Traditional newspapers lost their classified ads, and then lost so much of their readership to the online world. Journalism has had a crazy few years. High-profile scandals in the news world have rocked journalism over the past few years. As we head into the future the drive for truthful, quality content is a big focus for newsrooms large and small. Quality content is a focus for both newsrooms and social media platforms like Facebook, which has gotten a lot of heat for its involvement in the fake news fiasco.
Newsrooms place more emphasis on specialism. This crisis has made many newsrooms realise how little they understand about science and technology — and the value of that rare breed of journalists that can explain these complex issues to a general public.
With many newsrooms already under fire for an obsession with personality politics, expect a shift towards deeper and more diverse themes.. More focus on data and visual storytelling formats. Both the pandemic and US elections demonstrated the value of news organisations that could visualise and explain complex stories in an accessible way.
Data journalism frequently breaks away from the traditional narrative, offering many pathways to explain and explore the news.
Other publishers are looking to develop more visual content such as the stories format now adopted by most social platforms. Case for public media becomes stronger. Heavy usage of public broadcasters and their websites during the pandemic may have made it harder for critics to undermine existing funding models — a recurrent theme in many European countries. But this could just be wishful thinking.
With Joe Biden in the White House we can, at least, expect a less antagonistic relationship over the next few years. The New York Times alone has added more than a million net digital subscribers in — citing unprecedented demand for quality, original, independent journalism 7 — and the Swedish publisher Dagens Nyheter offered open access to its website and apps for the first few months of the Covid outbreak in return for an email address — subsequently converting record numbers to boost its subscriber base by a third.
As one example, the Washington Post plans to add new jobs in , creating a newsroom of more than 1,, 10 while medium-sized and local media have often been left with staffing that is stripped to the bone. For many of the early movers, digital revenue now outstrips print and a significant number of quality titles can see a path to a sustainable future.
Can subscription models eventually work for all or just for a select number of high-quality titles? The full impact of the financial hit caused by lockdown is being felt now. No new investments, no new plans. The effort is to hold on and consolidate. Dwaipayan Bose, Editor, Indiatoday. While a number of publishers are doing well, a large number of titles are clearly struggling and we can expect further consolidation, cost-cutting, and closures in the year ahead.
Retaining subscribers. A burning question will be how to keep all those new subscribers who came on board during the Covid bump? With more publishers chasing a relatively small number of consumers prepared to pay, this could become even tougher as the economy worsens and personal finances get tight. Cut-price offers and differential pricing are two likely outcomes. More platform support for subscriptions. This is already under way e.
Podcasts is one area where there is scope for integration — opening up possibilities for publishers to create bundled print and audio subscriptions. The Covid shock has reinforced a view that the industry needs to break an unhealthy dependence on digital advertising, which is blamed amongst other things for encouraging clickbait, reducing quality, and creating a poor user experience.
Many argue that sustainable independent media require a different approach supported by multiple revenue streams. Our survey reflects this shift, with respondents indicating more attention on subscription and less emphasis on advertising since we last asked this question in It also shows how important diversification has become, with commercial publishers citing, on average, four different revenue streams as being important or very important to them this year.
These mixed or hybrid models are beginning to produce positive results. The Independent in the UK, which ditched its print edition more than four years ago, combines digital advertising, e-commerce, affiliate revenue, premium subscription, and a contributions model.
It has also been expanding into other languages such as Spanish. What can we expect in the year ahead? There is no silver bullet or single solution to the revenue conundrum but here are some areas of potential growth. Publishers start to look more like retailers in Publishers are increasingly thinking about how they can get a chunk of this growth by curating content that creates the right intent to buy.
Other publishers are looking to create new content verticals that can take advantage of the e-shopping boom. BuzzFeed, for example, has created its own range of branded cooking products linked to its popular Tasty Brand. Early in BuzzFeed will be creating a Sex and Wellness vertical aimed at a GenZ and millennial audience and has already created the first of a range of sex toys.
Publishers may also be able to benefit from the wider subscription trend which encompasses everything from music, entertainment, and learning to fitness, flowers, and food.
