Reuters Institute’s outlook
▶ Media’s future: more digital, more economic pain
The coronavirus outbreak has prompted a significant increase in news consumption but the economic turmoil is forcing news businesses to accelerate their move to digital, The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism said.
The coronavirus lockdowns prompted a global rise in viewing of television and online news though concerns about misinformation remain high, with Facebook and WhatsApp seen as the main channels for spreading so-called “fake news.”
The broader picture is that the outbreak is accelerating the trends wrought by the technological revolution, including the rise of smartphones as an interface of news consumption, The Reuters Institute said in its annual Digital News Report.
“The headline is that we see an accelerated move to digital media and mobile media and various kinds of platforms,” Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute, said by telephone.
“This is accompanied by a continued decline in trust in news and growing concerns over misinformation, in particular on social media and from some politicians.”
The business of news remains bleak. Media across the world are cutting staff to cope with a dramatic fall in advertising revenue. But a ray of hope may be that increasing numbers of people are willing to pay for news online, though that may also increase informational inequality as many cannot afford top quality journalism.
Looking to the future, publishers are increasingly recognizing that long-term survival is likely to involve stronger and deeper connections with audiences online.
Journalism matters and is in demand again. But one problem for publishers is that this extra interest is producing even less income – as advertisers brace for an inevitable recession and print revenue dips. And a “winner takes all” process can be seen: Around half of those that subscribe to any online or combined package in the US use the New York Times or the Washington Post, the Reuters Institute found.
A similar trend can be seen in the UK with The Times or the Telegraph.
And for those predicting the dominance of video news, the Reuters Institute found that in a number of countries, people under 35 preferred to read rather than watch news online.
2019 seems to have marked a shift in terms of public and political interest, with more people across the globe joining demonstrations and strikes led by next generation leaders, the report said.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is a research center at the University of Oxford.