Special Edition of Innovation in News Media World Report Re imagining Mark Thompson Company Tracy de Groose Newsworks the Faisal Abbas Arab News Marty Baron Lukáš Fila Denník N Louis Dreyfus Groupe Lisa MacLeod WAN-IFRA Jens Pettersson NTM/Upsala Nya Tidning Warren Fernandez The Straits Times News Editors Fran Unsworth BBC News Howard Saltz Florida International University Juan Señor, Jordi Juan La Vanguardia Emma Goodman Irene Gentle The Toronto Star Damian Eales News Corp An annual survey by INNOVATION International Media Jose Del Rio La Nacion Consulting Group for the World Association of Newspapers Jeongdo Hong JoongAng Group and News Publishers — WAN-IFRA INNOVATION innovation in IN ReNEWS MEDIA WORLDnewsimagining mediaREPORT worldthe 2018 report News2019

LONDON, UK LONDON,LONDON, UKUK GROWTH STRATEGIES • DIGITAL • NEWSROOMS • DESIGN GROWTHGROWTH STRATEGIESSTRATEGIES • DIGITALDIGITAL • NEWSROOMSNEWSROOMS •• DESIGNDESIGN 4 Contributors Contents 5

FAISAL ABBAS JEONGDO HONG 6 MARTY BARON JORDI JUAN FOREWORD TRACY DE GROOSE LISA MACLEOD A note from the editors JOSE DEL RIO JENS PETTERSSON LOUIS DREYFUS MARIA RESSA 8 DAMIAN EALES MICAELI ROURKE

WARREN FERNANDEZ HOWARD SALTZ ESSAYS

LUKAS FILA JAYANT SRIRAM

IRENE GENTLE MARK THOMPSON 90 EMMA GOODMAN FRAN UNSWORTH MONETISATION 14 Business Models for News Publishers publisher MARTA TORRES [email protected]

editors 122 EMMA GOODMAN [email protected] ANOTHER CLICK IN THE WALL JUAN SEÑOR A Primer in Paywall Models [email protected]

copy editor MICAELI ROURKE [email protected] 138

design, cover design VASCO FERREIRA VISUAL JOURNALISM COMES OF AGE [email protected] DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC illustrations LUIS GRAÑENA

typography 156 KEISS by Dino dos Santos [email protected] WAN-IFRA Sharing Global Best Practice

JUAN SEÑOR MARTA TORRES 158 President & Principal Partner Administrative Director & Principal Partner

[email protected] www.innovation.media INNOVATION From Media Companies to Information Engines Printed in Spain

ISBN: 978-84-96076-28-0 Legal deposit: NA-1435/1999

INNOVATION MEDIA CONSULTING GROUP © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders 6 Foreword A Note From the Editors 7

Editors Juan Señor, Emma Goodman

There is finally a global recognition that independent journalism is valuable and must be paid What a year. 2020 has defied all expectations, and no opportunities for face-to-face chance few months of the COVID-19 crisis, research by turning the world as we knew it upside down. encounters. Foreign reporting is suffering as Press Gazette found in June. for: publishers It will take some time for the full impact of the journalists reduce travel to avoid spreading or There is finally a global recognition that in- COVID-19 pandemic on the news industry catching the virus. dependent journalism is valuable and must be must seize this to be felt, but we can already see significant Advertising markets have of course been paid for: publishers must seize this moment. As changes taking place. hit hard, and as a result, many news organ- the Local News Initiative at Northwestern Uni- moment. The pandemic and consequent lockdowns isations are suffering. Publishers have been versity suggests, this is “a make-or-break time are accelerating trends in all areas of life, cutting jobs, cutting office space and cutting for local news” in the US, with the pressure on including news consumption and produc- print days. And as in all industries, there will be smaller publishers to keep the new readers and tion. Trends that might have taken five years to victims of this crisis. subscribers that they have garnered during the become the norm are now becoming the norm But there is a critical need for reliable health crisis. We give an overview of 14 different business in five months. These include the migration of information, particularly when online misinfor- Publishers and journalists around the models that news organisations can try. We the audience to digital platforms, the failure of mation is a credible threat, as the World Health world are stepping up. Three-quarters of pub- also take a closer look at the different types of digital advertising to provide sufficient funding Organisation’s warning of an ‘infodemic’ in lishers surveyed by BRAND United and Pub- paywall that outlets around the world are using. for quality journalism, and the collapse of trust early February made clear. Although some lishing Executive created new content products Whichever you choose, do find a way to make in social media platforms. titles’ print operations have suffered due to in response to COVID-19. News organisations your readers pay. For too long we have been in As well as being the hardest story that lockdowns, many publications have seen their have held a plethora of virtual events, they have the wrong business: selling ads, when we need many journalists will have ever had to cover, digital readership soar during the pandemic as started new dedicated email briefings on the to be selling our journalism. lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic the public seeks to understand the crisis and progress of the virus and its implications, they We open this year’s report with essays have created huge challenges for news organ- make decisions directly relating to their own have launched podcasts, and more. from leading publishers and editors on the isations. Reporters and presenters have done lives. As we show in our visual journalism subject of Reimagining the news. We started impressive work to recreate studios in their In the UK for example, newspaper brands chapter in this report, news outlets have taken this effort at the beginning of the year before bedrooms and living rooms with duvets on their added 6.6 million daily digital readers in the data visualisations to new levels as they seek to extent of the health crisis was clear: we had no heads to improve audio quality, fending off chil- year ending 31 March 2020, reaching record explain unfathomable numbers, unpredictable idea how much more pertinent this topic would dren and pets who wander in and out as they audiences, according to data from The Publish- scenarios and unprecedented political deci- become. We hope that these insights into think- please, but it is far from an ideal situation. The ers Audience Measurement Company, PAMCo. sions. ing at news companies around the globe will creativity of a newsroom can’t be reproduced Ten of the biggest newspaper groups in the As ever, revenue is top of mind for most inspire and motivate as we move through this on Zoom calls. It is far harder to hold politicians US and UK collectively gained more than one publishers, and the current crisis means that it turbulent start to a new decade, with hopefully to account during virtual press conferences million new digital subscriptions amid the first is more crucial than ever to diversify, and fast. more peaceful times ahead. l The New York Times Newsworks Arab News The Washington Post Rappler Demník N Le Monde Upsala Nya Tidning

The Straits Times BBC La Vanguardia Toronto Star News Corp La Nacion JoongAng Group Special Edition of Innovation in News 10 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 11 THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO CAN DO GREAT WORK IN THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN CONTENT CREATIVITY AND TECH I N NOVAT I ON MARK THOMPSON OUTGOING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY, USA SpecialSpecial Edition Edition of ofInnovation Innovation in in News News 12 Reimagining tthhee NEWS MediaMedia World World Report Report 13

The economic object of any legacy media digital strategy is to develop digital products “ and services which can grow revenue and profitability the other American streamers, but there’s a company. Its journalism was as strong as ever. crucial difference between producing great con- It had been an early investor in digital and aggressively enough tent to fit someone else’s creative agenda, and its website was still recognised as a market commissioning and controlling it yourself. It’s leader. to offset the inevitable the commissioners who decide what gets made But pretty much every economic indicator declines in print. – and reap most of the economic upside. If real was trending down. Print advertising, which scale is what it takes in digital content distribu- had collapsed during 2008/9 was still falling tion, we don’t have a horse in that race either. like a stone. The number of print subscribers was also falling, albeit more gradually. News- society which loses its shared culture loses stand sales were plummeting. To everyone’s forward economics looked. That digital head- much of its sense of distinctive identity. A soci- * consternation, after years of growth, digital start. Its untapped global potential. ety in which different communities and groups The idea that Netflix and others are changing advertising was going into reverse. Even the All strengths to build on, though quite how can no longer listen to and come to understand the game in broadcasting is hardly news of digital subscription model – launched the was as yet unclear. Wall Street, not known for each other’s pasts and presents shouldn’t course. It was a big theme of last week’s Royal previous year, and the company’s great hope its sentimentality, had reached its verdict – be surprised if mutual incomprehension and Television Society’s Cambridge convention. As – seemed to be running out of steam at around which was that The Times was the best of a bad division are the result. If you doubt that any of for digital disruption of newspapers, that’s been the 600,000 subscriber mark. Innovation had lot. The stock price which had touched $50 a this connects to big politics and national well- with us for years. stalled. Strategy was at a stand. It remained a share at its peak was now stuck at around $8. being, you’re not paying attention. What I hope to bring to the party is my ex- largely analogue company not just in revenue So what did we do? Over the next few Our culture comprises much more than perience of leading a large-scale and generally but in spirit and expertise. years, we devised and executed a strategy media. Language, literature, education, the- encouraging response to the digital tsunami. I Terrifyingly, it was nonetheless one of the which had the following elements: atre, music, dance, the visual arts, much else hope that this experience – with real audienc- highest performers in the entire US industry. First, we believe in journalism. It’s what we besides. But I doubt anyone would dispute the es, a real creative organisation, real technology Since 2004, more than one in five US newspa- stand for. It’s the only thing we have to sell. So – centrality of media – digital media, regular TV and real dollars – will help convince you that pers have closed. Employment in the industry unlike almost everyone else – we’ve invested in and radio, movies, newspapers and magazines, successful transformation is possible, at least fell from over 400,000 in 2000 to 140,000 last journalism. local and national – in British life. for legacy players who accept the daunting year – a nearly two-thirds attrition. It’s not just We now have around 1,750 journalists But to state the obvious, many of these investment and drastic change required. It’s the closures – even the survivors have been working for The New York Times. That’s three categories – and therefore much of our cul- also, I believe, a useful perspective from which savaging headcount. More journalists have lost hundred more than in 2012 and the greatest tural sovereignty – are now under economic to view and propose changes to current policy. their jobs in recent years in America than coal number in the company’s 170 year history. and audience threat from a process of digital I’m going to proceed as follows. First I’ll miners. Heavy investment in content is Netflix’s disintegration and reinvention that is still ac- talk about the perilous and seemingly intrac- The economic object of any legacy media strategy. It’s Disney’s strategy. They know that celerating, in many areas just getting going, and table set of threats that faced The New York digital strategy is to develop digital products distinctiveness – providing something clearly particularly from its globalising effects, which Times when I walked into the lobby as chief and services which can grow revenue and different, more valuable, more trustworthy than are driven not just by the borderless character executive in late 2012. I’ll tell you how we re- profitability aggressively enough to offset the what’s available for nothing on the web – is of digital distribution, but by its intrinsic scale sponded, draw some general lessons from that inevitable declines in print. Most American essential. Distinctiveness is a no-brainer if you economics. – lessons which in my view are just relevant for newspapers were finding it impossible to meet want to succeed as a provider of high quality It’s hard for anyone other than the US or TV, movies, radio and music as they are for the this brutally clear benchmark. They still are. digital content of any kind. China to produce global digital platforms. The news business – and apply them to today’s UK The New York Times did have important A good slice of our investment has gone UK hasn’t produced one. Nor has any other media landscape. Finally, I’ll turn to the ques- advantages. Its brand heritage and the obsti- into building classic journalistic breadth and European country, with the arguable exception tion of public policy. nate determination of the board and controlling strength. Take investigations. You’ll be familiar of Sweden and Spotify. British creators make So let’s start with The New York Times. In Ochs-Sulzberger family interest not to sav- with some of Times’s work in investigative jour- first-class programmes for Netflix, Amazon and 2012, it was still a profitable, cash-generative age the newsroom, no matter how bleak the nalism – Harvey Weinstein and Bill O’Reilly, Special Edition of Innovation in News 14 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 15

Yes, Google and should do more to help news publishers and other providers of civically “ and culturally valuable content.

– and for the best intellectual property as- cadian rhythm of the newsroom had to change. sets – with tech players who typically have vast We invented new regular experiences cash reserves or access to seemingly unlimited – morning and evening briefings, a mini- venture capital. crossword every morning, for instance – to But building an ark doesn’t come cheap. encourage return visits. One way to think about Not if you want it to float. our breakthrough podcast The Daily is as a Next, we believe in developing close, habituation tool – it now reaches two million long-term relationships with the most engaged listeners on a typical day, ten a month, and it’s consumers of our journalism with a current still growing. hypothesis that the single best way to turn We’ve experimented everywhere and with these relationships into revenue is by convert- everything. At any given moment we now have ing these loyal users into paying customers. multiple simultaneous separate experiments Until fairly recently, very few people in running in the field. news publishing believed that either. People We’ve launched successful new products just wouldn’t pay for news on digital devices, – our digital crossword and cooking products we were told. Many were amazed when The are in their own right two of the news industry’s New York Times reached even half a million largest subscription products – and unsuccess- subscribers. Now most print and many digital ful ones. players are trying to follow us. We started taking international digital sub Meanwhile in ad-funded TV or radio growth seriously – they’ve grown ten-fold since almost no one on either side of the Atlantic 2012. Audio arrived – The Daily is only one of is contemplating more than a marginal shift our podcasts – as did VR, AR and, this year, TV towards direct end-user subscriptions. Some with The Weekly. Trump’s taxes and so on – but what I want to your audience, let alone sell them subscrip- have instead been licensing their libraries We changed everything that needed to stress is the sheer number of original stories tions. to Netflix and the other streamers – in other change. A generation of new leaders came The New York Times delivers every week, a This is unavoidably a capital-intensive words, taking cash in return for helping to build in. We massively expanded training. As the drum-beat of high impact headlines previously period in media. You have to invest not just the very platforms that wish to replace them. business changed, so too did large parts of the unknown anywhere in digital, print or broad- in content, but data science, digital product, It’s only recently that legacy players have spot- employee base. In some departments, the need casting. engineering. We now have around 900 special- ted the strategic danger of that tactic. for different skills and expertise mean as much We’ve also invested in new specialists in ists – in addition to that big newsroom – work- A relationship strategy depends less on as an 85% change in the workforce. critical areas like tech and climate – on which ing on our digital machine. Most are new to the raw page-views and click-rates than it does on Today growth in digital revenue comfort- we delivered more than 800 stories last year – company. engagement and frequency – in other words, ably outstrips print losses. Company revenue is as well as video, audio and other new forms of There is a difference – one we had to learn how deeply and how often a given reader uses now growing quarter after quarter. At the end story-telling. – between “trying digital”, meaning letting a you. So we poured people and money into the of our most recently disclosed quarter, we had By contrast, instead of investing, most of handful of people play around the edges of the task of improving the digital experience of The around 5 million total subscriptions, triple the the world’s news organisations have either business, and trying as if the company’s life de- New York Times and optimising the pay model highest number ever achieved in the print era. chosen or been forced to try to cut themselves pended on it. Which it does. You have to throw and our subscription tactics. We plan to double that again to ten million by to a digital future. everything and almost everyone into the fight. From 2014, we focused most of our efforts 2025. Far from plateauing as the model enters That may drive higher short-term profit- This level of commitment is hard for on the mobile phone experience, because that its ninth year, in recent quarters the rate at ability, but it’s a strategy that leads off a cliff. publicly-listed companies who find themselves was where the users were. Peak time for news which we’re adding net new subs has acceler- You can’t degrade your journalism and keep competing for creative and engineering talent use on mobile phones is 7am, so the whole cir- ated again. Special Edition of Innovation in News 16 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 17

A relationship strategy depends less on raw page-views and click-rates than it does on engagement “ and frequency .

Our projections suggest the ultimate size of ers but without the actual legacy. of civically and culturally valuable content. Some costs will no doubt continue to rise our global subscription base could be far larger The fact that TV advertising has not yet Google has taken some modest but promising but, going forward, margin – meaning the gap even than that ten million. gone through the same scale of disruption is steps, Facebook is talking seriously about do- between total revenue and total cost – will In 2015, we set ourselves the challenge only a timing issue. It’s inevitable, as audiences ing the same. grow wider and wider. We see not just a viable of doubling digital revenue from $400 million switch from privileged tradition distribution But let’s be realistic. The true source of fully digital news business in prospect, but an a year – the figure then – to $800 million by channels to digital. The same economic logic legacy media’s tribulations is not these two increasingly profitable one. But it’s impossible 2020. We expect to hit that target well ahead of applies. Linear broadcasters everywhere are companies – and wouldn’t be solved if they without scale and without that high initial time. The stock price has more than tripled. also undergoing the same ominous early stage were regulated more tightly, or even replaced investment. We’re not there yet – no one in digital is audience-loss that hit the west’s newspapers by other search and social providers. The true The next condition is a super-clear value there yet, perhaps never will be there, if there years ago – particularly the differential flight of culprit is the internet itself. proposition for your customers, one that meets means a secure and stable end-state – but the young. It was the internet which allowed hun- real-world demand and reflects real-world we’re on our way again. Effective counter-measures are possible. dreds of millions of users to switch from old media consumption. The Daily is by many measures the most media distribution channels to digital. It was At The New York Times, we know what our popular news podcast in the world, but it’s also the internet which robbed newspapers – and mission is: to seek the truth and help people to * reaching and deeply engaging a substantially is now robbing linear TV – of the advertising understand the world. Our research suggests But how applicable is this experience to new audience for The New York Times. Three- pricing-power that went with the old privileged enormous and growing global demand for seri- media more broadly? In my view and despite quarters of its audience is 40 or under. 45% are distribution. ous news. I’ve already talked about how we hope the unique features of The Times, very appli- 30 or under. And the politician or regulator has yet to satisfy that demand and about the critical role cable. First, it helps us dispel some persistent I grew up in broadcasting being told that been born who can uninvent that magnificent of quality and originality in our offering. myths. very few young people would ever listen to and scarifying Pandora’s box. We’re stuck with We’re not alone. It’s no coincidence that Digital advertising can support quality serious speech audio. It’s rubbish and probably it and therefore might as well make the most all the really successfully digital subscription journalism on its own. No it can’t. It was never always was. of it. models come from titles at the very top of the going to. Most of the spoils of advertising go to Bucking the trend requires not only invest- So for those brave souls – whether in news market. The future looks much tougher in the those who control distribution. Once that was ment but creativity and lateral thinking. Yet the or entertainment – who opt to truly take the middle and bottom of the market. If your jour- newspapers and magazines. Now it’s the major reality is that any media company which fails to plunge, what are the fundamental conditions nalism isn’t special enough to sell to consum- Silicon Valley platforms. The distribution ad- crack this problem, and can no longer replen- for success? ers, and you’re losing out in the ad market to vantage we once enjoyed with our presses and ish its audience, doesn’t have a long-term Scale. You need scale of audience, scale of the major digital platforms, I don’t see how you our trucks has already shrunk. In due course it future. The effects won’t be immediate – older engagement, scale of subscriptions. The goal is keep your head above water. will disappear entirely. audiences are typically very loyal – but it’s ulti- to reach the point at which operating leverage Some of the same dynamics are playing out We’re building a different kind of distinc- mately non-survivable. It’s as simple as that. begins to rise – in other words, that moment in in the unfolding global battle for the future of TV. tive digital advertising at The Times based Myth number two: it’s all Google and a company’s arc of digital growth beyond which The streamers may drive much of their cur- around strategic partnerships with the world’s Facebook’s fault. They stole our business and investment and other costs no longer need rent consumption with reruns from conventional biggest brands. It’s showing real promise. something must be done about it. to rise at the same pace as revenue, and the broadcast, but they’re putting their commission- But that’s an option only available to a Now, it’s convenient to have someone to fundamental profitability of the business starts ing dollars into the kind of distinctive, ambitious handful of publishers. Unless the others can blame for your woes – and it’s true that policy- to increase. programming which used to be reserved for pre- pivot away from dependence on advertising, makers and regulators across the western Say we spend x hundreds of millions of mium cable and satellite – HBO or Showtime, to subscription or other revenue streams, the world have any number of searching questions dollars on journalism at The New York Times to say – or indeed the BBC and Channel Four. So future looks bleak. And that includes not just to put to these two giants about their business serve five million subscribers. We won’t have to it’s not reality shows and soaps, but Fleabag and legacy firms, but former digital darlings like the practices. spend 2x to serve ten million. Nor 2x on prod- The Crown. The best US linear players are fight- Huff Post, Buzzfeed and the rest - players who Yes, Google and Facebook should do more uct and technology or many of the company’s ing back with the same: The Terror, Chernobyl, today have begun to resemble legacy publish- to help news publishers and other providers other expenses. even Game of Thrones. Special Edition of Innovation in News 18 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 19

