this outer audience but not necessarily focusing your content on them.

Stephanie Paterik (12:58)

Yes, I'm happy to share a little bit more about that. I mean, I'll start with, I think, a very common mistake that publications and even brands can make is to try to be everything to everybody. So with that strategy, the bullseye would be the entire board. And it's like, we're trying to get everyone, and everyone is equal priority.

And so I think it's really important when you're building your audience strategy to create those bullseye rings and decide who is really at the core. Who is that core reader who is most valuable to me and who I am most valuable to? Who needs my content in order to do their job better to be successful? And really keying in and making sure that no matter how your content strategy changes, you are serving that core reader. And then, you know, and then choosing a couple of audiences in the outer bands that you can start to reach out to as you grow and expand. So for the current, for instance, our core reader is the Ad Tech Insider. It's someone who understands programmatic advertising.

They might work for a publisher. They might work for a brand. They might work for a tech company. But they really know it, and they want the inside scoop. They want that peek behind the curtain. Also becoming really important to us is the brand marketer. We're finding that the decision point for media spend is really rising within organizations up to the C-suite. And so you have these very seasoned brand executives who may not be as comfortable with programmatic advertising. They might not understand the tech as much, and they need to now.

Our second band is really, you know, talking to that high-level brand marketer, and, you know, brands can continue to expand from there, but I think, like, never forgetting your bullseye, never forgetting your target, is super important.

Lydia Chan (14:54)

Yeah, for sure. And that happens a lot, right? Where you're trying to reach everyone and then end up reaching no one because your content is not focused.

Stephanie Paterik (13:21)

Exactly, you know, yeah, you're doing it halfway. You're serving everyone a little. You know, with so much content out there, my team and I talk a lot about how we can be necessary. You know what I mean? Like, we want to create content that feels necessary. And if it serves everyone a little bit, like it's going to be the thing, it's going to be the email they can, like, cut out of their inbox. It's going to be the thing that they can do without. So who do you want to be necessary to?

Lydia Chan (13:48)

Yeah. So talk a little bit more about that, right? Like, how do you figure out how to be necessary?

Stephanie Paterik (14:01)

Well, a big one is really talking to people. And I mentioned that two-way communication, right? Never assuming I have it all figured out and I know what is on my reader's mind. I think actually getting out and talking to people. Again, going back to my reporter days, as a cops reporter, we had something called beat checks, right? And so... I would, you know, at 10 o'clock at night, I would call all the 911 operators in town and be like, you know, what's cooking, what's going on, you know? And some nights, you know, it would be like a snake in a toilet, and some nights, you know, there would be like a murder down the block, but you didn't know unless you called every day. And I think, you know, we've gotten away from conversations. And I think some of it is, you know, just the digital way that we connect. I think some of it is the pandemic. But as an editorial team, we have really prioritized getting out on the front lines, on the ground, attending industry conferences, going to events, and calling people up not just when we're working on a story, but just calling up to be like, hey, what's new? What's going on? And so just listening is a huge part of understanding what is on your reader's mind, and from there kind of understanding what can be essential. And then also, you know, having those conversations inside your own organization. Like I mentioned, working in a tech company, sometimes, you know, we know about things coming up before everybody else does. We know sometimes what people might be interested in knowing before they even know it's there. And so I encourage my team to act as reporters within our own organization and call up our executives, you know, have those regular touch bases and hear what's on our own colleagues' minds and what they're hearing from clients. And all of that is just great fodder for telling essential stories.

Lydia Chan (17:43)

Yeah, totally agree. One of our recent guests, Eternal Polk, is an award-winning director. And one of the things that he's really keen on is basically keeping an ear to the streets, right? Like, you kind of need to not be an observer of culture but be a part of it. And that takes time. takes investment of that time. And again, really experiencing. That's in real life, right? Having those conversations with the audiences that you're perhaps trying to connect with. And like you said, just doing more of this kind of on-the-ground reporting. And I think, yeah, a lot of folks can kind of adopt that mindset when they're looking at, hey, how do I really, again, create a piece of content that's connecting with the people I'm trying to connect with?

Stephanie Paterik (18:35)

Something that comes to mind too: I really am rediscovering the value of in-person connection, being literally on the ground. But also just really mapping out for your organization, where are the vital conversations happening? For us, LinkedIn is another huge spot. It's a virtual gathering space. And we've gotten some op-ed ideas that started by us seeing a really interesting post and reaching out to someone and saying, Hey, would you like to develop that into a 700-word story? Because I think you've got an interesting opinion there. So I don't want to discount digital spaces, because that's really valuable, too. And it's about knowing where your particular audience is congregating and having those conversations and then making sure you're putting yourself in the center of that.

