Get Known podcast: Get inside the journalists’ mindset.
In this episode, we enjoyed talking with Yuko Endo from TNL Mediagene in Tokyo, Japan. Over the years, we have rarely had the chance to speak with Japanese media, so it was quite a treat to talk with Yuko, who is the Vice President of the group that publishes the Japanese versions of some very popular U.S. magazines, including Business Insider Japan, Gizmodo Japan, and Digiday Japan.
This was Yuko’s first time at Slush, so we started off by chatting about her first impressions of the conference and what she was looking to get out of it. We talked about how she got into journalism and her journey into editing and publishing. She also mentioned that the Slush model is an excellent example for Japan to follow in entrepreneurial business culture.
We then discussed the differences between Japan’s media and other media worldwide. Yuko and her boss represent just a few female leaders in journalism there. We continued by discussing how to approach media in Japan and how publishing stories works. In short, knowing the right people and providing information in Japanese is important.
One of the biggest surprises for me was the similarities between Japanese and Finnish media culture. For example, embracing failure and taking risks is often still difficult. However, facts and honesty are very important when reporting the news and keeping people’s trust.
We also talked about how Western media gets things wrong in Japan. One thing is providing pure translations of news and press, which does not fly. Things need to be localized for Japanese markets, and it’s not easy. There is simply so much to get wrong when you don’t know the culture, mindset, or habits. I guess that is true no matter where you go.
Takeaways
- Think like an editor
- Releases should be in Japanese
- Success stories overcoming a problem are attractive
- Know your audience – (do your homework) (use Google Translate to get familiar with Japanese media and stories).
- Emphasize what is new and different
- Comparisons to major brands or Japanese brands are useful
- Partnership is key in reaching audiences in Japan
- Things like official photos and information are always helpful to Japanese journalists.
Listen to the newest episode of the Get Known podcast with Yuko Endo to learn more!