Most legacy media structures are still shaped around the old, rather than the new business. They “ still operate with traditional pyramidal command-and-control. For now it makes sense for the streamers ever – and indeed that, in many categories, data science so that we can understand our to co-produce and share rights in the country of aggregate market failure risk actually growing. own business better. This is one of the main product. Don’t expect that to last. Soon they’ll Nonetheless the case for it needs not just to be Of all the ills afflicting the world’s legacy want it all. Given the struggle that is now gain- restated but refined and sharpened. media companies, ignorant, risk-averse, out- reasons why many are ing momentum – they’ll probably need it all The third lesson and condition for success wardly arrogant, inwardly defeatist leadership seeing such desultory too. is the how of building an effective digital media is probably the most lethal. No one can bluster Conventional broadcasters – and I include operation. It requires what is in many regards a or lobby their way out of this one. God knows, results from their conventional cable and satellite players – who new organisation. enough still try. digital businesses. do not have a compelling pure-play digital Much of your existing tech and data archi- strategy of their own risk being priced out of tecture should go in the skip. Everything needs the best talent and best content. Even in their to be rebuilt. So too those traditional functional * hey-day, they’d have struggled to compete with departments with their hierarchies and ter- So how does Britain’s media industry look these giants. Now with ad revenue – and in the ritories. when we consider it through this rather stark case of the BBC, licence fee – squeezed, their At The New York Times, we organise now lens? titles survive. At regional and local level, it financial firepower is waning. around specific digital missions – engagement, The good news is that the future of the looks like something close to a wipe-out with- Note also the impact of all this on some subscription growth, for instance – with multi- UK’s pool of talent, its writers, actors, directors, out dramatic intervention. of the traditional arguments for public service disciplinary teams drawn from many fields producers, designers and crafts, even the very The UK’s established broadcasters still intervention. working under unified leadership to achieve best of its journalistic talent, looks better than have deep roots in the national consciousness. The great programmes I mentioned come specific strategic goals. They test, they learn, ever. They still command big audiences. Their cur- out of a British creative culture and talent base they make most of the decisions usually with- The independent production sector posted rent schedules – and extensive libraries – still which the UK Public Service Broadcasters have out needing sign-off either from department a record £3 billion in revenues last year. There’s speak to many of those aspects of collective nurtured and sustained and conditioned audi- heads or senior leadership. no reason why, given the growing global ap- identity and national self-expression I men- ences to expect. But will that role still be as criti- Most legacy media structures are still petite for it, this inward investment shouldn’t tioned at the start. cal in the future as the global players ramp up shaped around the old, rather than the new grow much further. But none looks strong enough to be a true their investment in exceptional, high-risk work? business. They still operate with traditional Unfortunately, that’s where the good news contender in the coming global contest. All One could ask a similar question about pyramidal command-and-control. This is one largely runs out. are seeing adverse trends which are familiar purely financial support for the UK production of the main reasons why many are seeing such The media world is dividing into potential from other digital disruptions – trends that can sector. Reed Hastings announced that Netflix is desultory results from their digital businesses. global winners, probable survivors, and the quickly turn from disquieting to terminal. spending half a billion dollars this year on Brit- You can’t invent the future if you’re spend- rest. The UK certainly has possible survi- We’ve talked about the loss of the best ish film and TV. Does that mean that the BBC’s ing 80% of your time on legacy operations. vors – among national newspapers, the Daily talent and projects to the digital insurgents, and and Channel Four’s investment is becoming Hive them off even if they drive most current Mail and Guardian for instance. But with due the inevitable loss of linear advertising revenue. less vital? revenue and profitability. Everyone knows them respect – and notwithstanding the sizeable Both are already realities in UK broadcasting, Finally, there’s trust. According to data Ed backwards. Get a handful of trusted colleagues international audiences which several UK as is the arterial – and, as I said, ultimately Williams of Edelman presented at the RTS last to look after them so that everyone else can newspapers have built up – none looks like a insupportable – loss of young audiences. week, Netflix’s net trust score in the UK is now concentrate on the harder task. potential global winner. BBC1’s average age is 61. It’s the youngest on a par with the BBC’s and a point ahead of And, if you’re a leader, get retrained None has achieved the digital transforma- of the BBC’s television channels. The average of Channel Four’s. If the PSBs ever enjoyed a spe- yourself. You can’t wing this stuff on instinct tion of a Schibsted, or the digital diversifica- the audience for the main Channel Four – the cial status with British audiences when it came and vague memories of business school when tion of a Naspers or Springer. Their heritage is youthful, edgy alternative to the BBC – is 55. to trust, that too seems to be in question. the world was young. At The New York Times, domestic, and most have yet to change that or Effectively reaching younger audiences is Now, as you’ll hear, I believe the case for we leaders are literally back in the classroom even their print-centric ways of working. creatively hard and culturally difficult even for public intervention in media is stronger than doing graduate-level classes in statistics and I don’t see how all the current national relatively recent legacy arrivals. For the BBC, Special Edition of Innovation in News 20 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 21

The economic object of any legacy media digital strategy is to develop digital products “ and services which can grow revenue and profitability it’s also harder to justify to an Establishment that we absolutely must double-down on the see much alternative to the kind of root-and- which tends to assume that if it’s aimed at the iPlayer; and that we should also urgently find a branch transformation we’ve undertaken at aggressively enough young, it must be nakedly commercial. global streaming solution not just for the BBC The Times. The BBC as a whole should be a shoe-in as but the whole of British television. I don’t know what the new revenue mix to offset the inevitable a probable global winner. It’s the only British This idea – which we named Project Kan- should be, between subscription, free, spon- declines in print. media brand with truly global recognition and garoo – quickly gained the support of the other sorship, e-commerce, retrans and other rights potential. Its international audience runs in the UK PSBs, but was blocked in early 2009 by fees, and digital diversification. But they still hundreds of millions. Its indispensable pres- the UK Competition Commission which cited have time to find the answer – although, as in ence in the lives of most British households is domestic market competition concerns. In the the earlier cases of music and newspapers, it a testament, not just to its heritage, but to the breakneck rush of digital transformation, eight may be less time than they think. Channel Four needs a serious digital strategy talent it still attracts, and the creativity and years is an eternity. For all the reasons I’ve suggested this and the wherewithal to deliver it. excellence it still fosters. If we’re serious about opening up new in- evening, the UK needs a liberated, properly- In media, the future belongs to those who But – at a moment when Britain contem- ternational market opportunities, why wouldn’t funded BBC. By no means in all but in many can do great work in the boundary between con- plates setting out on a brave new voyage in search we unleash our only truly global media brand categories of media, market failure – the eco- tent creativity and tech innovation. The UK’s great of new friends and new global markets – we can’t and exploit it, not just to bring a British per- nomic justification for public intervention – is success in gaming and CGI suggests we have a put Britain’s media flag-carrier on the list. spective to audiences everywhere, but to already growing and will worsen in the years competitive edge here that we should exploit. That’s because of an essentially hostile introduce and project the work of the rest of the ahead. At present, public policy seems to hold The other broadcasters must find their public policy stance on the BBC, which began British creative sector as well? that the correct response to a failure of private own commercial path to the future, much as to coalesce more than a decade ago but has All these controls and obstacles have a provision – say, of regional and local news – is we’re having to do at The New York Times. But hardened notably in recent years. One of its similar effect: which is to discourage and pun- to restrict public provision of it as well. let’s learn the lesson of Project Kangaroo and fruits was the 2015 settlement which included ish innovation and, as far as possible, to keep The BBC has proven itself more adept at let them collaborate more freely with each the disastrous withdrawal of Government fund- the BBC locked up in its traditional broadcast- digital innovation and broad transformation other – and with the BBC when it can help with ing of free licence fees for the over-75s. ing box. This despite, or perhaps because of the than most private media companies – the innovation and scale. In 2007, just before we launched the BBC fact that everyone knows that linear broadcast- iPlayer is only one example. Give the Corpora- Mixed private and public provision, scal- iPlayer, I had a conversation in Silicon Val- ing is time-limited and will one day come to a tion greater freedom to accelerate its own pivot able tech solutions, community involvement, ley with Reed Hastings, who was then about full stop. to digital, but look to it to build digital products higher education, philanthropy, the support of to unveil Netflix’s own streaming service. A Radio will probably fare better. It’s sticky and platforms which can be used by the rest of the BBC – the solution will probably have many important moment for him, just as the iPlayer and relatively cheap to make. It’s readily relo- the industry too. elements and certainly shouldn’t solely consist was for us. catable to digital devices and environments. In Rethink the BBC’s global role. At present of a large public cheque. But without a policy “I don’t know why you’re bothering, some countries, including this one, it may be government funding for the BBC’s international impetus and careful coordination, the present Mark,” he said to me in a rather Reed-like way: the last life-line for those without the money to services is heavily concentrated on the world’s downward spin will continue. Here more than “you’ll never beat my algorithm. Why not just pay for high quality news, music, documentary, geopolitical hotspots. Our interests – both diplo- anywhere time is running out. give us all your content instead?” entertainment. matic and trade interests – are much wider than Instead of the policy of no – no, you can’t – Reed is one of the most impressive business But even here talent may become a prob- that. Leverage the BBC and use it as a calling no, that’s too dangerous – no, one of our politi- leaders I’ve met. Particularly since I’ve been lem. In the US, we’re already seeing a brain- card for the whole of the UK creative sector in cal backers wouldn’t like it – it needs to turn at The New York Times, he’s given me regular drain of some of the brightest creative talent the world’s markets, and indeed for the UK itself. to a policy of yes. Yes to the power of British doses of candid and incredibly useful advice. into the flourishing, and increasingly lucrative Channel Four remains an essential cre- creativity. Yes to the future. l However, I came back to the UK from this world of podcasting. ative alternative to the BBC and an enduringly and other meetings on the West Coast with the And for ITV, Channel Four and other valuable creative catalyst of the entire industry. This is an abridged version of the 2019 Steve Hewlett clear conviction that streaming would change broadcasters who today depend disproportion- No brand is better placed to begin to turn the Memorial Lecture, established by Britain’s Royal consumption of TV out of all recognition; ately on advertising for their revenue, I don’t tide when it comes to younger audiences. But Television Society and the Media Society. Special Edition of Innovation in News 22 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 23 THE MISSING BILLION

TRACY DE GROOSE OUTGOING EXECUTIVE CHAIR OF NEWSWORKS, THE MARKETING BODY FOR UK NEWSPAPERS Special Edition of Innovation in News 24 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 25

People are looking for depth. They are demanding more analysis, news and information from the “ experts they can trust.

nated over the last 10 years has been the one mistakenly generated from jihadi videos. So, why aren’t things changing? about declining newspaper circulations. With the recent General Election in the They are. Thankfully the advertisers, the Newspapers are important. Eleven million UK, Facebook’s stance on political ads has regulators and the politicians are beginning people in the UK read a national newspaper brought all these problems back into stark to wake up to all of this. But it is slow. And the every day. But 19 million people are reading focus. Recently I heard three senior journalists stranglehold the tech platforms have on the our journalism online. That’s around two- explain why it’s both a great time to be a jour- advertising market is tight. thirds of our audience. It’s where our growth in nalist and a critical time for journalism. However, the digital world is shifting on its readership is coming from. And that’s where it Why? axis and the next phase of digital advertising is will continue to come from. Two million more Because people are looking for depth. looking significantly brighter for publishers. people every day are reading news journalism They are demanding more analysis, news and Every piece of evidence shows that con- online compared to a year ago. information from the experts they can trust. centrating digital spend into quality journalistic ’m going to dive straight in and start with the So, record numbers are reading the news. Journalism matters. Now more than ever. environments delivers. And more and more C-word and talk about commercial. And readers are following us and our journal- So, where does that leave us? advertisers are ready to listen. Why? ism as we transition online. On all the metrics that matter to advertis- Why do I need your help? Because we need to talk about the money. In any other sector that kind of growth ers – growth, trust and demand – we are in Because we have to take advantage of this We have been selling the wrong thing and for would be celebrated, packaged up and sold, great shape. But - and it’s that big one billion shift. We can’t sit here and expect everything to too long. We need to change that, fast. And, I and told repeatedly, to advertisers who play a pound but – for all this growth the money still fall into our laps. We can’t let the opportunity can only do that with your help and support. huge part in funding our industry. isn’t coming our way. pass us by. So, why have we have we been selling the Why do we have a window of opportunity According to the forecasts, online ad We are the greatest storytellers. But we wrong thing? right now? revenue was set to rise by 5.1% in 2019. Mildly haven’t always been great at telling our own story. Because as an industry we’ve been selling Because public trust in news brands and encouraging, but far from enough. We need to change this and fast. We must learn our advertising space and not our journalism. It demand for trusted sources of news and infor- Why isn’t the money coming faster? to tell one unified industry story, more power- has lost us about one billion pounds of ad rev- mation is soaring. The simple answer: digital advertising is fully, more consistently and more frequently. enue over the last decade. One billion pounds The perception of the news industry is broken. I am committing to be a figurehead for this. less at a time when we really need it. But now changing - trust is on the rise. According to our It is dominated by an open marketplace in I have been to the United Nations to talk about we have a perfect window to change that. A research, 69% of people say they trust their which content has been sold as one amorphous the digital ad market and the many challenges perfect window to start getting the investment chosen news brand. mass. There is little attention to the quality of that I have outlined here. I am making more back into journalism. Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows that the content. Or the attention of the audience. noise in more places to help turn the tide in our Why? people’s trust in established news brands grew In fact, the word “content” has been direction. Because we are at a critical crossroads for the from 48% in 2017 to 60% in 2019. Compare that hijacked by the bullshitters, the propogandists, So, if I could ask one thing, it would be for news industry. News readership is at record levels. to social media where trust languishes at 29%. the fakers, and the like. This means quality all those in the news business to give our indus- Forty-four million people read news journalism Six out of 10 people say they rely more journalism is being lumped together with this try the oxygen of publicity it deserves, to get our across newspapers and digital devices every week. heavily on established news brands since “content” and sold to advertisers. side of the story out there. This is about four to five million more readers the rise of . This is hardly surpris- Those advertisers now find themselves in Why? than a decade ago. That’s 10% growth. And more ing when you consider the alleged meddling this bonkers situation where they are no longer Because journalism matters. And we want importantly, 44 million is the same weekly reach by Russia into our democratic processes, the sure where their advertising is being shown. that billion back. l as Google. That surprises many people. proliferation of fake news and the spread of Nor are they sure if it is being seen by a human. Why? misinformation. Unsurprisingly, trust in advertising has The following article was adapted from a speech Because no one in our industry ever talks And let’s not forget Google’s dodgy track slumped to an all-time low: from 50% to 25%, delivered at the UK’s Society of Editors 20th annual about total readership. The story that has domi- record on brand safety and the ad revenue according to the UK Advertising Association. conference in 2019. Special Edition of Innovation in News 26 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 27 WHY MEDIA DOOM AND GLOOM MAY BE MISPLACED

FAISAL J. ABBAS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ARAB NEWS, SAUDI ARABIA Special Edition of Innovation in News 28 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 29

People are looking for depth. They are demanding more analysis, news and information from the “ experts they can trust.

