Paying Attention

About Paying Attention

Paying Attention is a podcast about how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI. Hosted by Choy Travers, each episode features candid conversations with leaders across publishing, journalism, advertising, brands, adtech and technology; exploring how attention is won, valued and monetised as the internet changes. Featuring leaders from some of the world’s most influential media and technology companies.

Publisher

Choy Travers

Category

technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Sept 2026

Latest episode

4 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Nov 2026

   What AI Can’t Taste | Vicky Hampton, Amsterdam Foodie

   Vicky Hampton started Amsterdam Foodie on MySpace in 2006. Twenty years on, it’s Tastes, Tannins & Travels by Amsterdam Foodie, an independent food, wine and travel publication. She talks honestly about making an independent site pay, how AI has cut into her copywriting work while helping her rebuild her website, and why lived experience is the one thing AI can’t replicate. We get into: Twenty years of independent publishing, from MySpace to now How the site makes money: advertising, affiliates and sponsored content How AI hit her day job, and helped her rebrand What happens when people ask AI where to eat The AI-written piece that won a wine writing award What a human writer offers that AI can’t Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:09 From MySpace to Amsterdam Foodie 01:49 How blogging has changed 02:53 When the hobby became a business 04:13 Blogs and Substack 05:19 Search and SEO over 20 years 06:16 The rebrand 07:58 Why readers trust a recommendation 09:15 Can food writers make money? 10:00 How the site makes money 12:33 AI and the day job 14:17 When people ask AI where to eat 16:08 The AI-written award winner 19:35 How Vicky uses AI 22:46 What AI can’t replace 24:49 Advice for new bloggers 26:52 What’s next 28:07 Where to find Vicky Find Vicky at amsterdamfoodie.nl Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI.

2. 

   21 Oct 2026

   Will the Open Web Survive AI? | Andrew Webb, Connectopia

   Andrew Webb has spent over 20 years on the commercial side of publishing, most recently at DMG Media, and now runs Connectopia and the Emerging Tech Network, connecting technology companies with the publishers they want to work with. In this episode of Paying Attention, we talk about why so many tech companies fail to win publishers over, why “build or buy” is no longer the right question, and whether the open web survives AI. We get into: why technology is now both the opportunity and the obstacle why tech partners deserve better than being called “vendors” what publishers misunderstand about buying new technology how smaller publishers can club together through collective bargaining his utopian and dystopian visions for media in the AI era why publishers need to invest in R&D and own more of their tech stack A conversation about what actually works when new technology meets media. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:48 Why tech is both the opportunity and the obstacle 01:42 From DMG Media to the tech side 02:23 What separates tech companies that break through 03:39 Why “vendor” is the wrong word 04:28 What publishers misunderstand about buying tech 06:53 Reach, Mantis, and why it’s not build or buy 08:15 Getting the partnership balance right 09:58 Collective bargaining for smaller publishers 12:51 Does the open web survive AI? 16:10 Utopia vs dystopia for publishing 19:46 Connectopia and the Emerging Tech Network 21:00 What to pay attention to: R&D and sovereignty Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI.

3. 