Apple and other tech companies have been taking a cut of ongoing subscriptions for years but news organisations with scale and good data targeting may also be in a position to help retailers find the right customers. Yahoo is one company that already offers special deals for Netflix and Peloton, handling the billing too, which helps increase the margins. Live events and community. Covid has required publisher event strategies to be rapidly rewritten with physical get togethers cancelled and activity moving online.
During the pandemic millions tuned into live concerts, fashion shows, and inspirational talks. Meanwhile publishers have found that virtual events can be spun-up more quickly, with a lower cost base, higher profile guests, and a bigger audience than a physical event.
Either way we can expect to see greater professionalisation around the production and packaging of these events — as well as new features that help deliver more compelling online experiences. Some Zoom fatigue will be inevitable in as our craving for human contact is rekindled, but as with so many other areas, the future is a likely to be a hybrid one.
One consequence of the pandemic has been rapid innovation, as news organisations found new ways of remaking existing products or created entirely new ones in the face of changed demand. Companies have been forced to think outside the box on a range of issues, from online working to developing new formats.
Others point to examples of emboldened decision-making, with CNN launching its coronavirus podcast in just a few days — a process that might previously have required months of analysis and a long series of meetings. The pace of innovation will remain strong this year as media companies accelerate their digital plans.
Better user experience and design. Many of our survey respondents felt this was the year to put more emphasis on the core experience of websites and apps themselves, which increasingly lags behind consumer expectations. The stresses of coronavirus have left many burnt out by the rate of change. It can be easier to start new things in the heat of a crisis but harder to close them down. For many media companies managing innovation remains a difficult and frustrating process.
Finding ways to break down silos and get the best out of multi-disciplinary teams will be critical as publishers look to add agility. Product managers help bring an evidence-based approach to the process of deciding which opportunities to pursue and a user-centred approach to delivery. Or are we in danger of setting up a new and unhealthy dependence? Increased payment by platforms for some news content is set to be one of the biggest media stories of the year.
In the US this has involved paying some large publishers millions of dollars, 19 though critics say that many smaller news organisations have been left out.
These have already rolled out in Germany and Brazil with plans to expand to other markets. Content licensing and content curation by platforms. In Australia new legislation has been tabled to force Google and Facebook to negotiate payment for using publisher content. The wider implications of all this activity on news consumption are not yet clear.
Separating quality news content into tabs or apps might be good PR, but will casual users ever go there or will they instead stick to the newsfeed and organic search? Publisher solidarity comes under strain. As the deals become clear, we can expect more arguments between publishers over the criteria for selection of brands to be included and over the promotion of content by platforms.
This chart clearly illustrates that publishers still have very different views on how to deal with platforms. This is not surprising given the growing divergence of both strategies and business models, but it does also suggest that a united front will be hard to maintain across and beyond. These programmes include product initiatives, innovation funding, and support for independent research. We also think about every bit of the process that you as a reader are going through, and make each piece of the visualization count.
Ryan : We have an internal culture of trying new things. Whether it be how we collect the data , or the topic of the content , our team makes it their mission to innovate. Fractl, Instagram Intoxicated. Allison : The New York Times sets the benchmark for what is possible. Nathan at Flowing Data also continues to do an amazing job tracking the latest releases from across the field.
Tony Chu is also about to come out with really excellent work. Nathaniel : I lean heavily on d3 visualizations. Blocks is a good one.
Mike Bostock uses that as his way of demoing stuff. Ryan : I try to consume as much content as I can, and see what styles, mediums, topics, angles, etc. Although no one can predict the future, these content creators have their fingers on the pulse.
Katie : I have more of a wish list. This is starting to happen already. Kristin : New and increasingly sophisticated tools are emerging that will allow us to uncover hidden aspects of data that we were never before able to see. Machine learning will certainly impact this field even more significantly than it ever has before. Forum in focus. Read more about this project. Explore context.
Explore the latest strategic trends, research and analysis. What do we know about the future of journalism? Have you read?
Can you tell if this was written by a robot? Where we are heading with digital media and journalism? License and Republishing.
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