India and Japan are on the rise. As media tarred all of us with the same brush, diluting the expectation that they will like what they analyst Christoph Riess once observed: “Cir- trust in honest journalism. Those of us who see; The New York Times allows non-subscrib- culation is like the sun. It rises in the East and believe in the power of the truth must work ers to read a limited number of articles each declines in the West.” harder to regain control of the news agenda. month, with the same expectation. Clearly, Moreover, the decline in print readership has In general, over the past 20 years the media these techniques work. been largely offset by an increase in digital news landscape has fragmented beyond recognition, News media can also learn lessons from TV consumption. For example, The Times of London and business models with which we were all and radio, masters of adapting to change. Thanks has just reported an increase in digital-only paid comfortable — perhaps too comfortable — have to streaming, downloading and podcasts, they subscribers to 304,000, passing 300,000 for the collapsed, sending the weakest to the wall. deliver content to consumers how and when first time since the service was launched in 2010, That in itself, of course, means that those the consumers want it, not at the whim of the and now accounting for 56 percent of all sub- who remain are the strong ones. It is in how broadcast schedulers. So let’s deliver news to our scriptions. In the last three months of 2019, The they operate that we should look for a roadmap readers in a way that suits them, not us. t is a cliché and a truism of journalism that bad New York Times passed $800 million in annual to a successful news media future. For example, Finally, we could perhaps lose a little less news is good news: there’s nothing like a full- digital revenue for the first time, more than half of those two digital success stories, The Times of sleep over fake news. Think about it: if these scale disaster to drive traffic to our websites it from news subscribers. London and The New York Times — what do lies were effective, we wouldn’t know about and send print copies flying off the newsstands. So everything is rosy? Well, hardly. While they have in common? They know that good them. The very fact that we recognize fake But when the disaster is one that afflicts the many readers have remained loyal to their journalism is expensive, so they invest in it, news is evidence that it doesn’t work. Young very business of news, it’s another story. news outlets of choice, online if not in print, often in defiance of the bean counters in their people in particular - digital natives brought up The decline in sales of traditional media, the same cannot be said for advertisers. Print own organizations who constantly want to slash in the online Wild West - are perfectly capable particularly in the past 20 years, has been well advertising revenue in the US fell from $25 costs. They also have enough pride in their of distinguishing fact from fiction. documented: newspapers in North America billion in 2012 to $10 billion in 2020, and is ex- work to tell readers: “What we produce costs Despite the relentless march of technology, lose up to 10 percent of their readers every pected to decline to $5 billion by 2024. Online, money. You’re going to have to pay for it.” the essence of our job — to inform, to educate year, those in Western Europe up to 3 percent. the digital behemoths Google, Facebook and This confidence recognizes the psychologi- and to entertain — has not changed in centu- And speaking of newsstands, in the 1950s Alibaba hoovered up $200 billion in revenue in cal truth that anything offered free of charge ries. There will always be a market for what there were more than 1,500 in New York. There 2019, more than 60 percent of the total — leav- will almost certainly not be valued by the re- we do, always readers, viewers and listeners are now fewer than 300. Go figure, as they say ing crumbs for the rest of us. cipient, and both these publications have tech- to consume what we produce. Our task is to in … well, New York. And there are challenges other than that niques to encourage subscribers. The Times construct a new media landscape where these Nevertheless, these trends are a Western of monetizing our content. The spread of “fake has a clever token system that allows subscrib- consumers feel at ease. If we build it (and I phenomenon only. Newspaper sales in China, news” by unscrupulous propagandists has ers to share content with non-subscribers, in believe we can), they will come. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 30 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 31 WE WILL MEET OUR OBLIGATIONS

MARTY BARON EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST, USA Special Edition of Innovation in News 32 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 33

First there was an effort to marginalize the press and then to delegitimize us. Then there was a campaign “ to dehumanize us [...]. Ultimately, we were depicted as “fake news,” “enemies of the people,” a “stain” on the country, traitors.

et me describe a moment in the aftermath of then I started talking about it..." ended there. It has gone on for more than four The goal is evident: to obliterate the idea of the Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual “I do go to therapy,” he continued, “I took years now: during presidential primaries, a objective truth. abuse within the Catholic Church, and the my children with me. So, they do understand. general election, and past the half-way mark of Before the 2016 election, Lesley Stahl of movie Spotlight that portrayed it. It is a moment And they fully support me. And I thank you a presidency. CBS News went to Trump Tower to meet with I shall not forget: a moment for me that main- very much.” First there was an effort to marginalize the candidate . At one point, after tains a vivid resonance in the present. I think about that gentleman when I hear press and then to delegitimize us. Then there he started into his familiar harangue about the It happened a few years ago, during a President Trump say the press is the “enemy of was a campaign to dehumanize us as disgust- media, she asked him why he persisted in level- screening of Spotlight at my alma mater, Le- the American people.” ing and scum and garbage and the lowest form ling such attacks. As she tells it, he said, “You high University. During the Q&A session, a man He did not see us as his enemy. He saw us of life. Ultimately, we were depicted as “fake know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and rose to the microphone to speak. as an ally. Finally, he had one. Other survivors news,” “enemies of the people,” a “stain” on demean you all, so when you write negative “It was a very hard movie for me to watch,” of abuse – and their families and friends – feel the country, traitors. stories about me no one will believe you.” he said. “I tried to see it a couple of times. I only the same. And so do many others who have There is no mystery as to why this is hap- It was a moment of startling but revealing got to the parking lot and turned around. I’m had journalists listen to them when no one else pening. It is a cynical strategy to disqualify the honesty. That is, in fact, the president’s goal: no 80-plus years old. I was sexually abused by a would – giving power to those who had none, in press as an independent arbiter of fact. one should believe the media if we contradict priest in 1947. I was 11. I live with it every day. I the cause of fair treatment. But we in the press are not the only targets. him. The public should believe only one person was fatherless. I didn’t know if anybody would They were grateful for journalists who The aim is to disqualify other institutions and – him: him alone, 100% of the time. believe me. I never spoke about it. My wife sought to get at the truth when people in au- professions as arbiters of fact, too: the courts, Bret Stephens, the conservative columnist, passed away many years ago. She never knew thority had trampled on it or concealed it. law enforcement, intelligence agencies, histori- put it perfectly in a speech in early 2017 when about it. It was in ’47 he molested me. And he Today, we face another threat, perhaps ans, even scientists. he was at , before he was ordained in 1947. even more subversive. This one is to the very Under assault are all the elements that joined The New York Times op-ed page. The “Not a day goes by,” he said, “that I don’t idea of truth itself. help us determine what is factual: evidence, president, he said, “is trying to substitute pro- have to live with this. I never spoke about it like In the , it began as a calcu- expertise, experience. They are devalued or paganda for news, boosterism for information.” I said – thank you – till it broke in Boston and lated assault on our profession, though it hasn’t dismissed or denied. “His objection,” he continued, “is to objec- Special Edition of Innovation in News 34 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 35

James Madison, principal author of the First Amendment, wrote of “the right of freely examining “ public characters and measures.” That right is still ours, thankfully, but it will mean nothing if we do not exercise it with vigour and tenacity.

tivity itself. He’s perfectly happy for the media like them to be – or declares them to be. gram that represented a breath-taking intru- challenge. But we cannot be intimidated. If we to be disgusting and corrupt – so long as it’s on Last year, his administration – through the sion, with scant oversight, into the privacy of fail to do our jobs for fear of retribution, we will his side.” US Department of Justice – sought to effectively US citizens and individuals worldwide. betray the spirit of the First Amendment. Stephens spoke of our obligation “not to criminalize common practices in journalism When this expansive new indictment James Madison, principal author of the look around, or beyond, or away from the facts, that have long served the public interest. The against Assange was announced, an official for First Amendment, wrote of “the right of freely but to look straight at them, to recognize and latest 18-count indictment of Julian Assange the Department of Justice said it “takes seri- examining public characters and measures.” call them for what they are, nothing more or under the Espionage Act of 1917 presents a ously the role of journalists in our democracy” That right is still ours, thankfully, but it will less. To see things as they are before we re- grave threat to customary day-to-day reporting and that “it has not and never has been the de- mean nothing if we do not exercise it with interpret them into what we’d like them to be... on national security matters. The indictment partment’s policy to target them for reporting.” vigour and tenacity. To speak the truth irrespective of what it means accuses Assange of seeking, receiving, and But the legal theory levelled against As- Anthony Lewis, the late New York Times for our popularity or influence.” then publishing classified material. sange could easily be weaponized against columnist and First Amendment scholar, once That is good counsel for journalists. For As Carrie DeCell, an attorney with the journalists. It is hard to escape the conclusion wrote words we should live by today: “The all citizens, too. If we come to feel the truth is Knight First Amendment Institute, put it: that the administration’s intent is to intimidate American press has been given extraordinary unknowable, mission accomplished: people “That’s exactly what good national security and the entirety of the American press: first we get freedom by the Supreme Court’s interpreta- just believe what they would like to believe. investigative journalists do every day.” Assange, next we might come after you. tion of the First Amendment. In return, it owes If we conclude that everyone is lying for “These charges,” she said, “could be All of this is made worse by government society courage.” selfish reasons, mission accomplished as well. brought against national security and investiga- officials’ continuing pattern of overclassifying We at The Washington Post understand Then it doesn’t matter if our leaders are being tive journalists simply for doing their jobs, and information, often for no reason other than to our role in a democracy, and I can say this with untruthful, as long as they serve our individual doing them well.” shield themselves from scrutiny. And it could confidence: we will meet our obligations. l interests. Dating as far back as the Pentagon Papers be made still worse by the Trump administra- If in the United States we now believe truth in 1971 – when Daniel Ellsberg provided The tion’s fondness for invoking national security can only come from the head of state, then we New York Times and then The Washington Post and declaring national emergencies. have surrendered the very idea that inspired highly secret documents that revealed a history If steel and car imports from our allies can the founding of our nation. of government deceit about the Vietnam War be labelled threats to US national security, it The president apparently has not been – journalists have been receiving and reporting doesn’t require much imagination to envision This is a lightly edited version of a speech given by content to vilify the press with malicious and on classified information. More recently, The this government classifying vast categories of Marty Baron in June 2019 after receiving the Canadian menacing language. Nor has he been content Washington Post and published information as national-security secrets. Journalism Foundation's Special Citation "in recognition to cynically undermine the idea that there are classified information obtained by Edward For the press, already subjected to inces- of his extraordinary contribution and fearless facts and truth independent of what he would Snowden to disclose a global surveillance pro- sant attack, this poses a new and sobering approach to journalism." Special Edition of Innovation in News 36 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 37 AN ATTACK ON ONE IS AN ATTACK ON ALL

MARIA RESSA CEO AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, RAPPLER, THE Special Edition of Innovation in News 38 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 39

Power – and bullies – will never stop if you give in to them. We at Rappler live “ this every day.

n attack on one is an attack on all. Time Magazine named me one of the guardians weaponized against those who ask ques- Filipino fact-checking partners. The first time I heard that was more than of truth. At that point in time, I realized that – tions, who stand up for values, who demand Facebook is essentially the internet in the two decades ago, looking at the virulent ideol- among Gazette (the journalists who the rights guaranteed under our Constitution, Philippines. We are the canary in the coal mine ogy that powered al-Qaeda. That was what the were killed there), the Reuters journalists still which is patterned after the US Constitution. because globally, Filipinos spend the most time terrorists used to justify their attacks. Then at in prison in Myanmar at the time and Jamal When I was first arrested early last year, online (more than 10 hours a day) and on social a pivotal moment, when I was still just learning Khashoggi – I was the only one who was both the officer said, “Ma’am, trabaho lang po.” media (we have been the top users around the to deal with the new weapon against journal- alive and free. It made me think that never (Ma’am, I’m only doing my job). Then he low- world for four years in a row). But we are also ists, media researcher Julie Posetti convinced before has our profession - protecting our de- ered his voice to almost a whisper as he read democracy’s dystopian future. me that I should be speaking about the attacks mocracies - demanded so much from us. me my Miranda rights. He was clearly uncom- Last year I was with Cambridge Analytica that I was experiencing on social media, and The battle for truth is the battle of our gen- fortable, and I almost felt sorry for him. Except whistleblower Christopher Wylie, and he told she interviewed me for an article in a UNESCO eration. With technology as the accelerant, a he was arresting me – the last act in a chain me that the Philippines “creates an ideal petri publication: An Attack on One is an Attack on lie told a million times becomes a fact. Without of events meant to intimidate and harass me - dish where you can experiment on tactics and All. facts, we don’t have truth. Without truth, there because I’m a journalist. techniques that you wouldn’t be able to as eas- We are at an existential moment in time – is no trust. Without all three, you can’t have This officer was a tool of power – and an ily in the West...and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t where, if we don’t take the right steps forward, democracy. This is why democracy is broken example of how a good man can turn evil – and matter, you won’t get caught. And if it does democracy as we know it is dead. When jour- around the world. how great atrocities happen. Hannah Arendt work, then you can then figure out how to port nalists are under attack, democracy is under In our country, the bottom up exponen- wrote about the banality of evil when describ- that to the West.” attack. Social media platforms are now the tial attacks on social media - astroturfing and ing men who carried out the orders of Hitler in I asked him if the Philippines paved the world’s largest distributor of news, but, while creating a bandwagon effect - soften the ground Nazi Germany, how career-oriented bureau- way for Brexit and Donald Trump. You know they’ve taken the revenues, they’ve ignored before the same lies came top down from our crats can act without conscience because they what he said? He sidestepped a little, but I’ll the gatekeeping powers that news groups have top government officials. justify that they’re only following orders. read his entire quote so stay with me: traditionally had. I know this first-hand: in 14 months, the This is how a nation loses its soul. So you Filipino politics kinda looks a lot like the It takes courage to fight back against the Philippine government filed at least 11 cases have to know what values you are fighting for, United States. You’ve got a president who was insidious manipulation these platforms have and investigations against me and Rappler. I and you have to draw the lines now: where this Trump before Trump was Trump, and you have enabled. They’re now used as a weapon against was arrested twice in a 5-week period, and I’ve side you’re good, and this side you’re evil. Help relationships with people close to him with journalists, in a place where lies laced with posted bail 8 times in about 3 months. I have us #HoldTheLine. SCL and Cambridge Analytica. And you had anger and hate spread faster than facts. (Facts committed no crime except to be a journalist So what about American social media a lot of data being collected – the 2nd largest are kinda boring.) and to hold power to account. platforms? I am both a partner and a critic of amount of data after the United States col- This really hit me in December 2018 when I’ve seen social media and our legal system Facebook. Rappler is one of Facebook’s two lected in the Philippines. Special Edition of Innovation in News 40 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 41

I want to thank all the news organisations around the world who help us shine the light. Please, let us “ do the same for every journalist under attack in every part of the world. Remember: an attack on one is an attack on all.

This young man behind the psychological siphoned money away from news groups, and what drives us apart, because that’s the way the internet? How do we punish offenders? operations web of Steve Bannon backed by if nothing is done, this represents a founda- the bad guys are working: they take a fracture We need to seriously come together and Robert and Rebekah Mercer added that “colo- tional threat to markets, election integrity, and line in our societies and pound it open to sepa- fight, because an attack on one is an attack on nialism never died, it just moved online.” democracy itself. rate us into us vs them. all. This nightmare began for me more than 3 These social media platforms are behav- And it’s not just the journalists: let’s bring Power – and bullies – will never stop if you years ago. Rappler wrote the first pieces about ioral modification systems we voluntarily enter. in academia, tech, and civil society, to unite give in to them. We at Rappler live this every it globally in 2016. I wrote 2 of the 3 parts of our We are Pavlov’s dogs, and to quote Wylie as the truth-tellers and join forces to protect the day. Political bullies who threaten and abuse first series and was rewarded with an average well as Blackberry co-founder Jim Balsillie: facts. We have to fight now while we’re strong, journalists are never happy until they get com- of 90 hate messages per hour. data at this micropersonal level is NOT the new because, as we have learned, you only get plete capitulation. Our battle is your battle. If nothing changes, what’s happened to us oil: it is plutonium. And we need to treat it with weaker over time as this virus of lies saps civic We can protect the rights guaranteed by is going to happen to you. It’s already happen- all the care that plutonium requires. An atom engagement. If you have no facts, civil society our democracies, or watch them slowly erode ing now. Underlying it all is greed and fear, in bomb has already exploded, and we all don’t becomes apathetic, and the voice with the in plain sight. This is the challenge for all of us our case the violence a brutal drug war that the know about it. Until we accept that, we can’t loudest megaphone wins. today: what can we put in place today to protect UN says has killed at least 27,000 people, far solve the problem. Second, we need to demand enlightened our tomorrows? more than the official number of 5,500. So what can we do? self-interest from tech companies because, in I want to thank all the news organisations People are afraid to stand up for what is First, journalists need to collaborate. the long term, yes, the solution is education; around the world who help us shine the light. right because there are costs: Rappler in the Throw out your old definitions: this is a new medium term: media literacy. But in the here Please, let us do the same for every journalist Philippines is a cautionary tale – and one of world. Collaborating isn’t easy because we and now? It’s only the tech platforms that can under attack in every part of the world. Re- my arresting officers said it best when he was were born to compete against each other. In the do something meaningful. member: an attack on one is an attack on all. l trying to silence our young reporter who was Philippines, our data tells us that news groups Third, we need to create a global data- livestreaming. He said: “Be quiet, or you’re have been pushed to the periphery of our base of disinformation networks, and a global next.” information ecosystem, and in the centre are interpol that stops the impunity that nations This micro-targeting online ad-driven disinformation networks, some linked to Rus- and companies are getting away with today. business model structurally undermines hu- sia, some to China. They are all actively sharing Remember after the Holocaust and WWII, the man will. Our personal experiences are sucked amongst each other, while we are not. This is world came together to try to stop the worst into a database, organized by AI, then sold how alternative realities bloom. of human behaviors. That was when we got This piece is based on Maria Ressa's keynote speech at to the highest bidder. It is – as it has always We have to stop taking the bait of emo- Bretton Woods, NATO, the UN Declaration of the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in been – about power and money. That has also tions, and seek what we have in common over Human Rights. What are the values that govern Hamburg, Germany, September 2019. Special Edition of Innovation in News 42 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 43 INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM CAN NOT ONLY SURVIVE, BUT MAKE MONEY

LUKÁŠ FILA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF DENNÍK N, SLOVAKIA Special Edition of Innovation in News 44 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 45

The media markets in Central Europe offer a tragic picture: whereas a decade ago, most major “ newspapers and broadcasters were owned by large Western media houses, currently they are mostly controlled by local oligarchs or governments.

taying close to the readers in terms of our public interest that do not translate into new And Slovakia does not seem to be an shareholders and audiences, many publishers activities, financing, and ownership - that was subscriptions. But it gives all authors and exception. After a little more than a year of who publicly advocate freedom of speech, our core vision when more than forty of us left editors a clear understanding of what our operation, the Czech Deník N has over 16,000 plurality and democracy, displayed a Slovakia’s leading quality newspaper SME readers appreciate. subscribers, which echoes the results of the surprising disregard for these values when (after a group of local oligarchs acquired a We also place a strong emphasis on direct Slovakian version at a similar point. they had to make actual real-life decisions. fifty-percent stake) and started Denník N. contact – we organize public debates, often Subscriptions are not the only way we The lesson seems obvious – in order to Five years later, that vision is clearly several a week. We have a closed Facebook get money directly from readers. We also run thrive in the long run, independent media working. We currently have more than 52,000 group where subscribers can ask about several crowdfunding campaigns a year: when need owners who have a stake in the future of digital subscribers, a staff of 80 people, and anything from news stories to corporate they subscribe, readers are encouraged to the societies where they operate. At Denník our EBITDA in 2019 reached €830,000. Our policies. We organise educational activities give an additional donation for our non-profit N, members of staff have a 49 per cent stake, website attracts over a million monthly users for high schools. Each quarter, our tens of activities (everyone who contributes over the remaining 51 per cent held by six co- in a country of five million. We publish a print thousands registered users receive an e-mail 50 euro gets a personal message from me). owners of Eset, one of the world leaders in daily, a monthly magazine, and books. with a detailed account of our business results Furthermore, our online store offers a range of antivirus-protection, which is also based in Our open-source subscription software and activities, and I personally respond to all products, from books to cartoons. Slovakia, despite its global success. The Czech (remp2020.com) is used by several publishers replies, questions, and comments. Finally, we get to the point of ownership. Deník N is co-owned by a group of eight Czech around the world. In 2018 we helped launch So why do the numbers in those quarterly The media markets in Central Europe offer investors, and members of staff are expected Deník N in the Czech Republic. And we just reports keep improving? It is mainly thanks a tragic picture: whereas a decade ago, most to get a share later this year. received the European Digital Platform of the to income direct from the readers, with over major newspapers and broadcasters were Overall, I have every reason to be Year Award. 50 percent of total 2019 earnings coming from owned by large Western media houses, optimistic about the future of the media. So what do I mean by being close to the subscriptions. This model puts us in a perfect currently they are mostly controlled by local Our story proves that even in small markets readers? When it comes to our publishing position to face the future: it is immune from oligarchs or governments. While there are with a short tradition of free press, there activities, it means mainly a strong focus any negative trends or crises on the advertising a range of reasons for this, and while it is are journalists determined to do quality on content that’s relevant to them – that’s market; it provides a very steady source of true that the damage is being done by local independent journalism, investors prepared to why each morning, every journalist in our revenue; and it is likely to grow further, as more businessmen and politicians, there is no support them, and above all, readers ready to newsroom gets an overview of the previous and more people discover our content, and escaping the fact that most foreign owners reward them for their work. l day’s subscription sales, article by article. services such as Netflix or Spotify teach them showed a considerable lack of responsibility Not that conversions are our sole criterion that it’s normal to pay for online content. As when it came to selling their assets in the for success. The editorial team still feels long as our unique relationship with the readers region. While it is understandable that a strong responsibility to cover issues of is preserved, so will be our business success. their primary loyalty is to their domestic Special Edition of Innovation in News 46 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 47 INVEST IN TALENT, THINK GLOBAL, TARGET NEW GENERATIONS