Lydia Chan (19:25)

Yeah. So say you're a brand that wants to build this kind of editorial team, right? Who wants to build this organic audience? What are your, I guess, tips on how you even start? Like, where do you start? And also get buy-in from leadership, right? To say, like, you know, this is a content ecosystem. Right? Of course we're going to haveve our rights, right? Of course we're going to have traditional marketing. We're going to have stuff for social media. We're going to have editorial content. It's all a 360 ecosystem, right? That feeds into some kind of value-add or ROI metric that we're striving for.

Stephanie Paterik (20:09)

Yeah, that's such a great question. How do you actually do it? You called it out. Think having an executive in the organization who really understands the power and the value of editorial storytelling helps tremendously. Give credit to the Trade Desk's Chief Marketing Officer, Ian Colley, who has spent a large part of his career in PR. So working with journalists, I think, really understood the power of serving versus selling. And he had this vision for a corporate journalism team and recruited me and recruited journalists from the BBC and from Business Insider. And so having that support and that understanding has been huge.

I would say in terms of recruiting and sort of growing that team, one is that there are so many journalists out there. You know, there are a lot of journalists, and those skills are highly transferable. These are people who are intelligent and inquisitive; they know how to research, and they know how to communicate. And so don't be shy about reaching out to someone who's working for a traditional journalism organization and, you know, and pitching them on this. Like, you'd be surprised what a big talent pool there is to tap into. Many journalists have spent their careers sort of feeling like they're in a spectator sport, right? They're writing about the brands that everyone else is building. So for me, it's a really compelling opportunity to work as a journalist but also to be helping build a brand and learning so much on the business side. So I think it's a really compelling kind of opportunity for folks. I think something to know too is like setting it up for success.

A newsroom functions differently than a marketing organization. And I mentioned the difference between, like, a campaign mindset and an editorial mindset. And a campaign mindset is like every last word, every visual, everything is perfect. You know, everything has gone through, like, 10 rounds of reviews. There are long lead times on campaigns a lot. And journalism, it's quick, it's scrappy, it's in the moment. You know, we're just on the current alone; we're publishing about 20 stories a week. So setting up that team a little bit apart, you know, it can sit within your marketing organization, but giving them autonomy, both for, you know, editorial selection and letting them really choose what is and isn't a story. And two is setting them up for maybe a different kind of operation or a different kind of timeline that lets them move the way they need to move.

Lydia Chan (23:00)

Yeah. And to the audience too, like they, they know, or would expect the content to be more raw, right? Like they expect it to not have so much editing or, you know, going through rounds of reviews and control, if you will, too. Right. And I think that's how one would build that audience trust, and to the audience too, like they... they expect. I think that's how one would build that audience trust.

Stephanie Paterik (23:25)

Yeah, well, even, you know, it's a really common practice for when there's breaking news for newsrooms to put up a one-paragraph story to start, you know, or a three-paragraph story that they add to throughout the day. So that's another thing too, right? It's iterative, you know; that might feel a little rough. You're not waiting until you have the fully polished piece. If the news is important enough, you want to get it out fast, and you can refine as you go. That said, we have an incredible art team who creates these bespoke illustrations, and they do it really fast. And I feel like it is also a benefit as a journalist to be working inside a marketing organization with a world-class creative team. I feel like they are really able to elevate the work, and it's just another way to stand out.

Lydia Chan (24:17)

Awesome. Well, Stephanie, thank you so much for this conversation and all the expertise that you bring to the table.

Any final thoughts and key takeaways or advice for brands, again, when they're thinking about investing in corporate journalism and really building a strong following?

Stephanie Paterik (24:33)

Yes, Lydia. I think two things I would end with. One is just reiterating how important it is to listen as much as you speak and really think about your audience or your clients in terms of a two-way communication. And the second would be just recognizing that creativity and business don't have to be at odds. They really can go hand in hand, and look for ways to bridge those within your organization, and you'll be ahead of the game.

Lydia Chan (25:02)

Awesome. Perfect. Stephanie, thank you so much for being on the show.

Stephanie Paterik (25:05)

Thank you so much for being on the show. Lydia, thanks for having me. This was so much fun.