Reflections on Self-Publishing [2024]: Year Five, Geneva Health Files

Newsletter Special Edition

Dear Readers,

Recently, one of you suggested that Geneva Health Files is the insider baseball of global health. I was flattered. But given my allegiance to cricket, I’d rather it be the insider cricket of global health!

I am pleased that our readers find our journalism valuable. Early 2025, we will complete five years in operations.

This year, when I was recruiting board members to inform our strategy, one of them cautioned that most entrepreneurial initiatives die within the first five years. That was an uncomfortable reminder, but something we never take for granted.

We look forward to consolidating what we have achieved so far heading into the new year. This initiative has been assiduously built brick by brick, in a slow, organic fashion. Thank you for the journey so far!

In this edition, I present my annual reflections on self-publishing and media entrepreneurship. (We have done this every year: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020)

In addition, I share the stories that were the most memorable for me personally and also explain why. (In case you missed it earlier, see the best of GHF in 2024 in terms of page views)

Wishing you a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2025.

Cheers,

Priti

Feel free to write to us: genevahealthfiles@gmail.com

Find us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/genevahealthfiles.bsky.social

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Image Credit: Photo by George Becker, Pexels

I. Reflections on Self-Publishing:

(In no particular order of importance)

• Own your voice

• Business development is nearly everything

• While journalism is not mincing words, entrepreneurship is biting your tongue

• Journalism is the soul of the business, it is why media entrepreneurs wake up everyday

• Focus, focus, focus

• Diversify content

• Diversify revenues

• Bring in guest contributors to cross-pollinate audiences and readership

• Be bold: it matters, it counts

• Standing up is more important than standing out

• Be brutal with time management

• Seek time with humility

• Interrupt less (does not come naturally to reporters)

• Read more, write less

• The big picture matters as much as details

• People want to know what you are thinking (mostly)

• It is fine to take positions

• Rely on expertise for business development

• Make strategic hires

• Look at audiences with their specificities, not only as reader-revenue targets

• More analysis

• Stretch a little more to lift content

• Push back! It is ok for journalists to have “an attitude”

• Journalism conferences are worth the effort

• Humor diffuses (nearly) everything

• Accept your limitations

• Walk away from burning deadlines

• Sleep early, rise early

• Say no, more often

• Brainstorm with peers

• Balancing motherhood and media entrepreneurship is not a walk in the park

Finally, I leave you with a lasting memory for me from this year:

When I missed the nail-biting finish to the IHR negotiations at the World Health Assembly on June 1, 2024. (Sigh)

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II. The Stories I loved Working On:

Always hard to pick favorites, but I tried! I also explain why these are memorable…

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