LOUIS DREYFUS CEO OF GROUPE LE MONDE Special Edition of Innovation in News 48 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 49

Investing in talent gives you the resources necessary for your editorial staff to spend more time on their “ stories and to produce excellent journalism, including high-quality Reuters Institute report is a source of pride and a way to build a better working environment, reassurance for our entire team. and retain our top talent. Our new headquar- long-form pieces. l Over the last few years, and thanks to ters, recently built in central Paris, is another the growing success of the likes of Amazon example of our efforts to provide the best pos- Prime, Netflix and Spotify, people have shown sible environment for our staff. pon facing the momentous task of writing this a surprising capacity to subscribe to content l Investing in talent gives you the resourc- piece, most media executives have probably, providers, as long as they can be guaranteed es necessary for your editorial staff to spend underlining some warnings: like me, wondered if our strategies still de- exclusive and quality content. In this context, more time on their stories and to produce ex- l This growth in fixed editorial costs will served to be highlighted at a time when most of and for the first time in the last twenty years, cellent journalism, including high-quality long- not have a positive impact on our business our targets have been hindered by the ongo- targeting higher circulation revenues from our form pieces. Such formats help you build your model if we can’t expand our international au- ing global health crisis. Surprisingly enough, I readers has become a possibility, even as a identity and are highly valued by the audience. dience. At Le Monde, we have invested heavily would say YES! Odd though it may seem, the legacy media company. In 2020, Le Monde’s For example, last year twelve Le Monde staff over the last five years in our coverage of Africa, current crisis reinforces some essential convic- digital subscription revenues will be higher journalists worked full time on investigating through Le Monde Afrique, to become the first tions that I would like to share with you, as well than our advertising revenues for the very first what we called in French “les feminicides” that independent French-language media outlet on as a few statistics related to Le Monde: time. This will strengthen our business model occurred in France: the murders of women by the African continent. Growing our audience l Over the years, and more than ever in this and gives us more reasons to invest in satisfying their spouses or exes. This inquiry, focused on beyond our traditional boundaries is key, period of exceptional crisis, readers have shown the demands of our readership. the 120 murders that took place during 2018, l We must invest in talent; we must invest a tremendous appetite for rigorous, unique, l As strong as this growth might be, it was made into a documentary and provided in technology; we must get to know our audi- quality news. This strong appetite isn’t going would be pointless to try to recruit a significant many stories in print and digital during that ences better. But we must also learn, over time, anywhere. Between June 2015 and June 2020, volume of digital subscribers without a major year. Access to additional talent also gives pub- to be more frugal with regards to the rest of paid circulation for Le Monde has surged by 51 investment in talent. In the past decade, Le lishers the capacity to develop specific areas of our cost structure. If the reader cannot benefit percent. And during the lockdown period, Le Monde has increased its number of on-staff expertise and, if need be, content verticals that directly from an investment, that investment is Monde broke a historic record with a 30 percent journalists by more than 50%. We strongly can be monetised among niche audiences. not worth it increase in our digital audience, while tripling believe that this investment is at the heart of Le l When we imagine the future of our l Lastly, I strongly believe that part of our the growth of our digital subscription portfolio, Monde’s current momentum. And thanks to industry, we must keep our attention and focus future success lies in our will and our capacity and even our newsstand sales went up. this major investment financed by its share- on the formats and new platforms that attract to form international alliances with significant l What is “rigorous and quality news”? holders, Le Monde Group has been profitable the daughters and sons - or the granddaughters resources to cover topics that are relevant in Along with our shareholders and over the last five years, after a decade of losses. and grandsons - of our traditional audience. Le each of our territories at a global level. I see , we strongly believe that l To invest in talent doesn’t just mean Monde’s efforts with Snapchat Discover over most of our media counterparts abroad more quality news can be defined by the indepen- increasing the payroll but also building a bet- the past two years significantly contributed to as potential partners than as competitors. dence of the journalists producing content, ter working environment for our staff. In that building a younger audience with more than 1.4 as well as by the strength of the relationship respect, I must emphasize the necessity of ab- million subscribers (most of them teenagers) to Those are the convictions we are using to between the reader and the media outlet. solute coherence between the values promoted our daily Discover edition. We hope that our cur- prepare our group for the coming decades. A few Without trust, we will not keep our readers, by top management and the issues raised by rent experience with TikTok will do the same, years ago, our executive editor Jerome Fenoglio and they will not pay for content. That’s a time- editorial staff. For us at Le Monde, closing the as well as our initiatives with podcasts. And for and I set a goal of reaching one million subscrib- less principle that we all must keep in mind. salary and career gaps between women and each of these projects with new media formats ers by 2025. This goal to be one of a handful of As Sylvie Kauffmann, our previous execu- men within our staff was one of our top priori- attracting new generations, we will make sure to trusted independent sources of news in the world tive editor, put it: “A newspaper that can’t be ties. Our next priority is to seek greater ethnic respect Le Monde’s high editorial standards. is reachable. It demands ambition, rigour, talent independent is not a good newspaper.” Finding diversity among the journalists we recruit. We and investments, but under those conditions I Le Monde once again at the top of the ranks believe that these efforts should not only be a If at Le Monde we have promoted an ambi- don’t see any reason not to be optimistic for Le among French media in this area in the 2019 matter for human resources but are, above all, tious strategy of investment, I will conclude by Monde, and for our industry. Let’s rock! l Special Edition of Innovation in News 50 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 51 WE WILL BE SEEING MORE BESPOKE JOURNALISM

LISA MACLEOD VICE-PRESIDENT WAN-IFRA, DIGITAL CONSULTANT. FORMER HEAD OF DIGITAL AT ARENA HOLDINGS, SOUTH AFRICA Special Edition of Innovation in News 52 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 53

For AI to have a discernible effect though, three things are necessary for most newsrooms: firstly: “ a good technology partner, secondly: internal buy-in, and thirdly: access to reliable data.

Vice and Mashable have sparked, faded and Whereas newspapers are a broad church firstly: a good technology partner, secondly: suffered as the digital advertising ecosystem for readers, providing everything from sport to internal buy-in, and thirdly: access to reliable has crushed margins and destroyed value for arts, book reviews, TV listings and yes, news, data. In my admittedly limited experience of t is almost painful to stop and assess where advertisers and publishers alike. the intelligence provided by online brows- AI projects to date, and in speaking with many news is at this point in time. To look back over As a former Mic employee, Esther Berg- ing trackers has led to a proliferation of deep colleagues internationally, it seems that at this the past few decades is to see a series of blows dahl, said: “Journalistic institutions need to be verticals for which readers are prepared to pay. point in time, one or more of these factors is to an industry under siege: from technological institutions. They need to be able to grow in a New sites like The Athletic, an online sports usually missing. upheaval, to advertising declines (off a cliff), healthy and steady way. When I think about hub that is already heading for more than 600k The will is there, but the resources are not. circulation decreases (off another cliff), down- things that grow that wildly and that success- subscribers, and the big business verticals like I am convinced, however, that these tools will ward pressure on revenue, to assaults on press fully, I don’t think of a media company I think the and the Wall Street Jour- become a vital force in the future. As with ev- freedom from the highest offices in the world, of cancer.” Quite. nal, have already proved the case for charging erything, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution, to the slow erosion of “truth” as we know it. So what will emerge from this evolving (in print and online) for high quality journalism. and the challenges in developing nations – from Added to this is the conundrum faced by space over the next ten years? What makes it I am quite sure that we will be seeing technology costs, to data costs, to freedom of publishers regarding the value of their content difficult to predict is the next unknown black more bespoke journalism – delivered in print, information, to journalists’ safety – are seldom and work: for so long the notion that “all infor- swan event coming down the track. The smart- newsletters, online or via podcasts. Teams of comparable to those of developed nations. mation online should be free” has resulted in a phone was something nobody had predicted or journalists could conceivably be funded by However, one factor that journalists the fatal paralysis for many publishers – attempting factored into news distribution – and neither readers to cover interest areas that are falling world over are dealing with is the increasing to survive or pivot to becoming digital advertis- was the overwhelming influence of Facebook by the wayside in traditional newsrooms. This difficulty in dealing with matters of trust and ing players, while not charging for the expen- and Google. notion has been proven by purveyors of deep veracity. It is the sole job of journalists to remain sive journalism produced in newsrooms. Add My suspicion is that the COVID-19 pan- interest newsletters - as evidenced by the suc- neutral and hold authority to account, but at a to that the increased competition from smaller demic has been the black swan for print, and cess of (and VC interest in) newsletter service time in history when the demand for partisan operators, as the barriers to entry have become has already resulted in the closure of multiple Substack - and I could see this translating into news is at a peak, and the attacks on journalistic so negligible. And this all before COVID-19 titles that were teetering on the abyss, and got newsrooms in a similar way. integrity are at an all-time high, this is a global struck, heaping the pressure on an already their final push as both advertising and circula- The rise of machine learning technology crisis for us. The question is whether this trend beleaguered industry. tion went to the wall in just a few short months. and AI is well documented and there are many will escalate further, or whether it has peaked. While we have as an industry moved along For digital, especially those organisations predictions outlining the threat of “robo-jour- It becomes challenging to reimagine the to some degree, with the bigger news organisa- that have invested in technology, have paywalls nalism”. However, this technology also repre- news and the job of journalists in the future tions like the New York Times reintroducing and established programmatic desks, the sents a great opportunity for newsrooms to cut when they are so consumed by crisis in the online what I prefer to call their “cover price”– impact of COVID-19 has been something of a costs and dedicate resources to doing more present. It is more critical than ever that the rather than a paywall – many years ago, there blessing: online audiences are at record highs, “deep” work. The prospect of efficient pro- international news industry remains com- have nevertheless been multiple casualties hungry for news and information. duction of “commoditised news” in volume is mitted to the associations – like WAN-IFRA along the way. News in print in future will certainly in- interesting, as it frees up valuable humans to do - that represent it at governmental level, in the Very quick to grow, but hugely dependant creasingly become a super-premium product, in depth news rather than formulaic reporting. boardrooms of the tech giants like Facebook on social media for traffic and audience growth, and the sudden success of custom, paid-for For AI to have a discernible effect though, and Google, and crucially, defend the right to digital pure players like Mic, Vox, BuzzFeed, newsletters provides some clues. three things are necessary for most newsrooms: . l Special Edition of Innovation in News 54 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 55 THE CORONAVIRUS BUMP: DOES CHARGING FOR COVID-19 COVERAGE MEAN YOU’RE GREEDY?

JENS PETTERSSON CHIEF READER REVENUE OFFICER, NTM/UPSALA NYA TIDNING, SWEDEN Special Edition of Innovation in News 56 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 57

We keep charging for local unique journalism. We have seen a big bump your cash later on), while the tabloid Expres- provide excellent coverage of the coronavirus sen is doing the opposite and putting more and situation for “free.” (Of course, people pay for when it comes to more articles behind the premium wall. them as well, but through the tax“ bill.) conversions after Although both companies are owned by Our responsibility is to our paying custom- Bonnier, they send quite different signals on ers. They are the ones making sure our journal- the situation on corona the value of quality journalism. The difference ists get their monthly paycheck. Their contribu- got more intense. between them is that Dagens Nyheter is in a tion is even more important for us when we see mature phase, with an excellent track record of advertising revenue fast decreasing. gaining new subscribers, having the window of opportunity to be kind to the public. Addressing the need for revenue Expressen, on the other hand, is in an early Information might want to be free. And the stage of paid journalism and in need of fast grumpy old man yelling at me in the comments the last four weeks (march) with this year’s first growth. on our Facebook page might want that, too. four). And the reading is not only based upon For a regional Swedish newspaper to But is that realistic when our business model is corona news; we see a higher interest on other survive the prevailing situation with drastically under such extreme pressure? news as well. declining advertising revenue, a “coronavirus A fresh survey from the Swedish Media l Huge increase in conversions: 80% bump” of greater magnitude is needed. Publishers’ Association (TU) just clarified that weekly increase if we compare the average of several Swedish media companies are about to the last four weeks (march) with the first four. his is a story about greed, strategies, and, most Which is the right approach? risk 50% of their advertising revenue in April. To conclude, we keep charging for local of all, survival. What’s the best choice, then? Open or closed? At Upsala Nya Tidning, we also have had unique journalism. We have seen a big bump It’s a story that began four years ago. By Free or paid? Cashing in now or gaining brand discussions on whether to open up more for when it comes to conversions after the situa- now, the “Trump bump” is a well-known ex- awareness and traction on later prospects? free on coronavirus reporting. But we decided tion on corona got more intense, and, overall, a pression in the fast-developing business known At Upsala Nya Tidning, which has 289,000 to stick to our path. much-needed high net growth. as economics of journalism. Back in 2016, U.S. readers on weekly reach, we began charging “Local journalism has a value” has been Are we being greedy? No. newspapers like The Washington Post and The for digital journalism in 2017, so we’re newbies our strategy since May 2017 when we began Have we chosen the right strategy? Yes. New York Times saw a huge increase in sub- compared to many. We have experimented with charging for digital subscriptions. We only pub- For our situation in our market, a tight scription numbers soon after President Trump all the ways: Initially a metered model and low- lish free articles if the society is affected by an paywall is, at the moment, the right strategy for was sworn in. That is now part of modern priced introduction offers, then a hybrid model imminent deadly threat, like a dangerous poi- fast growth. And it’s a clear signal of the value newspaper history and well known to readers locking the most unique material and the most- sonous gas or a bomb situation where people of journalism. In the upcoming weeks and like yourself. read articles, but leaving some content with a are at risk of getting hurt if they come nearby. months we will, of course, have to keep fighting Fast-forward to March 2020 and a new looser meter to attract the right kind of engaged We stick to that and, at the moment, the spread hard to keep our newcomers, showing them chapter in the history book. (Not that I would customers. of coronavirus — no matter how frightening it the value of our broad offer on local journal- think of comparing an American president We saw the initial race upward, the flatten- might be for some people — is not that kind of ism. But it will be easier than if we had brought with a deadly virus.) But nevertheless, 6,590 ing of the growth curve, and the bitter phase of situation at the moment in Sweden. them onboard for free. (Of course, this does not kilometres from Washington, here in Uppsala, actually seeing a weekly net loss. Last Novem- Public service has the mission to inform mean that other strategies suck when it comes Sweden, the “coronavirus bump” is, at the ber, we implemented a super-tight paywall the people of Sweden as a whole. We serve our to results, Dagens Nyheter has an excellent moment, obvious and making a big impact on strategy, and our readers responded great: the paying subscribers. It might sound harsh, but outcome on their take with free trials.) our numbers, comparable to those in the U.S. curves went up at a fast pace. We have chosen it’s about survival at a moment when advertis- Will we survive? I have good hope. We are in 2016. to stick to that on corona journalism. All ar- ing revenue is declining at such high speed. a true legacy company, existing since 1890, and In a situation like this, strategies can be ticles are locked and require a subscription to Has it been a good strategy for us? Luckily, the road toward hanging on for another 130 totally different from company to company — read. No trials, no super cheap campaigns. we are seeing a high and steady influx of new years is definitely by making sure that people and sometimes even different within the same For us, the key question is this: Who is digital subscribers. And it strengthens us in the realise that local journalism has a great value — company. It depends on the market position, primarily responsible for bringing information work of creating unique local journalism for and by having the nerve to charge for it. l competition, etc. For instance, the large Swed- to the public? our paying readers day after day. The outcome ish daily, Dagens Nyheter. is opening up its The answer for us is the government. so far: news site for free (or at least for the transaction Sweden has public service media in the form l 35% increase in subscriber page views A version of this piece was originally published on the cost of your personal e-mail so they can catch of Swedish television and Swedish radio, which on a weekly basis (comparing the average of INMA blog in March 2020. Special Edition of Innovation in News 58 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 59 REAL NEWS MATTERS

WARREN FERNANDEZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE STRAITS TIMES Special Edition of Innovation in News 60 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 61

Real news matters. Facts Matter. Accuracy matters. Objectivity matters. Balance matters. “ Accountability matters. Equality matters. History matters. News matters.

undermining our ability to have sensible demo- Perhaps it is to sell you some marketing off a low base and so are not quite enough to cratic discussions on the way forward. message or propaganda. It could be to influ- make up for the print shortfall. This is where journalists and professional ence your views or spending preferences. Besides, the bulk of digital advertising has newsrooms come in. Our job is to seek out It could be to sway your vote, or shape your been hoovered up by the likes of Facebook and information, cross-check and verify it, under- society. In other words, you, and the data about Google, riding on the backs of media groups stand the history, background and context, you, is the product being traded and sold. that produce the content they amalgamate to strive to be balanced and objective, analyse and Media leaders have long lamented the draw audiences, while insisting they bear no interpret developments, and seek to put out as triple challenges facing the industry: growing responsibility for the content on their plat- ay by day, our fast-changing world grows more fair and unvarnished an account of events as threats to media freedom, the existential ques- forms. complex, confusing and challenging. we can, to help our audiences make up their tion of media viability and the pressing need Today, just about every media group is The United States is at odds with China. minds on what it all means for them. for innovation in newsrooms. All three issues dabbling with paywalls and digital subscrip- The planet is getting warmer faster. Technology This matters. Because in the absence of are now inextricably linked, equal sides of a tions, moving from “advertising revenue to is disrupting just about every industry, from credible and reliable information, we cannot trilemma that have to be tackled together. reader revenue”, notes Mr Senor. “If you are banks and money changers, to airlines, travel have rational and reasonable debates. Instead, Without a viable plan to sustain their not producing content you can charge for, you agents and the media. discussions turn into shouting matches, which newsrooms into the future, fervent debates on should get out of this business”, he declares, Little wonder then that we all need some tend to be dominated, and won, by those with media freedoms will be academic discus- adding “if you have no digital business, you help keeping up to speed with these changes, the loudest, most nasty or persistent - or often, sions. And clearly, any plan to ensure the sur- have no future” and “money is made where making sense of them all, and trying to figure the best financed - voices. vival and continued growth of the media entails content is viewed”. out where things are heading. Every one of us ends up the loser - it is a need for innovation and transformation, both Despite the stark warnings, he insists he is Pressed for time in dealing with informa- your views, your society, your future that is on the editorial and business fronts. optimistic about the future of journalism. Fake tion overload, people are also finding it harder degraded in the process. These challenges have been summed up news, he contends, “will save journalism”. De- to sift out what is real from fake, with more and Real news matters. Facts Matter. Accuracy starkly by Juan Senor, president of I N NOVA- clines in trust amid the welter of fake content more dubious content swirling around, spread matters. Objectivity matters. Balance matters. TION Media Consulting, who points to the will drive audiences to seek out credible voices rapidly over new communications technolo- Accountability matters. Equality matters. His- phenomenon of newsrooms repenting for for reliable content and they will pay for quality gies. tory matters. News matters. the folly of their “original sin” of giving away content they can count on. So, ironically, while the world is more con- It is commonplace today to say, rather costly-to-produce content for free, in the vain “Newsrooms will have to move from the nected today and more people have much more glibly, that news is available for free, every- hope that doing so would draw audiences – and idea of being print or digital first, to journal- information readily available at their fingertips, one is a journalist, and there is no future for advertisers would follow. New digital revenues ism first,” he concludes, arguing that paying societies are not necessarily better informed or journalism. That, to me, is an example of fake might then make up for the decline in print audiences will gravitate to those news organ- equipped to make the tough choices needed if news. readerships and revenues. isations that are able to offer engaging, quality we are to address the many challenges we face. News you receive is never free. Content It did not happen – or rather, did not and insightful content, as well as value-added Instead, the credibility of and trust in ma- costs money to produce, especially quality, happen fast and far enough. While some news services, such as events, business intelligence jor institutions seem to be insidiously chipped credible, in-depth, reliable content. If you are groups – including The Straits Times – have or investment tips, memberships, customised away amid the welter of information and disin- getting it for free, it usually means someone is seen significant growth in both digital reader- newsletters, books and even customer refer- formation, facts and alternative facts, thereby paying for it, and getting it to you for a reason. ship and revenues, these increases have come ences and retail services. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 62 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 63 WE WANT TO CREATE A NEWSROOM BUILT FOR OUR AUDIENCES

