Tag: Reuters Institute

The news shown in bite-sized social media morsels

The significant investments that Stuff and NZME have made in video news are starting to look like wise moves even if the payback has yet to fully materialise.

Their current major initiatives – Stuff’s production of Three’s nightly news and NZME’s two breakfast video shows on Herald Now – are unlikely to be financial saviours for either group. They are, however, the foundations that will allow both groups to take advantage of significant shifts in news consumption.

Their strategic thinking was given a boost last week with publication of the latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report which has found growing audience enthusiasm for online video content at a time when search referrals to digital news sites is plummeting toward ‘Google Zero’.

The Reuters report surveys 48 markets (Australia is the closest we get). For the first time, all of the surveyed countries report a majority of people watching online video news. Seventy seven per cent of people globally consume it each week. In 45 of those markets, more people watch online video news than broadcast television bulletins. And 57 per cent of 12 to 15 year-olds identify a single platform as their most important news source. It is TikTok – the go-to site for short-form vertical videos.

It is noteworthy that this growth in online video consumption is all happening on third party platforms. Worldwide, video consumption on news websites and apps has dropped five per cent in the past year. The report is unequivocal: “…if news videos from mainstream news organisations are being watched, that consumption is likely happening somewhere other than that publisher’s own website or app”. Over the past three years the proportion who consume video on news websites and apps has dropped from 28 per cent to 23 per cent.

In a New Zealand context, that points to a future where few will be watching Garth Bray’s HeraldNow Business or Ryan Bridge Today on the Herald website, or repurposed Three News on Stuff, but will turning to YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Continue reading “The news shown in bite-sized social media morsels” →

Lack of relevance is the kiss of death for journalism

It was a phrase that rolled too easily off the tongue, as if it was the product of a branding exercise by smart young marketers. Nonetheless, it contained an imperative that should sit at the core of journalism.

The phrase had been around for a long time. It was the title of a column in U.S. News & World Report in the 1950s. Later it would capture what passed for imagination in the minds of media management executives, and become so ubiquitous that it virtually lost meaning.

What was the phrase? It was “news you can use”.

It needs to be resurrected, not as a trite play for audience but as the central element of how journalism will be practiced and how news will be presented.

Why, and why now? Continue reading “Lack of relevance is the kiss of death for journalism” →

Why and how journalism can have a strong future

The contest between giving audiences what they like and what they need has been waged for as long as we’ve had mass-circulation newspapers. Research published last week suggests it’s time to put our money on the latter.

The latest global Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute at Oxford University not only surveyed where people get their news and how much they trust it but also what they expect it to provide.

Too much of our current news output is driven by emotional triggers – prompts that induce people to read, listen or watch almost in spite of themselves. Death, crime, and misfortune add little to our ability to function in society, but they are surefire ways to get our attention.

Or they were in the past.

It is clear from the Reuters report that in an information saturated digital environment, too much competition for attention means button-pushing will not drawn people to news outlets any longer. Internationally, only about a fifth of the online community identify news outlets as their sources of news. More are turning to short videos for ‘news’ and much of that isn’t being produced by news outlets but by online commentators and a new breed called ‘creators’. And, apart from that, interest in news generally is still on a downward trend.

However, the Digital News Report 2024 also points to what may be the salvation for news media if they have the sense to embrace it and to find new ways to reach their audiences.

The institute used a model of audience research, originally employed by the BBC, that measures needs rather than likes. It surveyed users on eight indicators under four headings of knowledge, understanding, feeling, and doing:

  • Update
  • Education
  • Perspective
  • Assistance
  • Engagement
  • Inspiration
  • Connection
  • Diversion

Unsurprisingly, the greatest need from news media was to update (72 per cent) but, significantly, it was closely followed by the need for news to educate (67 per cent) and to give perspective (62 per cent). Around 60 per cent also wanted news media to help them and keep them engaged with issues, two factors that were closely related. Around half needed the news for inspiration or connection. Less than half need the news for diversion.

The update role will continue to be core business for news media but cannot be relied upon to bring audiences to homepages. Much of this updating is spread through social media. It is in the more demanding functions that news media may secure their future.

But how well do they meet needs now? Continue reading “Why and how journalism can have a strong future” →

No news is bad news

Mainstream media’s relevance in today’s world has been dealt another blow by a new report on digital media.

The Digital News Report 2023 by the Reuters Institute at Oxford University covers 46 countries that account for more than half the world’s population. Sadly, New Zealand is not among them, but its findings are as applicable here as anywhere.

The bottom line: Many publishers are struggling to convince people that their news is worth paying attention to, let alone paying for.

The Reuters Institute has been tracking digital news audience behaviour in annual reports since 2012. Its first report (which surveyed five nations) noted mainstream media were investing heavily in ‘digital first’ strategies and the use of social media to access news content was on the rise.

The ensuing 11 years have seen that change accelerate but not in ways that news publishers and broadcasters would either anticipate or desire. The latest report provides few, in any, bright spots for them. Continue reading “No news is bad news” →