Nieman Lab.
Predictions for
Journalism, 2024.
Yes, the Israel-Hamas war is important, along with the ongoing coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the U.S. 2024 presidential election and preventing gun violence and defending democracy [and insert other traumatic news or tragedy here].
But the truth is people are tired of the negative news, and they’re avoiding it in droves. And if we keep ignoring their patterns, journalism could be out of business. We’ve read the reports. We’ve seen the decline in our own audiences. For some, it’s led to major newsroom layoffs and the rise of “doing more with less.”
Journalism is at a pivotal crossroads when it comes to meeting audiences where they are. There’s the audience many news outlets have now, who care about where they get their news and appreciating the news package presented to them. Then there’s the next generation audience, quickly becoming the majority audience — if news orgs can make a compelling argument for their news product’s relevancy.
The 20-somethings to 30-somethings who have grown up knowing how the internet works have the confidence to go find the information they’re looking for on their own. They don’t need a news brand. They’ll decide for themselves what is fact versus fiction on the big World Wide Web. After all, who wants to be loyal to a brand that doesn’t reflect their interests?
If journalists want a real shot at staying relevant with younger audiences and ensuring the survival of the news industry, we’ll stop falling back on what we believe is the most important story. Instead, we’ll actually ask our audiences and listen — for real this time. It’s time to broaden our scope of what we consider news and redefine what is important.
If there’s an audience, it’s news. The latest in the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance matters. So does advice on how much to tip your barista. And stories about lost airline baggage found thanks to the smart use of AirTags.
Are these the most Earth-shattering stories? No. And that’s the point. It’s a distraction from the chaos of life. The internet has found a way to make everything feel like doom and gloom, especially after 2020. People need a break. Influencers have stepped up to help fill the void and offer up content that meets the needs of their communities. There’s an opportunity for news media to be this essential, too.
Don’t get it twisted. Next-gen audiences understand the difference between vetted information from a seasoned journalist and the authentic voice of the travel influencer they follow on TikTok. Because when there’s big breaking news, like a war in the Middle East, they’re not expecting that influencer to be a trustworthy voice of information. They’re going to the trusted news sources known to cover the ins and outs of these stories to get them caught up.
But these stories can feel never ending and often don’t have immediate effects on their everyday lives. So there’s a limit to how much they can take before avoiding news publishers at all costs. They’ve seen firsthand from the generations before them how draining the current state of news can be, especially when it comes to mental health. And they’re not going to make the same mistake.
As journalists, we must ask ourselves: What can we do for our audiences that they can’t do themselves that is meaningful to their everyday lives? Is it making them a better person? Does it spark joy? Is it teaching them something useful that they can put into action immediately?
There won’t be one metric to rule them all. From the start, journalists need to know who this is for, where this story is being told and what’s the right format. The benchmark for success will look different for various stories because their purpose — their why — will also be different.
The burden is on news orgs to make their use case so clear to their next audience that it will require a culture change in the way many in our industry view news. And we may not get it right the first few tries. As audiences’ habits continue to shift, it’ll be a long game to see if the new strategies we try really works. But we have to keep experimenting if we want journalism to survive.
Because what’s working with the audiences we have today won’t work for the audiences we’ll have in the future. The clock is ticking, and it’s not on our side.
Kendall Trammell is a senior producer who leads weekend programming for CNN Digital.
Yes, the Israel-Hamas war is important, along with the ongoing coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the U.S. 2024 presidential election and preventing gun violence and defending democracy [and insert other traumatic news or tragedy here].
But the truth is people are tired of the negative news, and they’re avoiding it in droves. And if we keep ignoring their patterns, journalism could be out of business. We’ve read the reports. We’ve seen the decline in our own audiences. For some, it’s led to major newsroom layoffs and the rise of “doing more with less.”
Journalism is at a pivotal crossroads when it comes to meeting audiences where they are. There’s the audience many news outlets have now, who care about where they get their news and appreciating the news package presented to them. Then there’s the next generation audience, quickly becoming the majority audience — if news orgs can make a compelling argument for their news product’s relevancy.
The 20-somethings to 30-somethings who have grown up knowing how the internet works have the confidence to go find the information they’re looking for on their own. They don’t need a news brand. They’ll decide for themselves what is fact versus fiction on the big World Wide Web. After all, who wants to be loyal to a brand that doesn’t reflect their interests?
If journalists want a real shot at staying relevant with younger audiences and ensuring the survival of the news industry, we’ll stop falling back on what we believe is the most important story. Instead, we’ll actually ask our audiences and listen — for real this time. It’s time to broaden our scope of what we consider news and redefine what is important.
If there’s an audience, it’s news. The latest in the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance matters. So does advice on how much to tip your barista. And stories about lost airline baggage found thanks to the smart use of AirTags.
Are these the most Earth-shattering stories? No. And that’s the point. It’s a distraction from the chaos of life. The internet has found a way to make everything feel like doom and gloom, especially after 2020. People need a break. Influencers have stepped up to help fill the void and offer up content that meets the needs of their communities. There’s an opportunity for news media to be this essential, too.
Don’t get it twisted. Next-gen audiences understand the difference between vetted information from a seasoned journalist and the authentic voice of the travel influencer they follow on TikTok. Because when there’s big breaking news, like a war in the Middle East, they’re not expecting that influencer to be a trustworthy voice of information. They’re going to the trusted news sources known to cover the ins and outs of these stories to get them caught up.
But these stories can feel never ending and often don’t have immediate effects on their everyday lives. So there’s a limit to how much they can take before avoiding news publishers at all costs. They’ve seen firsthand from the generations before them how draining the current state of news can be, especially when it comes to mental health. And they’re not going to make the same mistake.
As journalists, we must ask ourselves: What can we do for our audiences that they can’t do themselves that is meaningful to their everyday lives? Is it making them a better person? Does it spark joy? Is it teaching them something useful that they can put into action immediately?
There won’t be one metric to rule them all. From the start, journalists need to know who this is for, where this story is being told and what’s the right format. The benchmark for success will look different for various stories because their purpose — their why — will also be different.
The burden is on news orgs to make their use case so clear to their next audience that it will require a culture change in the way many in our industry view news. And we may not get it right the first few tries. As audiences’ habits continue to shift, it’ll be a long game to see if the new strategies we try really works. But we have to keep experimenting if we want journalism to survive.
Because what’s working with the audiences we have today won’t work for the audiences we’ll have in the future. The clock is ticking, and it’s not on our side.
Kendall Trammell is a senior producer who leads weekend programming for CNN Digital.