FRAN UNSWORTH DIRECTOR, NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS AT THE BBC, UK Special Edition of Innovation in News 64 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 65

Journalists are finding themselves the victims of trolling and online threats — simply for reporting “ on the opinions of others.

often traditional media is seen as part of the To answer this need, we must put our porter computer game, which puts the player at problem instead of part of the solution. audiences first. In the UK, the BBC’s mandate the heart of the BBC newsroom on the day of a he past decade has been a disruptive – and Here in the UK, the BBC – an impartial is to provide a universal service. So we aren’t breaking news story. challenging – one for those of us in the news and independent public service broadcaster doing our job if we don’t respond to the chang- We’re building on this successful scheme industry. - finds itself in challenging times. The recent ing ways in which our audiences consume the by rolling it out to other markets including Ke- A growing distrust of authority has led to UK general election saw our news coverage news. nya, India, Brazil, and most recently Nigeria. wariness of the ‘mainstream media’ – a phrase accused of bias by people on all sides of the po- That’s why we are reshaping the BBC’s We’ve recently launched My World, a which is now often used as a term of abuse. litical arena – although independent research news operations to respond to reflect the reali- global TV programme for young audiences, Societies around the world are feeling frag- showed that the general public thought we had ties of the digital landscape. We want to create explaining how the news is made. My World, a mented and divided, and people are increas- done a good job. a newsroom which is built for our audiences co-production with Microsoft Education, draws ingly seeking news sources, sometimes very The government has raised questions – especially for those we are not currently on the reporting of the BBC World Service niche, which reflect their own world views, about the sustainability of our funding model. reaching. and gives its viewers the tools to tell fact from rather than challenging them. And the behaviour of our audiences is I recently announced our move towards a fiction. Journalists are finding themselves the changing rapidly. There is a growing shift away ‘story-led’ approach. The goal is to focus more And we know the challenges posed by victims of trolling and online threats - simply from traditional linear broadcasting, especially on stories than on programmes or platforms, disinformation can’t be tackled by any one for reporting on the opinions of others. among younger people. and create more impact with our audiences. organisation alone. We need to work together And, even more disturbingly, they are also So what should we in the mainstream me- This also means a refocused news agenda, as an industry, and with the partners who are facing threats of physical violence too, simply dia be doing to address these challenges and with subjects that matter most to those we shaping the new media landscape. These are for doing their jobs. ‘reimagine the news’? serve. global problems which need a global approach. There is a growing temptation for politi- First, I believe our role is now more vital We are investing further in digital news, That’s why the BBC has convened an inter- cians and those in power to use social media than ever. Surveys consistently find the BBC to with a new version of the BBC News app, which national partnership with media organisations channels to reach the public – avoiding journal- be the world’s most trusted international news will be more intuitive, more visual and more and social media and technology platforms to istic scrutiny. broadcaster – and in a world where it is in- personalised to each user. protect audiences from dangerous misinforma- And the threat of ‘fake news’ becomes creasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction, Given the nature of the problems I’ve tion. The Trusted News Initiative has developed ever more disturbing with the development of trusted sources are at a premium. Our value outlined, increasing media literacy is vital. The a shared early-warning system to alert partners so-called ‘deepfake’ technology, which almost come sharply into focus at times of crisis like BBC’s Young Reporter project offers media and about potentially viral disinformation which literally puts words into people’s mouths. the current coronavirus outbreak, when there journalism learning resources to thousands of could threaten the integrity of elections, as well All this has serious consequences, both is a vital need for accurate, reliable and timely young people in the UK. Schools can access as flagging imposter or manipulated content for our democracies and our societies. And too information. free online materials including the BBC’s iRe- misusing our brands. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 66 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 67 REMOVING PAYWALLS ON CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE IS NOBLE. IT ALSO MAKES NO SENSE HOWARD SALTZ KNIGHT INNOVATOR-IN-RESIDENCE IN THE JOURNALISM FACULTY AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN MIAMI, AND FORMER PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL IN FORT LAUDERDALE. Special Edition of Innovation in News 68 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 69

ing stories affecting health and safety will still the community will develop a journalism habit neighborhood. So, too, is that item buried deep be available, free to all. that’ll continue when we start charging for ac- in the site about a health code violation at a It’s a step in the right direction, but Mc- cess again, but we may be instead reinforcing restaurant you’re thinking of trying. And so on. Clatchy — and the rest of the industry — should the habit that news should be free. The pandemic may be more meaningful, but it’s go all the way. Put the paywalls back up. We There’s no doubt that newspapers need only a matter of degree. If newspapers, tasked never should have taken them down. the revenue online subscriptions can bring. with serving the public, shouldn’t charge now, The newspaper industry seems to think that Newspapers have collectively lost more than the logical extrapolation is that we should never public service can’t coexist with revenue. That’s 70% of their ad dollars since 2006, according charge. a mistake — at a time when the beleaguered to Ken Doctor of Nieman Lab. Some estimates Where would that leave journalism? industry can’t afford to make one. We do provide are that half of the remaining revenue dried up Before the internet, a typical newspaper got 75 an important public service, but why can’t a during the brief period since the coronavirus to 80% of its revenue from advertising. In the public service business be, well, in business? hit. As a result, Gannett, publisher of USA To- digital era, the Facebooks and Googles have Food is essential, but grocery stores aren’t day and the nation’s largest newspaper chain, siphoned the lion’s share of that. The future is giving it away. is effecting furloughs and pay cuts. So is Lee in subscriber revenue. Except that we shouldn’t Clothing? Not free. Not even at Goodwill. Enterprises, the fourth-largest chain. Alterna- charge for subscriptions because we’re a public Police are being paid during the crisis. So tive weeklies, reliant for their ad dollars on servant with content too important to be walled are garbage collectors. There are no freebies at now-shuttered restaurants and entertainment off. the pharmacy. venues — are devastated. Something in that equation has to give. These are all essential to the community at The Gannett and Lee cutbacks were an- Journalists have always disliked paywalls. magine you operate a once-profitable business a time of crisis, yet no one expects these goods nounced in a single week at the end of March, I experienced that as The Denver Post’s online that has recently fallen on hard times. Revenue and services to be free. What are newspapers while the coronavirus crisis was still young. editor in the early 2000s and later as vice is down. Way down. Then, suddenly, there’s a afraid of? Our products have value. People pay Where will the industry be at the end of April? president for digital content at its parent com- newfound interest in your product. Demand is for things of value. The federal government, already planning pany, MediaNews Group. We journalists create up. You have an opportunity to bring back some Sure, health care providers aren’t turning to aid industries damaged by the pandemic, powerful, useful content and we want it to of that lost revenue. So you look at your prices away the needy. But that was a thriving industry could be a source of help. But why would that reach as many people as possible. That’s what and decide … to give away your product for free. before the pandemic hit, and it’ll have the op- require our products to be free when there’s drives us. It’s noble. Paywalls, however, stand How’s that for a business strategy? portunity to recoup losses by raising rates when no similar requirement for other goods and in the way. So they don’t feel right. And yet that’s what most U.S. newspapers the crisis subsides. The newspaper industry, al- services? No one expects a free cruise if the But they are right. Coverage of the coro- are doing during the coronavirus crisis. When ready damaged before the crisis, has far fewer government saves that industry. navirus crisis has been exceptional, from large the pandemic hit, we adjusted or eliminated options to raise revenue later. And whom are we really helping? Anyone news organizations to small. If we want to paywalls to make our coronavirus coverage There’s a belief among some industry lead- who can afford an internet connection and a continue to do that — if we want to ensure the free. You can read it online, whether you’re a ers that the good feelings generated by a caring device with which to access content can also public can get credible information and isn’t paid subscriber or not. newspaper during times of crisis will yield afford a newspaper’s digital subscription. It’s reliant on government press conferences and It’s a noble thing to do. News organizations paid subscriptions in the future. But there’s no not expensive. What is it about a newspaper social-media crackpots — we have to behave have a unique public service role in the com- research to support that. In fact, experiences that suggests it must be free while the internet like grocery stores, pharmacies and the rest. munities they cover. during recent Florida hurricanes — when many service provider necessary to read it is not? We’re a business. It also makes no sense. newspapers made their online coverage free Indigent people who don’t have either Yes, we’re also a public service. We have Newspapers throughout the country to all — suggests there’s little loyalty once the Internet access or devices? A paywall would obligations to the communities we cover. But knee-jerked when the virus hit. With only a paywall goes back up. thwart them if they use free internet access at we can’t fulfill those obligations if we don’t few exceptions — the Los Angeles Times and Unlike a loss-leader in retailing — in which libraries and other public places. Guess what? exist. l The Boston Globe, most notably — the paywalls a store takes a loss on one product to lure cus- The libraries are closed. that allowed only subscribers to access content tomers, knowing from experience and research Yes, that’s harsh. Reality sometimes is. were dropped. That changed a little this week that enough customers will buy other things to And what’s this about our public service when McClatchy, publisher of The Miami Her- make the venture profitable — there’s no data obligation, anyway? Information about a dire ald and The Kansas City Star and the nation’s to support the free-content-now-and-they’ll- pandemic is vital. But so is news of a major second-largest newspaper group, decided to subscribe-later strategy. It’s just an idea. storm that’s brewing. So, come to think of it, This piece was originally published on The Poynter wall off only certain coronavirus stories. Break- In fact, it may even be harmful: We hope are details about a serial killer menacing the Institute’s website in April 2020. Special Edition of Innovation in News 70 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 71 THE PERIOD OF CONFUSION IS BEHIND US

JORDI JUAN DIRECTOR, LA VANGUARDIA, SPAIN Special Edition of Innovation in News 72 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 73

Every piece of evidence shows that concentrating digital spend into quality journalistic “ environments delivers. And more and more advertisers are ready to listen.

Today, it seems that the period of confu- notion that speed is of the essence, this is anoth- important to build up a community of readers sion is behind us. But the crisis is certainly not: er model that was generally endorsed. Without and to know how to give them what they need. newspaper companies have not yet recouped doubt, being first to reveal a story is important, Interaction with our readership will be one of the number of readers they had in previous but it is far more important to tell it well. the pillars of the new journalism that we must years. However, that first point is important; Images will become increasingly im- build. We must regain our readers' trust. If you have to start a recovery somewhere. It is portant in the presentation of our content. journalists want their readership to seek them obvious that, if they want to stay in the game, The quality of texts and the choice of subject out, then journalists will have to listen to what the media must offer high quality standards. matter are already key factors in the success of they are being asked for and what their audi- The age of winning over a mass audience willy- information initiatives, but the visuals accom- ence demands. nilly is well over. Today, it is clear that the only panying them will surely grow in importance. Print has also suffered a great loss of way forward is to build a loyal community of Programmers, designers, data experts, pho- prestige during the years of confusion. It has ournalism has passed through a long period readers who are willing to pay for the content tographers, camera operators, video editors, gone from being the star of the communication marked by confusion and the business model on offer in our online editions. Less content, but screenwriters and journalists will have to learn world to becoming a dying man surrounded by crisis of the companies that sustain it. The far greater quality. to live together in a new cosmos, like never great gurus arguing about what year the funeral world was once at the feet of the leading The media have confirmed that news items before. The old newspaper managers are going will be. Nothing could be further from the truth. newspapers whose owners had gotten used that generate a rush of readers do not gener- to have to become more like orchestra conduc- Print will live! And not only that, the media who to a comfortable, worry-free existence thanks ate subscriptions. So our efforts should focus tors, where good news items must be as acces- neglect and turn their backs on it will be out of to advertising, which meant they could afford on giving our information particular value. If sible as the best orchestral scores. the race. Print is our brand image. And if our huge print runs. we only give readers the same as the rest of While this is all important, it is even more hard copies are a joke, then our web products From one day to the next, readers stopped the press, nobody will want to pay for what we vital that we build up our readership through will lose some of its prestige. The two feed off buying newspapers en masse and began to get are offering. Quality here implies well-written, our reliability. For some years now, many read- each other. their news from other media. The boom in smart well-presented, contextualized news, where all ers have abandoned us because they thought The years ahead of us will be fascinat- phones and the emergence of social networks the questions raised by the article are resolved. that their idyllic world of social networks was ing and will require us to come up with our caught journalism off guard. The field reacted In this context, a combination of text, videos, good enough to keep them informed. However, very best. The good news is that talent is more late and badly. Some companies tried to reduce graphics and data is a wonderful cocktail, if you the phenomena of fake news and political ma- important and necessary than ever. Well-told, costs by getting smaller and smaller, while oth- know how to apply it well. Presentation of the nipulation have opened the eyes of the wider well-presented stories, dealing in concepts ers tried to convert themselves into online media news is key. readership. People have realized that they feel that interest a cohesive and broad audience, in search of easy click bait, sacrificing the brand Another element that has hurt the reputa- the need to be well-informed, above all via a will triumph. The road is free to be travelled on. quality that had characterized them. tion of journalism in recent years has been the medium they can rely on. That is why it is so Let's go! l Special Edition of Innovation in News 74 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 75 WE MUST EXAMINE JOURNALISM'S FOUNDATIONS

IRENE GENTLE EDITOR OF THE TORONTO STAR, CANADA Special Edition of Innovation in News 76 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 77

We are seeing a newsroom mix of generations, cultures and genders that do not all agree on what “ effective public service journalism is or should be. Some hold tightly to the proud traditional ways, while others believe those ways can harm the afflicted who we so often say we are there to comfort. e raced about last decade looking to rebuild a and local information? If aggregated, would it The evolution of journalism can’t simply uncomfortable and unresolved. But an organiza- broken business model, and emerged seeing pay for the reporting? Journalism is expensive. be in the business models or platforms we use, tion that dismisses either without thought and the success of large nationals, the increasing Not having journalism is far more expensive, or whether that story is in text, video, graphics care limits its future, and its ability to uphold its struggles of local news outlets, and the value but people notice the hit on their time and or audio. It isn’t simply storytelling methods. mission and relevance. We question for a living. and limitations of digital native and niche start- credit card faster than the hit on democracy and This decade, journalism’s foundations have to Why be incurious about ourselves? ups to fill the gaps. accountability of systems they depend on. be examined. What may have been the hill to Another thread of the new decade We now take it as given that editorial, That external reality has taken much of our die on journalistically 30 years ago may well may be attracting and retaining journalists. data, product and marketing need to exist and time and focus. Which brings me to the need to be the hill your outlet actually dies on if it does The industry has been in decline for years. work together, and that newsrooms of 2 to pay attention to the internal reality. not examine if that premise holds in the current Reporters - especially the young, female and 200 people are unable to easily replicate the It is doubtful to me that any news outlet world. racialised - face trolling for doing their job. successes of newsrooms of 800 to 1,700. We will survive the next two decades without a Listening to and learning from your own Many aren’t interested in working the 15-hour know that business models of subscription, clear sense of its own identity, policies, ethics, newsroom is another movement I expect days their predecessors felt they had to, and philanthropy, membership, aggregation, standards and guidelines as well as a fairly open to see more of this decade. Newsrooms are the news cycle is draining and relentless. They advertising or billionaire owners have benefits conduit between readers, reporters and top increasingly challenging their leadership deal with traumatic incidents and people in and disadvantages. There is no one answer. editors. Readers have a zillion things they can or ownership on issues of race, gender, trauma. They are too often vilified - or worse We found that broad, authoritative national do besides pay attention to us, and as many as bias, objectivity, independence and more. - by political leaders. Their reported stories journalism does not fill the democracy void one third of people have simply given up news They are a microcosm of the communities can be drowned in misinformation, through created by the extinguishing of local news. altogether. If we are not clear on who we are, we cover. Our journalists are on frontlines algorithm or orchestration. They don’t see Job losses at digital native outlets bruised the and accountable to our own readers, ethics and of ground level reporting, and also where the world through the lens of the ‘60s and notion that digital adaptability was the main standards, we’ll be unhelpful, irrelevant or both. readers turn to express their frustration, ‘70s and can’t understand why so much of key to success. Alarming news deserts left But the traditions and legacies which anger, or gratitude. journalism seems to. They want to bring by withered or extinguished local news sites helped build those ethics and standards must We are seeing a newsroom mix of genera- all they are to work - their rich tapestry of indicate that brilliant, relevant niche sites are, not be locked in a frozen past. Societies, laws, tions, cultures and genders that do not all agree experience. If they can’t do that, what is there so far, a great addition to the media landscape, healthcare and language all evolve - why on what effective public service journalism is or to keep them? not a replacement of it. believe that the basic tenants of journalism should be. Some hold tightly to the proud tradi- The last 10 years were all about business For virtually all, the problem of financial cannot and should not alter? That TV show you tional ways, while others believe those ways can model, and that won’t change soon. The new sustainability persists. Is it reasonable to expect loved 15 years ago feels anachronistic today harm the afflicted who we so often say we are decade will include the need for journalism to a typical resident to pay even a small fee for 5-15 because it is pinned in time, while journalism there to comfort. This mix of responsibility and fact-check its assumptions, its internal code, different publications for a breadth of watchdog moves in lockstep with it. relevance, of the definition of harm and help, is and how its practice lives up to its purpose. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 78 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 79 SAVING NEWS, NOT THE NEWSPAPER.

