3 Key Areas The Media Is Investing Time, Money And Resources
We all know that media organizations are changing every single day.
Some are shutting down completely, while others are popping up in new formats. As a public relations professional, understanding the current media climate from a business and organizational standpoint can go a long way in your day to day media relations efforts.
Whether it’s money, resources or time, what are some areas in which media is currently investing? Alternatively, where are media organizations pulling resources -- and why? Understanding the answers to these questions can help give you a better idea for what sort of topics the media is interested in covering, and therefore give you more insight on how you can best craft your approach.
You (and your clients) can be a helpful resource to them, if you know what it is they are looking for.
We are always pouring through media news, rounding up new outlets, seeking opportunities to build relationships with journalists and become useful resources. As we’ve kept an eye on media trends over the past few months, here is where we have noticed some areas where media organizations are making investments.
1. Spanish language content
Many media organizations are investing in Spanish language content. While the number of Hispanic media outlets have been increasing, now English-based media outlets are also exploring new opportunities to reach young and old Latinx communities.
For example, The Washington Post recently announced the introduction of a twice-a-week Spanish language podcast and Spanish pieces in the opinion section. They are going beyond translating existing content into Spanish and really focusing on covering issues affecting this community. We have seen them invest more resources by hiring regional reporters covering the migration crisis, the U.S. Mexico relationship and issues countries in South America are facing. In doing so, they are also hoping to expand their reach to a larger international audience.
Other examples include Altice USA (which recently acquired i24 and Cheddar), which has a new partnership with Univision to air Spanish language digital broadcasts in collaboration with local News 12 in New York, and Mundo Hispánico, the largest Spanish speaking newspaper in Georgia, which is reaching new local communities across the United States through their digital channels.
This all comes as no surprise, given that Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the United States and the Spanish speaking population is only growing -- and this audience wants to stay informed! News outlets are getting a better understanding of how to reach and resonate with Spanish speakers. The more these media outlets can appeal to this growing audience, the more they can grow their readership and subscriber base, and ultimately, this is all good for a media organization’s bottom line.
2. Investigative reporting
News organizations are investing in investigative journalism, with a focus on specific issues affecting their community. Whether the emphasis is creating new teams, expanding local teams, or supplementing national teams across newsroom beats with investigative staff, this growing trend is likely to continue.
For example, The Washington Post plans to expand their already growing investigative team, hiring 10 new staff members across beats like Sports, Climate and Environment and Foreign desks and new roles in their investigative unit. This highlights the investment in key issue areas like climate change, foreign interference and controversies in sports to uncover stories that need deeper examination. Within the Investigative Unit, they are equipping the current team with additional staff like an editor for quick turnaround stories, a long-term project reporter, and a FOIA specialist to seek opportunities in public records on all levels of government.
The Seattle Times aims to have the largest local investigative reporting team in the country, to report on the “solutions that are working” within local communities through community funding. The Boston Globe has rolled out a new investigative team dedicated to covering public education in Massachusetts focusing on the inequality of the current education system and how it can be improved.
With the rapidly changing, even neurotic news cycle, a commitment to investigative journalism is more necessary than ever. It reveals dedication to accountability, when misinformation is rampant, and loyalty to their audience when trust is at stake. Readers are more engaged than ever in the issues of the day. Beyond reading about what the story is, they want to know why it is and how it impacts them. They expect high standards in journalistic integrity and this trend shows the media is making efforts to meet their audiences need.
3. Smart speakers
Newspapers, traditional broadcast tv/radio and online outlets are no longer the only ways people keep on top of the news. Using a smart speaker has become ubiquitous in many people’s lives, which explains why media organizations are exploring ways to make their news content more accessible to users. The future of voice in the world of news is uncertain, but many organizations are trying to get ahead to help figure out how voice assisted technology fits in the news landscape.
For example, The Atlantic recently launched “Daily Idea,” a new smart speaker news briefing. They condense a recent story from the outlet into a two-minute audio report, aiming to be a little different by moving away from politics. Instead the daily weekday news briefing will be sourced from a wide variety of sections like science, tech, health, family and education. Outside, a popular outdoors magazine and online platform, is expanding their content to voice assisted audio, inspired by their wildly successful newsletter. The audio will feature a roundup of the latest outdoor news on climate change, public lands and outdoor sports, among other topics. Reuters plans to deliver over 45,0000 stories each month on a variety of topics including breaking news, politics, business, sports and entertainment in a new collaboration with Amazon Alexa.
Media outlets understand that in order to keep their audiences engaged, they need to reach them in new ways, and smart speakers provide a great option to do that. A lot of work has gone into traditional articles -- research, time, and reporting -- but this can be repackaged to reach consumers who prefer to get their information in a different format. They understand that audiences’ preferences are changing and in order to stay relevant, they need to meet those preferences. Smart speakers allow news organizations to reach their followers directly and can create a tailored news experience. There’s endless potential for news content- news outlets are now investing to figure out what works.
What can we take from these trends as PR pros?
How can we better work with media with these trends in mind? Media organizations are constantly creating new products and exploring new ways to reach new and old audiences. We need to meet them where they are, adapt our content to better fit with their needs and most importantly, leverage these opportunities. We also need to make sure we present information in ways that appeal to what these audiences want. Whether it's using messaging that appeals to Spanish-speaking audiences, providing helpful expert resources or tips for investigative reporters, or just knowing how to package a story in concise soundbites -- we need to know how to get (and keep) the media's attention and help them better achieve their goals.
This piece originally appeared in Muck Rack.