   14 Oct 2026

   How The Sun Hit 12 Billion Video Views in One Year | Helen Philpot

   Helen Philpot is Managing Editor of The Sun, one of the UK’s biggest news brands. In FY26, The Sun generated 12.1 billion video views across its platforms, up 80% year on year. That growth sits inside a much bigger shift in how the newsroom reaches audiences across video, social, creators, subscriptions and AI. In this episode of Paying Attention, Helen explains why “transformation” is a red herring, what it takes to change a newsroom without losing what already works, and why journalism remains fundamentally human in the age of AI. We get into: how The Sun reached 12.1 billion video views why every story now needs to be treated differently across platforms treating every story like a mini business plan journalists becoming creators and the growth of Sun Club why relying on one revenue stream is no longer enough where AI can make a newsroom more efficient why AI still can’t replace the work of journalists As Helen puts it: “AI can’t do a doorknock.” A conversation about storytelling, technology and what it takes to keep changing without losing what matters. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:41 From broadcast journalism to Salesforce and back 01:58 Why transformation is a red herring 03:55 Being multi-channel: the CEO of a story 05:54 How video became a strategic priority 08:57 What the views actually do for the business 11:35 Sun Club and paid subscription 13:08 Journalists as creators 15:17 Monetisation, the holy grail 16:12 The experiments that didn’t land 17:30 Where AI helps, and where it never will 21:05 What AI can’t do 22:18 How AI is changing discovery 24:51 Advice for newsrooms starting the shift 26:41 What Helen is most excited about 28:01 Where to find Helen Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI.

4. 

   8 Oct 2026

   What Will Force AI to Pay Publishers? | Wei Hsueh, IntentBridges

   Wei Hsueh has spent over a decade in ad tech and publisher monetisation, and is now the founder of IntentBridges and LINC, helping publishers in Asia turn AI access into content licensing revenue. In this episode of Paying Attention, we talk about what happens when AI answers the question, keeps the user, and sends no click back, and why content licensing could become the new value exchange between publishers and the machines reading their work. We get into: why the old content-for-traffic exchange is breaking the two groups who will pay for publisher content the three pressures that will turn licensing into a real market why local and niche publishers still have value the first step every publisher should take now A conversation about the end of the click economy, and who gets paid when machines become the internet's biggest readers. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:39 Why Wei started IntentBridges 02:59 How AI is changing publisher traffic 05:53 Who buys publisher content: consumer vs enterprise AI 08:13 Can smaller publishers benefit? 10:17 Three pressures that will create a licensing market 13:01 When will the market form? 14:42 LINC: map, package, commercialise 17:14 Asia vs the West: who's organising for AI 18:13 Publishing five years from now 20:00 The one thing to do now 21:03 Where to find Wei Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI.

5. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Manufacturing Credibility | Brett Cohen, Forbes

   Brett Cohen is Group Vice President of ForbesLive, running the live events behind franchises like the Forbes Under 30 Summit. In 2012, he walked through Times Square pretending to be a celebrity, and the video that followed reached millions. In this episode of Paying Attention, we talk about why that experiment worked, why it matters even more in the age of AI, and why getting attention is one thing, but earning credibility is another. We get into: the Times Square stunt, and the TMZ insight behind it why credibility is getting easier to fake as AI floods every feed why in-person events are growing as the world goes more digital why a media publisher is really a legacy creator what brands are getting right on social A conversation about attention, credibility, and what it takes to earn both. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:03 The Times Square experiment 04:53 Why it worked: the TMZ formula 09:04 Manufactured credibility in 2026 12:18 The thin line between attention and credibility 13:50 AI, fakes and who to trust 16:20 Attention is up for grabs, and IRL is rising 20:36 Designing for unexpected moments at Forbes Under 30 22:47 Why events matter more as traffic falls 25:17 Publishers as legacy creators, and Forbes' bets 30:13 What brands are getting right on social 32:27 Final advice: listen to your audience 33:22 Where to find Brett Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI.

6. 