DAMIAN EALES GLOBAL HEAD OF TRANSFORMATION, NEWS CORP Special Edition of Innovation in News 80 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 81

Although we have found a model that well might sustain local journalism for now, it will not be “ secured until society tames those tech titans who exert such extraordinary market power.

profitable model for journalism in Australia. because of the breadth and depth of our state, power, and yet pay nothing for the privilege. Looking back, let’s face it, this industry has national and global journalism. We learnt that In this market, Apple, through Apple been in the fight of its life. What started with the the synergy of hyperlocal digital journalism, News+ is the only digital platform who has great-online-migration of classified advertising supported by our network of state and national recognised that premium journalism should has culminated into the unchecked exploitation journalism was uniquely capable of sustaining be paid for, and for that they should be singled of journalism and other original content by the a business of digital journalism. out and applauded. Google and Facebook on digital duopoly of Google and Facebook. In a very utilitarian sense but also in a the other hand have not, and it seems will not, t is easy to ​characterise, as some have, that ​ Print as a format has been on the front very human sense, it enabled us to retain until the government and their regulator force the impending closure of the print editions line and has taken many casualties. Afternoon 375 journalists last week who are proud their hand through the impending deadline of a of many of News Corp Australia’s regional editions fell first, book sizes followed. Dailies professionals, who will continue to live in these mandatory code of conduct. and community mastheads is a disaster for became weeklies. There has been a procession communities, and who will continue to serve If that code is properly executed then journalism in Australia. of Purple Hearts from the profession. these communities. A point missed in some of perhaps we are at the end of a pivotal chapter, But doing so, to borrow an editorial term, Our company responded with the usual tac- the commentary. but not nearly near the end of the book. No buries the lead. It was a difficult decision, yes. tics and some of the not so usual too. We cut our In contrast to this approach, there are a doubt upcoming chapters will address what But disastrous, by no means. share of costs, but we also achieved scale through litany of examples, locally and globally, where we already know: first, that journalism will Certainly, it was difficult in the sense acquisition. Through the aggregation of like-mind- regional and community newspapers have increasingly be funded by a user-pay model of the human cost. As with so much in the ed businesses we delivered scale efficiencies, as gone broke (and no doubt will go broke) trying and digital subscriptions will rapidly become digital world, the stark reality is that fewer well as the scale of a larger digital subscription to save the paper instead of saving journalism. the primary revenue source of publishers; and and different roles are required to produce base. All of this extended the runway. In doing so, they have (and will) extinguish second, that the biggest corporate (ab)users of the digital equivalent. It was therefore These actions bought us time to build an the light that is local journalism, leaving these journalism will be required to pay like everyone extraordinarily difficult for many of our people 80,000 strong base of digital subscribers in communities in darkness. We should never else. Both factors, both necessary and sufficient. who are now without a job. regional Queensland and a critical mass of forget that the essential value of a newspaper is Ironically, those commentators that have Difficult too for those readers who love over 640,000 subscribers nationwide. Time to in the news, not the paper it’s printed on. been most critical of our strategy to sustain the ritual of print, the record of the day, build a growth engine from hyperlocal digital In saying all of this though, it is fair to journalism in recent days are themselves the daily connection with their newsagent. journalism in the suburbs of our metros like say that we had not predicted the actions of largely digital media businesses, and beyond Difficult for those contrarian clients who saw the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun. Time last week would occur so soon. As with many advocating that the First estate ought to the old-fashioned effectiveness of a single to prove a financial model which supports industries, COVID-19 forced our hand through subsume the Fourth estate, or insisting advertisement that could reach half of a town’s hiring journalists across 16 new geographies a step-change towards digital consumption. that journalism should be a philanthropic population in one go. And difficult for the in Australia, with more to come. Time to It has also shown how delicate the enterprise, they have no solution. In contrast, businesses that rely on newspapers to fill their understand how valuable stories about local economics of journalism are today, and to this on July 1, we will have just under 100 regional trucks or fill their stores, day in and day out. sports competitions, local crime syndicates, extent we are not out of the woods yet. and community titles through Australia which There is no doubt that this was difficult on local development applications or local Although we have found a model that well will be immediately profitable, wholly digital, many fronts. But here’s a thought. As hard as it elections are to local residents. might sustain local journalism for now, it will and growth businesses. was, I’ll also argue that 2020 marks a turning We also had time to understand that these not be secured until society tames those tech They didn’t just bury the lead, they missed point that demonstrates a new, sustainable, hyperlocal subscribers would stay subscribers titans who exert such extraordinary market it altogether. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 82 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 83 THE TRANSFOR- MATION WE ARE LIVING THROUGH TODAY IS AS DIZZYING AS IT IS EXCITING JOSE DEL RIO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF LA NACION, ARGENTINA Special Edition of Innovation in News 84 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 85

Although we have found a model that well might sustain local journalism for now, it will not be “ secured until society tames those tech titans who exert such extraordinary market power.

we search for stories, and, above all, how we From a podcast that wishes its listeners a subscribers to our channel, and more than 2 tell them. It also means evolving according “good morning” and teaches them to optimize million plays of our podcast programming. to our readers’ habits: habits that combine their time, to delve into history or to envision Technology has made definitive time frames, trends, and inputs from the most the future, to a newsletter summarizing the changes to the way people connect, but the diverse sources. Silos were destroyed long ten main stories you need to know before fundamentals remain the same. Between past, ago. Vertical divisions have been replaced you get to the office. From a TV channel that present, and future there is a common bridge very day, 24 hours a day, a screen lights by horizontal work cells in multidisciplinary does not sensationalise in its analysis, to a that joins 150 years of history of LA NACION: up the nerve centre of the newsroom. It is teams built around projects and themes. documentary several months in production our values, trustworthy information, and the where quick decisions and detailed planning Data flows through different arteries and released on YouTube. From showing what preponderance of facts over opinions. Also, take place, to produce both the stories that reaches a heart that remains constant: the poverty looks like through the eyes of children, the diversity of analysis and the belief that generate real-time shockwaves, and those that newsroom. Maybe that is why it beats with to making change by publishing official data understanding reality betters us as a society. delight readers with their originality and style. a consistent and increasingly loud rhythm. previously kept under lock and key. All of this We continue to be motivated by our belief It is an infinite pool of ideas that includes the By the time the COVID-19 pandemic is just a produced in ways that trigger emotions, that in an Argentina with a division of powers, talent of 356 journalists, the programmed memory, definitive changes will have taken share states of mind, but that above all expand with a stable legal framework, and in which agenda of our daily drone and visualisations place. Teams will be strengthened, fewer horizons. New readers will also have other education and culture play fundamental roles. that make the complex appear simple. That meetings will be in-person and coordination interests and habits: you have to be there to That has not changed throughout our history, screen shows what our 330,000 digital will no longer require a large nerve centre. satisfy them, wherever they may be. and will not change in the future. subscribers are doing, minute by minute. Innovation is cooked up in two phases: making Today LA NACION has some 40 million Journalism’s mission remains the same: On other screens we can track the trends the everyday distinctive, and making what is monthly individual users and creates between in its essence it is the value of questioning, of the moment, and compare the activity of distinctive every day. This is about building a 250 and 270 digital stories every day. But provoking, and ultimately denouncing our content and our competitors’ content, solid foundation that will make a difference to it is not only that. It is no longer a one-way situations that are contrary to democratic along with what’s happening on TV in real our journalistic DNA. relationship between a broadcaster and a values. There are countless brave people that time. We even calculate a specific score based The transformation we are living through recipient, but a constant back-and-forth that carry out this solitary, complex and dangerous on how much time readers engage with our today is as dizzying as it is exciting, and will allows us to ascertain the interests of each task, in which duty towards society overrides content, how greatly a story interests them be even more so in the coming decade. Digital customer with a high level of precision. Now personal interests. The future is based and what feelings it elicits. It is not a question media needs to reach readers promptly with 45% of our followers on social networks on precisely this essence: in fact, it is the of big data, but of smart data. disruptive formulas: it needs to be faster and are under 35, we have more than a million cornerstone for constructing it. l Our direction is clear: quality journalism higher quality, with more verification and followers on Instagram, 4.1 million between on every platform, now and going forward. without indulging in the growing phenomenon our Facebook accounts and 4 million on And this isn’t just an advertising slogan: it of disinformation or ‘fake news.’ We are forced . Content is presented differently means striving for constant improvement, to follow the changing habits of our audiences, according to platform and target age group, embracing successes and errors, following who are increasingly sophisticated and and that trend will only intensify. Readers are clues in the search for new formulas, learning demanding of what they consume on specific not all motivated by the same concerns and it to try and fail and start over. This requires platforms at different times of day. That is, no is not the same variables that allowed us 150% important and necessary changes in the way doubt, a fundamental part of our reinvention. growth on YouTube in 2019, some 500,000 Special Edition of Innovation in News 86 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 87 DIGITAL TRANSFOR- MATION, THE KOREAN WAY

JEONGDO HONG PRESIDENT AND CEO OF JOONGANG GROUP, SOUTH KOREA Special Edition of Innovation in News 88 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 89

Only our core competency can help us. In fact, what can make us flourish remains the same: “ quality content and our marketing capability.

its immense influence. All news entities, even those without branding or history, hope that Taking these anomalies into consider- ing. Influence became more important than they can take advantage of this influence, ation, the JoongAng has pioneered the digital volume. What mattered was not the number of which might explain the abrupt emergence of transformation journey, with Innovation’s eyeballs but whose eyeballs they were. Joon- so many new brands. Juan Senor as our valuable adviser in the first gAng didn’t hesitate to reduce the total number Naver pays news entities according to stage. The first goal was to change the con- of pages per day but increased the number of criteria it created. Although it seems like an tent production process. Old habits are never the quality opinion pages instead. ‘Columnists unfair amount in the minds of news entities, easy to change, but without this paradigm on the ground,’ a series of one-page articles the risk of not generating enough revenue via shift, JoongAng wouldn’t have been able to written by our well-known opinion and edito- their own paywall is too great for many news go any further. JoongAng tenaciously adopted rial writers as they make a return to on-the- entities to take the leap away from Naver. This the principle of ‘digital first,’ embracing this ground reporting, has been a big hit. Readers reluctance has turned into a collective habit, not just as a slogan but as a complete way of love seeing the veteran writers’ legwork, and he main elements of the newspaper business and now, they feel complacent receiving their working. Joongang’s efforts attracted an enthusiastic are similar throughout the world. Strategies steady paycheck. Working with data was the second mantra. response from opinion leaders, which became for survival, however, cannot be the same. The The other anomaly relates to advertising The importance of data is unquestionable. an asset. right remedies are context-sensitive. Strategies spending in national newspapers. Surprisingly, However, what matters is making people feel Even with these achievements, the road that lack the understanding of those contexts, newspaper ad spending seems to remain at like data is the air they breathe. An appropriate ahead is long and rough, and survival is not are risky and costly. a relatively high level. In 2010, it totalled $1.4 system was crucial. We invested a substantial guaranteed. We need to stick to the basics. Like the rest of the world, the Korean billion and in 2018, it was about $1.2 billion, a amount of money and finally developed JA We should not let the superficial deceive us. newspaper industry is in a deep slump. Sub- relatively small drop of 14 percent compared (Joongang Analytics). This has successfully Renovation for renovation’s sake is a risk that scription rates - once above 70% - had already to the approximately 73 percent decrease in inspired reporters with regards to what, when the Joongang wants to avoid. Time and cash plummeted to 29.4% by 2010 and dropped to subscriptions. Yet, what backed up the ad and how to write in the digital age. are what we need to sustain us on the long road 7.9% in 2019. spending was more than newspapers’ market- ahead. Only our core competency can help us. Yet, some anomalies are noticeable. Ac- ing effectiveness. Rather, advertisers regard the How has JoongAng performed? In fact, what can make us flourish remains the cording to the Korea Press Foundation, the fees as investments to solidify their relation- Within Naver, JoongAng’s position is unbeat- same: quality content and our marketing capa- number of news businesses (both paper and ships with newspapers. able. Among all the news entities in Korea, bility. Companies that have the power to make online) have almost doubled over the last de- The issue with Naver is not a matter of JoongAng maintains the most subscribers readers open their wallets will not die. Wheth- cade. And among these, no news outlet focuses whether it’s right or wrong. Naver is a given (more than 4 million) and the highest page view er it is content marketing, event marketing or on a digital subscription strategy. condition: how to cope with this is the real is- rate, and thus receives the biggest paycheck platform marketing, a newspaper company that These anomalies can be attributed to sue. Also, what lies behind businesses’ needs from Naver. provides advertisers with satisfactory market- the same cause: the flourishing of a domes- to maintain good relationships with major How to manage the legacy of the paper ing tools can survive. In a market with less tic online portal called Naver. Virtually all newspapers is what needs to be addressed. is also important. Investment into the paper barriers to entry and fiercer competition, what newspaper companies in the nation provide Money is still in the paper and its brand. Even if should be controlled. However, the paper has can differentiate us from other competitors is their content to Naver. The majority of the that budget is eventually redistributed, what we substantial potential on its own. JoongAng our brand. This is the prerequisite for success population consumes news on it, leading to need is an ‘organized retreat strategy.’ noticed the rules of the game have been chang- that can save us. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 90 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 91 As advertising becomes less reliable as a revenue stream, the question of how to bring in income becomes more important than ever. At I N N OVAT I O N we believe that diversification is vital, and we urge publishers to try three or four of the following models. They won’t all work for everyone, and a degree of experimentation might be necessary. The key premise for all of these is high-quality, unique journalism that will build a loyal, dedicated, paying audience and solidify your brand’s reputation, in turn unlocking further monetisation opportunities.

MONETISATION BUSINESS MODELS FOR NEWS PUBLISHERS

Special Edition of Innovation in News 92 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 93

CLIENT INCOME TRANSACTION PROFIT REQUIREMENTS RISKS FOCUS POTENTIAL COSTS POTENTIAL

Relevant, unique content Lack of willingness to pay; high churn rate PAID CONTENT B2C

Advanced data science capabilities Difficult to prove that it works at scale, EMOTIONAL B2B risk of alienating your audience ADVERTISER

Sophisticated data and analytics. Poor marketing and sales efforts, lack of bespoke DATA BROKER B2B Trusted relationship with advertisers analytics won't deliver results

Trusting relationship with your audience. Insufficient offerings and lack of engagement CLUB B2C Partnerships for product/service portfolio. with audience will reduce the impression of value Geographical reach aligned with media coverage

Deep understanding of audiences. Being let down by logistics and customer service RETAILER B2C Excellent platform. Unique and exclusive product portfolio

Expertise in programming and logistics, Strong competition from specialised EVENT or appropriate partnerships event producers ORGANISER B2C

Clearly-defined mission that appeals to donors Lack of sustainability; loss of editorial independence NON-PROFIT B2C

Creative teams within the organisation. Increasing competition from both traditional AGENCY B2B Marketing intelligence competencies. and upcoming advertising and branding agencies

PURVEYOR High quality, premium content and highly-engaged Difficult to break out of the massive digital ad OF TIME B2B audiences who are valuable to advertisers marketplace built on selling impressions

Strong, well-known, valued brand Core brand deterioration due to unwise BRAND licensing decisions LICENSER B2B

Unique software and an IT team with consulting High level of investment required to hire IT PROVIDER B2B and business development skills IT talent and maintain software

Capital. Investment and sector expertise Losing your investments INVESTOR B2B (internal or partnerships)

Internal expertise or access to external expertise, Lack of interest as a result of courses that miss target EDUCATOR B2C logistical capabilities audience's interests, poor execution

Substantial, accessible archives and facilities Cost of handling exceeds profits due to inefficiencies ARCHIVIST B2C to reproduce images etc or insufficient demand Special Edition of Innovation in News 94 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 95

READER The paid REVENUE content publisher Charging for content is essential for survival for most “news organisations. e go in depth A significant minority in these two coun- new business model,” and reminds us that There are of course into the different tries are also registering for multiple sub- “once you get all those subscribers signed exceptions that will types of paywall scriptions, which is good news for publishers up, you’ve got to prove yourself worthy of models available in a ‘winner-takes-most’ environment where their money, over and over again.” build successful models in the following big brands tend to dominate. in other ways, but these chapter, so the Of course, the primary impetus remains W focus here is not to ensure that you have journalism worth Who is it for? exceptions are rare. on examples but paying for. Then you have to look for ways to on stressing that build deeper connections with your audience Everyone. in 2020 and beyond, your primary business so that they are more willing to open their Focusing on reader revenue isn’t just about should be selling journalism rather than wallets, and to continue paying. bringing in more money, but it also enables a Brady writes for the Reynolds Journalism selling ads, particularly in these challenging Among those who do pay for online publisher to create a higher-quality, better- Institute, reader revenue also has the times for advertising markets worldwide. news, this year’s Reuters Insitute report performing product. Research from Havard’s advantage of focusing the business and Charging for content is essential for found that the most important motivating Shorenstein Center and the Lenfest Institute editorial sides “around a common goal: survival for most news organisations. There factor in the UK and the US is the suggests that a shift from advertising-based serving the consumer.” are of course exceptions that will build “distinctiveness and quality” of the content. models to digital subscriptions enables news successful models in other ways, but these Interestingly, the report also found that over organizations to: exceptions are rare. a third of subscribers “cite a close affinity Challenges This year’s Digital News Report from the with a particular journalist as a reason • Deliver more reader-relevant content; Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism to subscribe,” suggesting that allowing The Reuters Institute report authors stress at Oxford University found significant individual journalists the chance to shine and • Validate operational models that offer that across all the markets they surveyed, increases in the percentage of people who connect with their audience - via podcasts more stable business performance; the majority of people are still not paying pay for online news in a number of countries or newsletters, for example - is of particular for online news. And many of those say that including the US at 20 per cent (+4) and importance. • Free up resources to plan for longer-term nothing could ever persuade them to pay. Norway at 42 per cent (+8). This was before As Nieman Lab’s Joshua Benton has investments in content and news quality. However, publishers are encouraged to see the Coronavirus-related ‘bump’ that many written, subscriber retention is “critical to this as a challenge to rise to rather than as publishers have reported since March. making reader revenue the bedrock of the As former editor and publisher Jim discouragement. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 96 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 97

