FixEd podcast: Aleksandar Manasiev on mastering multi-platform journalism

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Welcome to the second edition of The Fix’s biweekly podcast!

How do you tell the same story across podcasts, TikTok, newsletters, and traditional media — without losing its essence? What are some common mistakes in multiplatform journalism and who’s doing it well in Europe?

Journalist, trainer and expert Aleksandar Manasiev joins this week’s host Orsolya Seregély to unpack the art of multiplatform journalism, sharing insights on reaching audiences wherever they are.

Listen to the full conversation and read key highlights from the interview below.

• “A well-planned multiplatform strategy diversifies audience base and strengthens sustainability”. Manasiev notes that newsrooms too dependent on single platforms face existential risk, pointing to print newspapers that failed to adapt and eventually disappeared.

• The biggest mistake newsrooms make is thinking they can copy-paste content across platforms. Success requires understanding each platform's unique language: YouTube audiences want depth and background, Instagram users need visual simplicity, and TikTok demands hooks within the first 5-8 seconds. It's not just shortening, but rethinking how stories connect with different audiences in different mindsets.

• Another mistake is trying to be everywhere without a clear plan. Publishers in, for example, Western Balkans often underuse major social platforms like TikTok and Instagram. “Don't think so much of newly emerged platforms”, be where your audience is.

• One of the most important pieces of advice for publishers is pre-planning stories as packages across different platforms before publication – this can extend a story’s life. Kosovo 2.0’s investigation on firefighting exemplifies this approach. They created a cohesive visual identity across platforms: multimedia website package, Instagram carousels with key facts, 60-second reels for quick engagement, longer YouTube videos for depth, and newsletter summaries linking everything together. This strategy prevents investigations that took months to produce from dying after just 1,000 reads.

• ChatGPT's introduction was such a game-changer that it prompted Manasiev to start thinking about quitting his job in journalism that very day. Yet he frames AI as empowerment, not replacement – similar to how mobile journalism once terrified cameramen but ultimately freed journalists to tell stories independently. AI excels at content transformation between platforms but can’t replace journalism’s core: being in the field, connecting with real people, telling human-centered stories that require genuine human presence.