   23 Sept 2026

   The Content AI Can't Replace | Nikos Nakos, IamExpat

   Nikos Nakos has spent over 16 years building IamExpat, one of the leading English-language platforms for internationals in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, through the social era, the SEO era, and now the AI era. In this episode of Paying Attention, we talk about what survives when AI answers the question before anyone reaches your website, and why the future for publishers is creating original knowledge rather than repackaging what a machine now does faster. We get into: why "becoming the source" is the only real defence against AI what content got hit hardest, and what barely moved how in-person events and community became IamExpat's strongest asset why direct traffic is the metric publishers should obsess over acquiring Dutch News, and betting on original journalism A conversation about building a publishing business that lasts when the old traffic playbook stops working. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:04 Building IamExpat: the social, SEO and AI eras 04:07 Why they moved away from programmatic ads 06:05 What AI hit hardest, and what barely moved 07:43 In-person events as the defensible moat 09:51 Become the source, don't repackage what AI does better 14:01 Advice for less-diversified publishers 15:15 Why direct traffic is gold 16:10 The zero-click future 17:07 New metrics: measuring AI visibility 23:07 Keeping the editorial line, not chasing GEO 24:13 What's next: news, events, and Dutch News 28:26 Final advice for publishers Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, technology and commerce are being reshaped by AI.

7. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Why AI Needs Advertising

   Why AI Needs Advertising | Andrea Tortella Andrea Tortella is the co-founder and CEO of Thrad, building advertising infrastructure inside AI, and previously worked on advertising at Perplexity. In this episode of Paying Attention, we discuss why Andrea believes advertising can be a force for good, why AI may need advertising to remain broadly accessible, and what he calls “sponsored intelligence.” We get into: why Andrea is obsessed with advertising what he learned working on ads at Perplexity why chat interfaces are becoming a new form of advertising inventory what “sponsored intelligence” means for the future of AI why fewer clicks could reshape the economics of publishing how publishers might capture value as distribution shifts towards AI agents the attribution problem facing AI-native advertising Anthropic’s anti-AI-ad campaign, and why Andrea loved the creative but disagreed with the argument why one of the most underrated advantages in marketing is speed Andrea’s thesis is that advertising doesn’t have to be something users tolerate. Done well, it can fund access, drive discovery and become part of the value itself. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:48 From Perplexity to Thrad 04:31 Why advertising can be a force for good 06:46 What is an “AI publisher”? 07:59 Sponsored intelligence 09:34 The death of the click and the zero-click economy 11:37 Publishers, AI and the broken value exchange 12:36 AI-agent advertising, Perplexity and attribution 14:32 Turning AI traffic into a new advertising channel 17:07 Why AI platforms still need publishers 19:13 What AI advertising needs to become mainstream 20:02 Conversational AI as a new advertising channel 21:43 The growth of advertising inside AI 22:42 Anthropic’s anti-AI-ad campaign 24:47 What marketers should be paying attention to 25:02 Why speed is underrated in marketing 26:17 Where to find Andrea Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, AI, adtech and commerce are changing the way attention is won, valued and monetised.

8. 

   9 Sept 2026

   Publishers Need To Stop Chasing Traffic | Mimmo Palmieri

   Mimmo Palmieri has spent over a decade on the revenue and monetisation side of publishing, including at Condé Nast and the Financial Times, the part of the business most people never see. In this episode of Paying Attention, we discuss why publishers should stop trying to win back lost traffic and start building around value instead. We get into: why the traffic era is ending where publishers should invest next how AI changes the economics of editorial the importance of owning the audience relationship what the shift from volume to value means for the P&L why the strongest media brands will become destinations people choose, not pages they stumble onto A conversation about what publishing looks like when traffic is no longer the main measure of success. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:49 How Mimmo got into publishing 03:02 What revenue operations actually involves 06:35 The toughest time for publishers, inside the P&L 09:34 Adapting as page views decline 11:00 The three moats: IP, first-party data, relationships 13:32 Where the damage hits first 16:32 Affiliate revenue and the AI risk 18:00 The "AIdvertorial": advertising for bots 20:33 Using AI to multiply editorial 23:07 AI platforms as the interface to audiences 24:56 From volume to value, and proving value 28:16 Why media planning cycles collapsed 30:00 The shift to predictable revenue 32:08 What to stop and start investing in 34:13 Who's doing it well 36:40 What most people get wrong 38:23 Where to find Mimmo Paying Attention is hosted by Choy Travers and explores how media, advertising, AI, adtech and commerce are changing the way attention is won, valued and monetised.

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