Diana Darling and Aaron Seward discuss navigating a uneven media panorama on US Modernist Radio

It’s been a tumultuous 20 years for the media landscape. As more content moved online and even the historical giants of journalism looked for ways to monetize clicks, videos, and newsletters, even some of the largest prestige brands failed to adapt and ultimately crumbled. How has AN managed to thrive over the last 18 years?

AN President, Publisher, and co-founder Diana Darling, and Editor-in-Chief Aaron Seward, sat down with George Smart, founder of the nonprofit USModernist to discuss exactly that. On episode 228, out on December 27 wherever you get your podcasts, of US Modernist Radio – Architecture You Love, the trio discussed the path to the paper’s formation, Seward’s nonconsecutive service at the company, the recent Archpaper.com redesign, and how AN grew from a hyper-local architecture news source to one that now covers the entire globe.

As Smart himself described in the show notes:

Oh, how times have changed for the newspaper world. From 2008-2020, about two-thirds of newsroom jobs went away. Then the pandemic hit and more than 90 local papers shut down or were slashed in headcount. Even big papers like the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and the New York Times are smaller and more focused, with digital and video media adding to but more often replacing coverage of cultural topics like architecture and design.  While the big papers still cover stories like glamourous supertall buildings – and lawsuits when the pipes break – one newspaper burrowed away in the heart of New York City continues to put out some of the best, most detailed, most comprehensive architecture coverage.  Joining us is Diana Darling, founder and publisher of The Architect’s Newspaper, and its new-ish editor-in-chief, Aaron Seward. Later on, architecture commentary from our special Gen Z correspondent, Louisa Whitmore, and music with Kate Earl.

If you want more insight into AN’s inner workings, Darling, also president of the AN Media Group, joined John Wheaton, CEO of Wheaton Sprague Building Envelope, for the Creating Structures podcast on November 10.