I recently attended the Westminster Media Forum policy conference: The future of news following the Caircross Review - innovation, monetisation and digital platforms, 12th November 2019. According to the World Press Trends Report 2019, mobile users now account for the vast majority of digital traffic to news sites globally (56%).  As public news consumption is increasingly being driven online, broadcast and print media are suffering as a result. Since 2018, there has been a 4% decrease in people getting their news from TV, with people increasingly citing word of mouth as their source for news.  Local newspapers are disappearing.

In 2019, only 1 in 3 younger people use TV for their news consumption.  Clare Sumner, Director, Policy, BBC, revealed that younger audiences will turn to the BBC to check out whether what they're hearing is right.  She added that it is important for young people to be able to "find material quickly to puncture echo chambers."

Dame Frances Cairncross said that a key challenge facing reputable journalism is persuading people to pay for online news services. 

"How do you get people to pay for online news?"

Dame Frances Cairncross

Newspapers like The Times and The Telegraph have gone down the subscription route.  The Guardian request a donation from visitors to the site.  Dame Cairncross suggested that innovative approaches to payment models might prove successful, such as offering the ability to buy stories or editions on demand, rather than pay for a whole year via subscription. 

In the UK, almost half of consumers go first thing in the morning to a news app, proving that brand still has relevance, according to Benedicte Autret, Head of New Partnerships, UK, Ireland, France, & Benelux, Google.  The challenge facing news publishers will be how they can capitalise financially on that to grow their online audience. 

This disappearance of local newspapers is having an impact on local communities.  

"Much of the ad revenue that previously funded local news media is now in the pockets of the global tech giants."

Henry Faure Walker, Chief Executive Officer, Newquest

Initial research in affected areas has shown one impact to be that people are less likely to go out and vote.  Dame Cairncross called for more research to be done to get a better understanding of the negative impacts facing communities. 

Some news publishers are looking to find ways to ensure that their journalism remains free and accessible to the public. One example is HuffPost UK, who engage with their audience by reporting on the human versions of stories, rather than focusing on what's happening in Westminster.  They recently had a reporter spend a week at a school in the north to give their audience an understanding of how austerity and government policies really affect the people they are directly impacting. 

Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shared an insight as to why people use social media for news consumption.  Aside from just convenience, social media offers a practical, varied, and time-efficient method for people to source content related to their interests and to use that content to engage with others online.

As previously reported in my blog Arbitrating Truth: Tackling Misinformation and Disinformation Online, the reliability of new sources on social media platforms is currently a global concern.  Good quality news journalism, both local and national, must be preserved for future generations.

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Caitriona Fitzsimons Digital Reporter