Media outlook: ‘Solutions stories’ may win back crisis-weary readers
The New York Times (this photo of its building in New York City taken on Aug. 3, 2020) now offers a package that combines its core news product with cooking apps, games, and Wirecutter review services. (File photo by SHANNON STAPLETON / Reuters)
MANILA, Philippines — Newsrooms around the world are hoping to win back audiences by producing more solutions-oriented stories and better climate coverage, according to an annual forecast of challenges and opportunities for the media.
In a report titled “Journalism, Media and Technology Trends and Predictions,” the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) said 2023 would be “a year of heightened concerns about the sustainability of news media” as the “depressing and relentless nature of the news agenda — COVID-19, global warming and inflation — continues to turn many people away.”
According to the report, over half of the 300 newsroom executives it surveyed from 53 countries said they didn’t feel confident about their business prospects.
Many continue to suffer from a post-COVID-19 slump and slower readership growth, while print outlets still see partial breakdowns in distribution networks due to lockdowns, it said.
“The prevailing mood in the news industry is one of uncertainty and some concern about what the next year might have in store,” the report said, adding: “The economic indicators do not look good, with rapidly rising costs and a squeeze on household spending expected to continue for some time.”
Layoffs, slimmer editions
Many of the newspapers surveyed, such as the Washington Post Magazine and the United Kingdom’s Newsquest, are planning to slim down editions or even close their print editions altogether, the report said.
Several legacy broadcast outlets like CNN and NPR are also planning massive layoffs as advertisers have cut back on spending.
About 72 percent of newsrooms were also worried about “news avoidance” among readers and viewers, especially about depressing topics like climate change and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The phenomenon, according to RISJ, has doubled in some countries since 2017 as people feel media coverage had gotten “negative, repetitive, hard to trust and leaves people feeling powerless.”
Even so, many media companies are hoping to see their subscriber base grow through better subscription bundles and are diversifying their revenue streams, the report said.
Providing solutions
For example, the New York Times is now offering a package that combines its core news product with cooking apps, games, and Wirecutter review services, it noted.
The report also found “almost universal enthusiasm” for explanatory journalism, while many also plan to do more solutions journalism, or stories that provide solutions instead of just identifying problems.
Many were understandably skeptical about publishing “positive stories,” as research suggests that audiences still want journalists to continue to cover difficult stories.
But RISJ said this was not a “zero-sum” game, as news outlets could offer both — by upholding their mission to hold power to account while also giving people hope and inspiration.
Many newsrooms have also committed to revamping the way they cover climate change in response to criticism that it is being reported “breathlessly without joining up the wider dots [or] treating climate as a discrete subject.”
Among other steps cited in the study, nearly half of the newsrooms have pledged to create a climate team and to take measures to ensure that climate is considered across all beats.
Meanwhile, as Meta turns away from news and Twitter continues to be unpredictable, many news outlets are hoping to increase their presence on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, according to the report.
Active on TikTok
A recent Reuters Institute report found that half of the world’s top publishers are now active on TikTok, which many find to be a good way to engage younger users.
Many are also looking to diversify their content by investing more in podcasts, email newsletters and digital video. In fact, many outlets who already put out audio content told RISJ that their audio subscribers were among the most loyal and spent more time on their products.
Overall, companies that have completed their digital transition and have robust subscription businesses “remain in the best position to ride out the incoming year,” according to the RISJ report.
In contrast, those who remain overreliant on advertising might have a tougher time this year, it said.
Still, RISJ said it hoped that these shocks could “open up more radical thinking about the way news can be created and what a digital news organization should look like.”
“New technologies can be our ally in tailoring content more precisely to different audience needs,” it said.
But at the same time, it added: “Journalism will need to emphasize its human qualities and its track record of delivering trusted content if it is to stand out from the flood of automated and synthetic media that threatens to overwhelm internet audiences.”