PSYCHOGRAPHICS OVER The DEMOGRAPHICS publisher as an emotional Charging for content is essential for advertiser survival for most “news organisations. hile we advertising based on that knowledge with a identifying connections between content There are of course encourage all product called Lens Targeting. and emotion, we've successfully driven ad exceptions that will publishers “Advertisers aren’t asking for audience engagement 6X more effectively than IAB to pursue by demographic but psychographic,” Kelly benchmarks.” Some emotionally-targeted build successful models reader revenue Andresen, SVP of Gannett’s GET Creative ads have generated as much as 80 per cent in other ways, but these streams, we branded content studio told Digiday in 2018. more impressions than standard behavioural W realise that An ad campaign for a nonprofit that targeting, Rick Edmonds reported for the exceptions are rare. advertising is was targeted to people reading inspirational , with an average lift of 40 likely to remain stories resulted in a 25 per cent higher per cent. part of most publishers’ business model, donation rate than ads that weren’t targeted, “Project Feels” was originally launched even if it is unlikely to bring in the big money Andresen told Digiday. in 2017 by the paper’s Data Science team offer this kind of targeting to advertisers that it used to, particularly after the collapse to understand and predict the emotional is an extensive data science team. This in ad markets triggered by the COVID-19 THE NEW YORK TIMES impact of Times articles. It then piloted ad may well make it out of reach for smaller pandemic. The New York Times’ “Perspective placements based on the emotions evoked publications. One of the more creative and potentially Targeting” offers brands the ability to target by certain articles. A post from the Data lucrative ways in which news organisations ads to specific articles that it predicts will Science team in 2018 stressed that the can sell ads is by targeting readers based on evoke particular emotions in its readers. The project’s findings “will never impact our Challenges emotions rather than simple demographics. 18 emotions available include optimistic, news report or other editorial decisions.”This inspired, self-confident, adventurous and point was reiterated by Allison Murphy, the The biggest challenge is proving that competitive. It also offers “Motivation Times’ Senior Vice President of Advertising mood-based targeting works, and at scale, Examples: Targeting” allowing brands to target their Innovation, in an interview with Rick according to Digiday. advertising alongside articles that it predicts Edmonds in 2019. Selling your audience via emotions and U SA TO DAY will motivate readers to take a particular motivation requires serious consideration of In 2016, the USA Today Network started action, such as take control of their finances, your relationship with your audience. If not categorising content by topic and tone, or make a healthy change. Seven motivations Who is it for? done responsibly, this could lead to a loss of scoring it based on the emotions it is believed are available. trust. Marketing to negative emotions could most likely to evoke. In 2017 it started to sell The brand’s media kit says that “by The key requirement for being able to be particularly controversial. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 98 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 99 The MEMBERSHIP publisher as a club You need to be prepared for a lot of engagement with your “audience.

f a straightforward subscription online, as part of the paper’s commitment to LA NACION, ARGENTINA any membership program should focus on offering doesn’t appeal, publishers making its reporting open to everyone. But In addition to a subscription offering, La building repeat activity and member reten- can seek to strengthen ties of loyalty readers can choose to pay; as well as print Nacion has a loyalty card program called tion above all. Repeat activity, or regularity, with their readers while still bring- subscriptions, the Guardian offers digital only Club La Nacion, which gives its members has been shown to correlate with readers’ ing in revenue, by creating a mem- subscriptions which allow premium access to discounts and special offers that can be per- willingness to subscribe. bership programme. These tend to its apps, and an ad-free web experience. Sup- sonalised and targeted to their location. Dis- Targeted contact based on audience seg- I be subscription packages which porters can also make a contribution of any count categories include food, entertain- mentation can help to keep users engaged. It offer not only access to editorial amount, or become a ‘Patron’ if they donate ment, travel, fashion, beauty and home. is also important, as with any reader revenue products, but also access to events more than £100 a month, which gives them strategy, to track how and when people are or additional insight, or discounts across opportunities to attend exclusive events and QUARTZ, US subscribing, so that you can use that informa- various products and services. In some cases, more access to newsroom operations. “Guard- Quartz announced at the end of June 2020 tion to “design future acquisition efforts and to the cost of the annual subscription could be ian Patrons help keep our journalism free of that it had nearly 21,000 paying members decide which strategies to abandon because recouped through accessing such discounts. a paywall, so it remains open and accessible globally. Membership gets you weekly ‘field they’re underperforming,” wrote Federica It is important to generate a robust list to everyone. With their support we can give a guides,’ member-only newsletters, early Cherubini, also for the Membership Puzzle of ‘added value’ benefits so that subscribers voice to the voiceless, pursue the most com- access to digital events, topic-based slide pre- Project. have preferential access to relevant events, plex or time-consuming stories and hold the sentations, as well as access to all journalism. premieres and/or discounts across a wide powerful to account,” the site says, stressing range of services. It requires a proactive that membership is a good cause. Challenges marketing strategy to ensure that club In March 2020 the Guardian reported Who’s it for? members are not only satisfied, but willing to 821,000 recurring monthly supporters, You need to be prepared for a lot of engage- renew their memberships. which included 446,000 recurring contribu- You need a brand that your audience believes ment with your audience, but also be aware tors, patrons and members (as opposed to in, trusts and feels a connection with. You of striking a balance. “You might consider digital or print subscribers), a 20 per cent need to be prepared to offer them something periodic surveys to get a better picture of Examples: increase compared to March 2019. In the more than straightforward journalism, wheth- what your audiences value most from your 12 months to the end of March 2020, the er that is extra content, events, or discounts. offerings. Be careful to not overwhelm them THE GUARDIAN, UK Guardian received a further 342,000 one-off Emily Roseman, doing research for the with long, detailed surveys,” advises Cheru- The Guardian’s content is freely available contributions from readers. Membership Puzzle Project, concluded that bini. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 100 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 101

RECOMMENDATION/ The CONSUMER JOURNALISM publisher as York Magazine,” The Strategist links BuzzFeed earns an average commission directly to the cheapest or most convenient of 25% on direct sales, the online publisher places to buy the products that it told the WSJ in July 2020. It will collect recommends. consumer data on this new shopping site a retailer According to e-commerce solution with an eye toward eventually personalizing Skimlinks, The Strategist’s success is due recommendations. partly to its rigorous data collection and Will shopping directly on media sites analysis on which price ranges, product become more common as consumer habits categories and merchants are most change? successful, and its efficient collaboration with the wider New York Media team. It is of course also crucial to maintain trust by only Who’s it for? here has been a dramatic pandemic, he suggested that “the presence recommending products that the reviewers increase in e-commerce as of shoppable ads across Google Image actually believe in. Any publisher can dabble in e-commerce, a result of the COVID-19 search, social networks and elsewhere The site also publishes entertaining you don’t have to purchase a whole site, as pandemic which has on the web, are all helping to make recommendations and reviews from the New York Times did with Wirecutter in significantly accelerated eCommerce more viable and appealing, celebrities and experts. 2016: you could earn affiliate revenue by the decline of brick and helping to usher in the next era of online providing links from product mentions to T mortar stores. Even shopping.” BUZZFEED SHOPPING retailers whenever you do product reviews. though physical shops Could this be the right time to finally BuzzFeed launched a standalone website You need journalists who are committed to have reopened in many embrace e-commerce? To succeed, it is called BuzzFeed Shopping in June 2020 that and passionate about the beats and content countries, that doesn’t mean that people are important to have a clear focus on the lets visitors complete purchases onsite. It areas that they cover. going to give up their new online shopping audience you are targeting, both in terms of already publishes affiliate links on its main habits. content and in terms of purchasing offers. site (which led to $300 million in product Amazon reported a 40 per cent increase A deep understanding of your audience is sales last year, according to the Wall Street Challenges in net sales in the second quarter of 2020, imperative to survive with this model. Journal), and saw ‘commerce’ accounting for compared to 2019 ($88.9 billion compared 21% of its revenue in 2019. There is a clear risk of losing reader with $63.4 billion). The Drum noted a This move was partly enabled by the trust when you are making money out of particular rise is social shopping during Examples: spread of checkout functionality beyond recommending products. Some publishers, periods of lockdown, as people spend more traditional e-commerce platforms, Nilla such as the Financial Times, don’t utilise time browsing their social feeds. Hearst’s NEW YORK MAGAZINE’S Ali, senior vice president of commerce at affiliate linking for this very reason. Your lifestyle magazine sites saw a 358% year-on- ‘THE STRATEGIST’ BuzzFeed, told the Wall Street Journal. For audience needs to believe your assertions year increase in product sales through site New York Media’s shopping site, The example, Instagram’s checkout feature, that your reviews are independent, and you content in April 2020, according to Media Strategist, saw an 85% year-over-year launched in March 2019, has enabled have to be prepared to stand behind your Post. increase in revenue during the second shopping directly in the app from a limited recommendations. It is crucial to always Damian Radcliffe wrote in What’s New quarter of 2020, Digiday reported. Billing number of partners (and as of August 2020 clearly state when and where you may In Publishing that the percentage of revenue itself as “the best deals, gift guides and from all eligible businesses in the US) and potentially receive affiliate revenue from that most content creators derive from product reviews from around the web. consumer behaviour is gradually starting to links, and whether your journalists have e-commerce remains small. Even before the Brought to you by the editors of New shift. received products as gifts from brands. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 102 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 103

EVENTS GO ONLINE

The for recouping revenue, particularly when TORTOISE audiences are far larger than they could Events are a key part of Tortoise’s member- be at a physical event. For example, the ship offering, with its regular ‘Thinkins,’ which Guardian is currently charging £5 per talk, usually take place at its office in London or whereas the New York Times is offering at other venues around the UK, described on publisher many events for free, while thinking about its website as ‘the engine of open journalism.’ how the attendees might be persuaded to During the pandemic, Tortoise has been of- become subscribers. fering daily virtual Thinkins, arguing that “it’s more important than ever that we get together – albeit virtually – to make sense of what’s hap- as an event Examples: pening.” These are all free for members and their guests to book. Any guests will receive a FT LIVE free month of membership, during which they The FT Live global events arm, FT Live, will be encouraged to join as members. organises conferences, awards and other organiser events across the world. It usually organises 150 events globally per year, according to Who is it for? Digiday, and it has swiftly adapted to the ncreasing numbers of news across the world in spring 2020, publishers virtual world. FT Live has several full-scale There is a low barrier to entry for online publishers have started to organise were quick to jump on the virtual events conferences taking place in 2020, as well as events, so it could be a good time to test out events as an additional revenue bandwagon. As even the most tech- many hour-long virtual events, starting on interest and your journalists’ capacity as stream over the last few years, phobic individuals become experienced April 1 with its Digital Dialogues series. moderators or hosts. often taking advantage of their with video conferencing software such as Sponsorship is a key revenue driver, and journalists’ expertise and their Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, according to Orson Francescone, managing I brand’s convening power to host remote events have been booming, from director of FT Live, sponsorship revenue is Challenges topical discussions. one-off webinars, to weekly calls with key holding up. He told Digiday that a brand’s Some companies have correspondents, to full-scale conferences. alignment with speaking at events and You need to understand the technology to consolidated the development of their You can’t charge at the same pricing appearing next to the publisher’s journalists choose the appropriate tech vendor. Will branded events into a single area or even level, but your audience can be global. This is doesn’t go away in a digital environment. Zoom suffice for your intended capacity, or created independent business units. In particularly pertinent for publishers seeking In terms of ticket revenue, publishers on do you need a dedicated online conference addition, events can also generate new to garner a more international audience. average are likely able to charge 30 per provider? Will you be able to easily upgrade content, gather new data that feeds Your audience can also be much larger cent to 50 per cent of a normal event, your plan if your numbers of attendees databases and play a meaningful role in than that of an in-person event, for only a Francescone said. Some webinars offered exceed expectations? building brand and establishing influence. marginal increase in cost. For example, Zoom by the FT are free, while sector-specific “Zoom fatigue” — the exhaustion This model could represent 20 per webinars allow for up to 100 interactive conferences start at about £299. participants experience taking part in virtual cent of total revenues with good brand video participants, and up to 10,000 view- meetings and events — is real. It is therefore partnerships and the right management only attendees. The Atlantic is hoping to LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS crucial to carefully consider the timing of team. Events can also be offered as a attract 1 million digital visitors to its high- Founded in 1996, the Los Angeles Times events. For example, The Wall Street Journal’s subscriber benefit, or subscribers could be profile Atlantic Festival this year, compared Festival of Books, Stories and Ideas usually Future of Everything Festival has been split up given premium/prior access to tickets. with the event’s usual 2,000 attendees. attracts approximately 150,000 people each and rescheduled over several months online. Given the much lower organising year of all ages from Southern California and The lack of networking, for many a key costs of online events, some publishers even other parts of the country. It will be held justification for attending in-person events, is The shift to virtual have been able to offer them to all viewers, virtually this October, with 25 individual problematic, but it is possible to experiment or free to subscribers, or at a very low virtual events including author panels and with digital breakout rooms, or arrange to When in-person events were cancelled cost. Sponsorship is a significant option readings. share contact details, etc. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 104 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 105 The NON-PROFIT NEWS publisher as shift. The expectation is that other struggling a key candidate for nonprofit success, as its local US newspapers that can make a clear mission is clear and appealing to donors.: It case for serving a community will also be aims to empower women, particularly women able to apply for a similar status. of colour and those traditionally underserved a recipient of In the last 15 years, more than a quarter by American media, “with the information, re- of US newspapers have closed, and half of lo- sources and community they need to be equal cal journalists have lost their jobs, according participants in our democracy.” to the University of North Carolina report The For general interest news companies, Expanding News Deserts, so other local print seeking philanthropic funding for a specific philanthropy titlesare likely to be watching Salt Lake’s type of coverage might be more feasible, and non-profit progress with keen interest. more appropriate. For example, the Guard- ian’s international development coverage is s news outlets struggle visitors into repeat readers who will, over time, MOTHER JONES funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun- to make money, some support us.” Early on in the UK’s lockdown Mother Jones, which focuses on investiga- dation, and the Associated Press receives might be tempted to period, the site started a campaign to encour- tive reporting and explanatory journalism funding from the Howard Hughes Medical look for donations to age new readers to sign up for its newsletter. on social issues, is funded by a mix of big Institute’s Department of Science Education support their journal- The rate of new subscriptions trebled, Waitling donors and readers. In total, nearly 48,000 for its science and health news. The Seattle ism. There is of course said, “and so when we did eventually go back people made a contribution to Mother Jones Times receives funding for its education cov- A a good case to be made to ask them to support us, donations increased in the past year, according to the magazine. erage from the Gates Foundation, Amazon for journalism as a pub- dramatically as we were able to target our most It is the oldest investigative nonprofit news and the City University of Seattle. lic service. However, it loyal readers directly through our newsletter.” organisation in the US, and boasts the larg- This approach allows a news outlet to is not for everyone. est audience (on its own platform) among benefit from occasions when their goals align THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE such organizations, according to Harvard’s with those of a philanthropist, but it doesn’t In late 2019, a Utah daily print title,The Salt Shorenstein Center. Part of its success is due risk putting the fate of the whole publication Examples: Lake Tribune, successfully changed its status to the “growing emphasis on journalism—as a in the benefactor’s hands. to ‘nonprofit’ with the US Internal Revenue public service for the benefit of readers—cre- THE CONVERSATION Service, by presenting itself as a charity set ated a symbiotic relationship between the The Conversation is a network of non-profit up to educate, advance, and inform public editorial and business sides of the organiza- Challenges news sites that publish stories by research- discourse through local, independent jour- tion, elevating the pitch that the stronger the ers and academics. Each country’s edition is nalism in the state of Utah. business, the stronger the journalism, and Remaining reliant on others, particularly a an independent not-for-profit organisation The paper still seeks subscribers and vice versa,” the Shorenstein Center found. small number of big donors, means you run or charity funded by its university members, advertisers, but the new status allows its sup- the risk of losing your independence. There government and other grant awarding bod- porters to make tax deductible donations. It is also the risk that funding isn’t necessar- ies, corporate partners and reader donations. has had to give up its right to endorse politi- Who’s it for? ily consistent or long-term, meaning that Chris Waitling, CEO of The Conversation cal candidates, and the paper’s owner has there can be a looming, constant pressure to UK, wrote for Journalism.co.uk that dur- given up control to a new board which will In general, operating as a non-profit is only an search for more funders. Also, philanthropic ing a massive surge in readership during the run the nonprofit. option for niche, highly mission-driven publi- funding for news is far more likely in the US COVID-19 pandemic, the charity is currently The move was described at the time by cations. For example, The 19th, a digital pub- than elsewhere in the world, given the US focused on “converting these new first-time media commentators as a huge (and positive) lication which recently launched in the US, is tradition of philanthropy. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 106 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 107

DATABASE The MARKETING publisher

With the emergence as a data of programmatic advertising, it becomes “increasingly important broker to have your own data to use internally, but of course these data sets can also be offered to third parties.

s advertising becomes Example: Readerscope can be used: segments of these same insights for a brand’s more sophisticated, specific audience or customer set. the value of consumer THE NEW YORK TIMES’ • As a content strategy tool to develop data increases. READERSCOPE creative ideas for branded content or Publishers have a Targeted audience segments are of campaigns by searching a brand’s target Who is it for? direct relationship course one of the most interesting audience segment (e.g., millennial A with their audiences uses of data for advertising. The New women) to understand what they're Anyone who collects data on their readers. and the ‘first-party York Times launched its Readerscope reading, either as content topics or as Of course, the more you know about your data’ that they collect tool for advertising use in 2018. representative articles exemplifying those customers, the more effective such tools will directly from their readers, listeners and Readerscope is an AI-driven data topics. be. This is why many publishers encourage viewers is valuable for advertisers who want insights tool that summarizes what readers to register for a limited number of to increase the effectiveness of their ad content The Times’ audience is consuming, • To help brands find the right audience free articles per month. campaigns. by using anonymized data to visualize or geography for a certain message by With the emergence of programmatic who is interested in which topics and searching a topic (e.g., human rights, advertising, it becomes increasingly where they are, according to a press philanthropy or travel ) and seeing which Challenges important to have your own data to use release at the time. Topics are algorithmically audience segments over-index for interest internally, but of course these data sets can learned from The New York Times about that subject. Privacy regulations, and the growing also be offered to third parties. Classified ads article archive using natural language awareness of these regulations among and verticals are also excellent vehicles to processing, and all of the reader segments The press release said that Readerscope consumers, means that you have to be augment databases with even more relevant are targetable with media on NYTimes.com, would also soon be able to take in other strategic and transparent about what you do audience information. the Times said. brands’ own first-party data to create custom with customer data. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 108 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 109

