Journalist Spotlight: Mark Taylor on your Radar

We recently caught up with Mark Taylor, editor in chief at the newly launched Radar Magazine. Mark reveals what goes into launching a new and niche magazine, including international launch parties and a lot of planning! 

Can you tell us a bit about Radar magazine and the idea behind it?
Radar is a publication for financial services professionals who are usually too busy to pick up magazines; those who work in compliance, regulatory, risk and surveillance. Our articles and features will hopefully help them catch breath but also make their lives and high-pressure jobs a little easier. One of the main recurring themes is how technology is revolutionizing every aspect of finance.

How did you go about getting the magazine up and running?
In The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent learns to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing, and then to stay in the air he has to not think about it, so something like that. Our parent company Behavox has a large client and contact base, which we leveraged, along with tapping up luxury brands for ads. Some of the in-depth articles took a long time to pull together, both because it’s a lot of research and interviews with people in various timezones takes planning.

What sets it apart from other publications? Who is the target audience?
We recognise it is niche, but it’s also full of colour and we hope it has a bit more life and bite than most other financial services publications. We’re aiming it at compliance and risk professionals, and to banking executives whose job it is to look ahead and see what threats are coming and how their firms can respond. Aside from being crammed with views and insight from top industry experts, we also tap into the considerable knowledge and skill set of our parent company, a leading UK artificial intelligence technology and people analytics firm, to give the articles an extra dimension.

What role does social media play in your work?
At the moment it’s fairly minor, but we plan to do more and we will be using it as a way of growing the wider community beyond the magazine, through the website and events. LinkedIn is probably best for our line of work; financial services professionals tend to use that more than anything else. Social is a huge part of any marketing strategy, at this point we don’t want to steam in and make mistakes that would be hard to rectify, like promising more than we can deliver, which can be easy when things are shiny and new.

What are your future plans for Radar magazine?
Launch parties in London, NY and Singapore, and a website that will house the articles and more content such as expert opinion and commentary. We want the magazine to help us build a community of compliance professionals and be the backbone of the offering.

What do you enjoy the most about your job? What are the main challenges you face?
I love writing articles and knocking them into shape, always have and (probably) always will. That’s been the same since I started in regional news. We have a small but very powerful team here, and working with them is great; team spirit is crucial in journalism. The main challenge is getting the work in front of the people who should be reading it, which is where helpful PRs come in.

Do you have a good relationship with PRs? What top tips would you give to PR professionals who want to work with you?
My relationship with PRs is for the most part excellent. They should use Vuelio and get in touch with me! We’re always looking for interesting people to talk to. I will usually answer although it is tough sometimes to respond to every query.

What type of press material are you interested in receiving?
Financial services compliance, regulatory, risk and surveillance, in UK, US and Asia. Anything financial technology related is worth sending me, although regulation, enforcement and compliance will get more attention.

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Mark Taylor and Radar are both listed on the Vuelio Database along with thousands of other leading journalists, editors, bloggers and outlets.