With the digital era in full sprint, the face of journalism has never looked more different than it does today, and its future is far from guaranteed. Traditional print and cable news outlets face decreased advertising revenue, shaken public trust and competition from multi-faceted, all-digital “news” outlets. Fewer industries have been shaken by digitization more than news, and newsrooms must adapt or be destroyed. The problem at hand has been acknowledged and debated thoroughly, but no one seems to yet know how to crack the code for journalistic success in the digital age.
Nicco Mele, former publisher for the Los Angeles Times and director of Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media Politics and Public Policy, sat down for a Harvard University podcast to share his thoughts on the changing face of journalism. The biggest insight I took away was his belief that journalism, previously bloated and unchanging, now had to be rooted in small, scrappy organizations who had slimmer profit margins. Mele claims, “the future of journalism is small scrappy enterprises that are entrepreneurial, that are innovative, that are trying things.” He noted that for so long journalism was so large and profitable, that these expectations have not been adapted for the new era of news consumption. Attitudes and salaries are going to have to change, he says.
Personally, I agree with Mele and others in saying that journalism must survive by adopting new revenue streams while leaving their mission and voice unchanged. More subtle forms of advertising, such as influencer marketing and product placement, are fast outpacing traditional methods. Product placement in the form of native advertising can fit especially well to news organizations, including local ones. When done well, native advertising can be effectively integrated into journalistic content. My favorite example of this through native advertising is a piece done in the Omaha World-Herald for Creighton University. The sponsored article explained how strengthened local recruiting efforts helped build Creighton’s largest ever incoming class. Native advertising like this fits into the World-Herald‘s mission of Omaha-focused journalism. While this piece was paid content, it does still inform Omaha residents of local happenings. With careful application, native advertising can be an effective strategy that fits organically into the organization’s own content.
Further in line with the need for diverse revenues, traditional news organizations must look beyond advertising. Yes, advertising has grown more dynamic and personalized over the years, but it still is unhealthy for newsrooms to lean on it too much. There are more features than ever that help users skip or disable ads, decreasing their value and thus decreasing revenue from them. To insulate themselves from relying too heavily on an industry also in flux in the digital era, news organizations need to also build a strong foundation of paid subscribers. Subscriptions are not new to news by any means, but organizations need to better innovate the subscription system to allow for more people to subscribe in a variety of ways. Examining the Omaha World-Herald, my local Star Tribune in Minneapolis and even the Washington Post reveals their subscription models only vary between layers of print and digital access. I see this as a missed opportunity to add other formats of subscription as the New York Times does by also offering cooking and crossword subscriptions. By diversifying subscription bases, perhaps these organizations can engage more people who may not be interested in a comprehensive subscription, but may enjoy one cheaper and more focused. For example, the Star Tribune could run a politics subscription for a fraction of the regular price, giving users access to political news from across Minnesota (and beyond if the paper so pleased). With its extensive Huskers and general athletic coverage, the World-Herald could offer sports-only subscriptions. Lord knows there are enough die hard Huskers fans in the state who may be interested.
There are concerns that the urge to digitize and increase profitability in the Internet age will compromise good journalism. I get that. It is a legitimate worry that in search of a new business model, once proud news providers become slaves to click rates and web traffic. However, the alternative may just be destruction. If newspapers refuse to adapt at all, they will not exist much longer to provide the quality news they pride themselves on. These organizations must remain true to who they are and the content they provide, but everyone must adapt on some level in order to survive and keep fighting the good fight.
Media in our World 