FROM CLICKS The TO CLOCKS publisher as a purveyor of time

s previously mentioned, correlation” between view time and Who is it for? A test carried out in we expect that advertising impact. 2017 by ADITION, a advertising will Time-spent metrics work best for premium remain part of most FINANCIAL TIMES publishers with highly engaged audiences marketing technology publishers’ business In 2015, The Financial Times today launched a who are desirable targets for advertisers, “company, and Spiegel models for the time new digital advertising metric, ‘cost per hour’ according to a paper detailing research Online found a A being. But advertising (CPH), in conjunction with metrics specialist conducted in 2017 by Brent Merritt of George success doesn’t have Chartbeat. The FT claimed that CPH allows Washington University. Ads will ideally be “distinctly positive to always be based it to “increase marketing effectiveness by placed alongside high quality, long-form simply on page views. Measuring time measuring not just whether an ad is seen or pieces. correlation” between spent, for example, rewards quality content not, but for how long.” This allows advertisers view time and that audiences actually engage with, and to reach the FT’s “highly influential global advertising impact. punishes clickbait that sees many views but audience” with greater brand impact. Challenges very little focused time. It might be a better Tests showed that brand recognition and match for publishers who are increasingly association among readers increased The same paper from Brent Merritt found valuing loyalty in their customers, and significantly the longer an ad wasin view. Ads that the top challenge of metrics based looking at engagement metrics like seen for five seconds or more showed up to on attention rather than volume is the standardising the value of attention sales. frequency of visits, and number of articles 50% higher brand recall and familiarity than inertia of a massive digital ad marketplace The first steps toward overcoming these read. A test carried out in 2017 by ADITION, those visible for a shorter time. built on selling impressions, along with barriers are better education and providing a marketing technology company, and The model was developed in house, and technological challenges, a lack of more empirical evidence of the value of Spiegel Online found a “distinctly positive the FT has since called for its wider uptake. demand from ad agencies and difficulties attention currencies. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 110 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 111

SELLING The SOFTWARE publisher as an IT provider The Washington Post monetises Arc in the hen they Arc in the form of software-as-a-service, VOX CHORUS develop running on Amazon Web Services, to more Vox Media has been selling its Chorus form of software-as- particularly than 600 sites at both large and small platform since 2018, and the technology “a-service, running on successful media companies.In February 2020 the is now used on more than 350 sites. Vox in house company said Arc was serving more than describes Chorus as “the only all-in-one Amazon Web Services, tools, media 750 million unique visitors per month. publishing, audience, and revenue platform to more than 600 sites W companies can Arc signed a client outside the media built for modern media companies operating at both large and small offer consulting industry for the first time in October at scale.” and IT licensing 2019, when BP signed on to use Arc’s The team that supports Chorus, media companies. services to their industry peers. workflow and content management tools including its ad network, Concert, and its for its communications team to engage community tool Coral, was reported to be its worldwide workforce, which includes 150 people-strong in mid-2019. Examples: 70,000 employees in 70 countries across 250 internal sites. THE WASHINGTON POST Arc has about 250 employees, with Who is it for? Challenges The Washington Post’s Arc is a digital many engineers working from an office in platform and suite of tools that is Chicago, Bloomberg reported at the time of This model requires sophisticated technology In addition to the technological limitations, “engineered to meet the demands the deal with BP. Shailesh Prakash, Chief and not many media companies will have selling products such as these is not always of modern publishers, brands and Information Officer and Vice President the capability to offer this type of service. going to be easy. The costs per year for broadcasters around the world,” handling of Product at the Washington Post, told This requires developing a business-oriented both Arc and Chorus are in the six or seven “complex multi-site publishing and Bloomberg that Arc expects to generate consultative selling and consulting culture figure range, according to Digiday. As the audience needs across video, web, apps, $100 million in annual revenue within within the IT team to provide these services Wall Street Journal reported, “Lining up subscriptions and ad monetization, the next three years. Although Arc isn’t to internal and external customers. The customers who are willing to pay six- and providing a competitive advantage profitable yet, Prakash said, he sees it Washington Post’s close connection with seven-figure sums for publishing technology enhanced by a set of sophisticated machine becoming the Post’s third major revenue Amazon (both are owned by , may be a tall order in a digital media industry learning and AI-powered tools,” according stream, comparable to subscriptions and the world’s richest person) gives it a clear where many players are struggling to meet to the Post. The publisher has monetised advertising. advantage in this area. their financial targets.” l Special Edition of Innovation in News 112 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 113

MONETISING YOUR The INTANGIBLE ASSETS publisher as a brand Brands whose recognition factor and credibility are high licenser “enough [...] can license their brand name to

hen a kitchenware line, sold exclusively through NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC develop new products publisher’s Walmart in the US, had sold four million EXPEDITIONS and services. brand has high items since launch, and for Walmart, aims Launched in 1999, National Geographic intangible to attract younger consumers who might Expeditions partners with cruise and tour value, it can be not normally buy household goods from companies, operating hundreds of trips each worth taking Walmart stores. A Tasty kitchenware line year that span all seven continents and more • Is the extension “natural” for your brand, W advantage of was also launched in Australia in early than 80 destinations. A National Geographic or does it seem forced? If it is organic, is this to license 2020. According to the announcement expert or expert team accompanies most the new product so close to an existing the brand in published by Licensing.biz, “BuzzFeed expeditions. offering that it could cannibalise your other related products or services to bring research shows that two out of three Tasty portfolio? in income. This would involve partnering fans have made a Tasty recipe, using its with a manufacturer or service provider who bank of videos as guidance. The kitchen Who is it for? • Is your existing brand reputation strong is keen to benefit from the prestige that the line is the same range as is used in Tasty’s enough to support a new product, service, publishing brand name brings. Essentially, library of videos and was designed and Brands whose recognition factor and or marketplace? it involves the leasing of media assets or developed with the Tasty fan in mind.” This credibility are high enough to constitute a intellectual property to a third party. includes using bright colours to make the seal of quality can licence their brand name • Do your customers trust you enough to tools ‘insta-friendly’. to develop new products and services. In see the value in your new offering? many countries, media companies have Examples: FORBES a sufficient brand awareness and cultural Forbes monetises its brand by offering relevance to achieve this. Before embarking Challenges BUZZFEED AND TASTY individuals and companies the possibility of on any brand extension projects, Steve Digiday reported at the end of 2019 buying a “premium profile page” on Forbes. Harvey of Fabrik, a specialist creative design Creating branded products can isolate a that BuzzFeed expected to drive $260 com. Individuals and businesses recognized agency, recommends asking: publisher’s ad partners that operate in those million in sales that year of BuzzFeed- on a Forbes Ranking, Cover story, or other areas, as Business Insider pointed out in a branded products through retail stores, feature can also license the Forbes logo • Is there a desire for the new product? Can 2017 article. It is also crucial to choose your including using its Tasty brand to sell and their accolate for use on their own you find a unique selling point for your products and partners wisely: there is no food, kitchenware and cookbooks. The platforms. extension? guarantee of success. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 114 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 115

BRANDED The CONTENT publisher as an agency Branded content should be more than a straightforward ad. “It must tell a story that roducing advertising con- 2018, which it described at the time as “a REMEZCLA piques the audience’s tent for brands can be a way new full-service creative agency which Remezcla, a US news outlet focused on Latin interest, or evokes a for news publishers to make leverages the unparalleled influence and music, culture, and events, offers an agency some extra revenue with editorial expertise of Condé Nast through service “to help Fortune 500 companies specific emotion. their significant expertise advertising, brand strategy, casting and speak to US Latinos in a way that’s relevant in storytelling and content experiential capabilities.” (It incorporated to them,” it claims. P creation. Publishers also the company’s creative studio formerly have the advantages of hav- known as 23 Stories.) The US arm works in GUARDIAN LABS ing an audience that they partnership with Condé Nast International, The Guardian launched its branded content marketing team to be able to compete know very well, and an existing relationship of which aligned its own creative services studio, Guardian Labs in 2014. At the time, its against traditional agencies with cost- trust with that audience. According to re- teams in 11 markets under one umbrella, managing director Anna Watkins wrote that effective strategies and excellent service level search done by Digiday, cited at the beginning Condé Nast Creative Studio. In 2019 “it is the trinity of collaborative content, a pro- agreements. You need to have conviction of 2020, 88 per cent of publishers are making Conde Nast announced that it was adding gressive community and live data that enables regarding why brands should choose you: at least some of their revenue from branded consultancy services to CNX. us to connect so powerfully. By knowing our what is your particular expertise or your content, meaning it is the second most popular Many of Condé Nast’s editorial staff, readers we can ensure that brands connect in USP? What sort of market can you offer to source of income after display advertising. including journalists, designers, art a deeper, more meaningful way.” advertisers? Branded content should be more than directors and video producers, are involved Clients include big names such as a straightforward ad. It must tell a story that in the creative campaigns, What’s New in AirBnb, Waitrose, Cisco, Ebay. The Guardian piques the audience’s interest, or evokes a Publishing reported in 2018. told Digiday in 2018 that on average, an Challenges specific emotion or way of thinking. individual spends 2.3 minutes with Guardian CNBC CATALYST Labs content per campaign, and in some Once you have won clients, the biggest CNBC launched Catalyst in 2016, which cases, this figure was as high as six minutes. challenge is likely to be where and how to Examples: it describes as a full-service agency that draw the line between your editorial and offers a menu of services articulated through branded content. Do some of your story- CONDE NAST CNX/ the shorthand ABCDE – Audience, Brand Who is it for? tellers do both? How can you be sure that CREATIVE STUDIO Consultancy, Content, Data and Events & your audience can distinguish between Condé Nast launched CNX in the US in Experiences. You need a strong creative arm and journalism and advertising? l Special Edition of Innovation in News 116 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 117 The VENTURE FUNDS publisher as an investor

An investment fund clearly requires capital, which means it will “only be possible for everal publishers have fundamentally re-shape their rapidly evolving companies so far and has seen four exits. well-funded publishers. created specialised venture industry and adjacent sectors.” It looks for SCHIBSTED GROWTH funds to invest in emerging companies whose values align with those Schibsted Growth invests in “disruptive, It is possible to lose this media and technology of the Scott Trust and the Guardian Media scalable and innovative business models capital, so this must be businesses, in the hope that Group, in the areas of content creation, that create unique value.” It has invested in a key consideration. theses will both provide distribution/discovery, consumption/ more than 30 companies so far. S a source of revenue and interaction and monetisation/purchase. Up become a valuable stream until 31 March 2020, GMG Ventures had ASAHI MEDIA LAB VENTURES of knowledge. made 23 direct investments, and run a global Asahi Media Lab Ventures, founded in July incubator and accelerator programme. The 2017 with 2.33 billion yen, manages funds hope is that a strong connection with these on behalf of The Asahi Shimbun and its which means it will only be possible for startups can generate strategic insights for TV stations. It invests in technology and well-funded publishers. It is of course very Examples: the Guardian, as well as hopefully providing services that improve efficiency in digital possible to lose this capital, so this must be returns to support journalism. media, social media, digital marketing, or a key consideration. GMG VENTURES lifestyle technology. It lists 38 companies GMG Ventures is owned by the Scott SPH VENTURES that it has invested in thus far. Trust, which also owns the Guardian. It Singapore Press Holdings set up SPH Challenges was launched in October 2017 with £42 Ventures, a S$100 million venture capital million and invests in early stage companies fund, which invests in early-growth tech- Who is it for? A key challenge is knowing what to invest (seed or series A) at the intersection of nology companies globally, most at Series in: it is advisable to have a well-developed media and technology, that are “seeking to A or later. It has invested in more than 40 An investment fund clearly requires capital, private equity fund partner to help assess Special Edition of Innovation in News 118 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 119

CLASSES AND The COURSES publisher as an educator You need a strong brand, ideally with some intellectual flair, “and offerings that fit with your values ome publishers are build- professionals, relying very much on the offer content catered to your industry - it and content. ing on their reputation of strength of its brand to sell these, which it provides short online lessons five days/week. expertise to offer various advertises as employing a ‘Timesian method classes and courses to their to exploring ideas and the topical issues of GUARDIAN MASTERCLASSES audiences. These are dis- our time,’ and offering students the chance In addition to its events programme, the tinct from events, with more to ‘develop a Timesian way of thinking.’ Guardian runs about 250 masterclasses per You need a strong brand, ideally with some S limited numbers and more Two-week online courses for students are year which offer training in specific areas. intellectual flair, and offerings that fit with specific topics for longer priced at $2,825, whereas tuition for a Currently operating online, many are focused your values and content. Any educational durations, accompanied two-week in person course in New York on writing and other journalistic skills, programmes could well involve some by much higher prices, but might be able costs $5,225. Pre-recorded online courses but other lifestyle and business areas also. participation and input from journalists and/ to make use of some similar organisational for professionals are available in content Partners and Patrons are offered discounts, or other teams, but it is possible to book capacity. marketing in conjunction with T Brand and all are assured that “Purchasing tickets external trainers and rely on your brand and Studio, or virtual reality with the Times’ to our online classes is a powerful way to reputation. VR team. fund The Guardian; thank you for your Examples: support.” LEARN FRENCH WITH LE MONDE Challenges THE SCHOOL OF Le Monde has partnered with language THE NEW YORK TIMES learning service Gymglish to offer its Who is it for? It is important to find an area where you The New York Times offers programmes ‘Frantastique’ French language programme. stand out, whether that is because of for pre-university students - both online Costing £18-36 per month depending on your As the examples above show, there are very expertise in a specific area, or loyalty from a or in person - and online programmes for level of subscription - ‘pro’ subscriptions can different types of education you could offer. particular market or demographic. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 120 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 121

SELLING The NOSTALGIA publisher as an archivist Both the New York Times and Reuters received funding “from Google for the digitisation of their archives. his model sees newspapers LA VANGUARDIA REUTERS as an archive of modern La Vanguardia’s Grandes Temas are Reuters recently announced that it has history. Longstanding pub- historically focused publications available used AI to “enhance” its video archive of lishers are likely to have in La Vanguardia’s shop, looking at Spanish nearly one million clips dating back to 1896, huge archives: in addition artists such as Dali or Gaudi, or gathering introducing time-code accurate speech-to- the power of their archive and dip their toe in to their value to journalists, Obama’s speeches, or the life of the author of text transcripts in 11 different languages, and the e-commerce waters. T how can these be used to the well-known TinTin books. identification of public figures highlighted in generate additional income videos, allowing users to easily navigate to or subscriber benefits? THE NEW YORK TIMES those sections of the video, hence “enabling Challenges The New York Times is in the process of better and faster access to pictures of some digitising its archive of six million images, of the most historic events, speeches and It is no small job for a large publication to Examples: gathered and stored since 1896, and as well moments in history.” digitise archives: each person in the NYT’s as being used for a project called Past Tense, archive team scans about 1,000 images per THE GLOBE AND MAIL which uses old photos as story inspiration, day, the news outlet said in 2019, shortly Canada’s Globe and Mail offers subscribers many iconic prints are available to purchase Who is it for? after the team had scanned their one access to its news photo archive, which in the Times’ store. Themes include millionth photo. Both the New York Times contains photos used in the paper from the historical, politics, space, animals, New York It is for publishers with a long history and and Reuters received funding from Google entire 20th century. It even offers a degree and more. The Times even offers custom the capacity to digitise archives. Professor for the digitisation of their archives. But of personalised nostalgia: readers can enter photo reprints of any photo from its print or and media commentator Damian Radcliffe if it can be useful to reporters, plus bring their year of birth and the site will create a online editions, starting at $75 (up to $410 suggested that it could be a relatively low- in some revenue, it could be well worth timeline for them based around this. depending on size and frame). risk way for traditional publishers to harness considering. l Special Edition of Innovation in News 122 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 123 AN- OTHER ‘CLICK’ IN THE WALL: A PRIMER IN PAY- WALL MODELS Special Edition of Innovation in News 124 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 125

1 . THE HARD PAYWALL

This strategy is most realistic for established titles with heavy brand recognition and brand loyalty, as well as niche publications and those with specialised, highly engaged specialised audiences. Since every user has to be logged-in, hard paywalls are the most difficult to bypass using browser tricks or incognito mode. But in keeping their content private, publishers can risk keeping things too private, which is why this model has become notably rare in the paywall landscape. If potential subscribers are unable to sample content for free, the challenge of conver- sion becomes greater, and web traffic is significantly reduced. Hard paywalls also limit the potential for distribution channels like going viral on social media or word-of-mouth shar- ing, but for publishers who can afford the initial hit, the benefits often outweigh the risks.

The Times of London, owned by Rupert converted readers was significant enough Murdoch’s News UK, was one of the first to keep the paywall in place. The brand The first half of 2020 tested the sustainability of every national brands to launch a paywall, more went from a £70 million combined loss aspect of publishing, and as we have already estab- than ten years ago. before the paywall, to a £1.7 million lished, revenue streams are at the top of that list. At profit in less than five years. For the a time when digital ad revenue continues to dwindle, STRATEGY At first, all digital content on 2019 financial year, Times Newspapers and high-quality editorial content is more crucial to the brand’s site was limited to paid sub- reported pre-tax profits of £3.75m, and readers than ever, news and magazine publishers are scribers, full-stop, with no workarounds passed 300,000 digital-only subscribers. reprioritising their digital subscription models. or two-paragraph story limits. However, Recent research from INMA shows that, glob- in 2016 the site began offering two free SEE ALSO Financial Times, ally, only 39 per cent of national media outlets charge articles per week to readers who cre- The Economist for their digital content. What more opportune time ated an account. At present, The Times than now for publishers to launch a revamped paywall and The Sunday Times currently offer a strategy? Paywalls not only serve to monetise a site’s one-month free trial of ‘Times+’, followed existing digital audience, but increased revenue and by a tiered monthly subscription of £15 for conversion rates from a well-planned model can offset smartphone-only access or £26 for full the financial losses still permeating the entire industry digital access. The titles continue to work It amazes me that post-COVID-19. hard to keep subscribers, for example by We urge all publishers to consider how best to experimenting with an AI-powered per- people give away charge for their journalism. For those considering a sonalised newsletter service that helps to everything digitally and paywall for the first time, we are here to help: here reduce subscriber churn. we cover ten different paywall models across the “still expect people to pay spectrum, highlighting the strategies and results of RESULTS Brace yourselves: The Times for the newspaper.” recent industry examples for each one. lost an initial 90 per cent of its online But first things first: There is no boilerplate plan readership after implementing its — Alan Hunter, Head of Digital at The Times for paywall success. A paywall is only as successful as hard paywall in 2010. But the revenue and The Sunday Times, via What’s New in the customer data and analytics on which it is built. generated from the ten per cent of Publishing Special Edition of Innovation in News 126 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 127

2 . METRED 3 . POROUS

Metered paywalls allow readers to access a capped number of articles per month, before Porous paywalls (sometimes called ‘leaky’ paywalls) allow exceptions to the number of being asked to subscribe. Only frequent visitors who ‘bump the gate’ will be prompted, free articles that they offer. Such exceptions like these can be intentional (allowing readers making these less disruptive to the user experience of many compared with stricter paywalls. to access free digital content via social media channels), or unintentional (allowing A popular model for publishers with high-volume content or a large online archive, paywalled articles to be viewed freely with browser tricks like ‘incognito mode.’) metered paywalls can deftly monetise active users without alienating infrequent readers or According to Chartbeat research published in February 2020, an advantage of deterring page views and their resulting ad revenue. porous paywalls is that they “allow certain segments of users to access content, so that Research from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center and Lenfest Institute found that most the publication can collect data about their reading habits to hone various consumer publishers are too generous in the number of articles they offer free, and need to stop many marketing, product, and editorial strategies.” more readers to force conversion.

STRATEGY The paywall launched in May of this year and allows readers access to 10 articles per month, before being prompted to pay €10 per month for unlimited access. The key distinction No stranger to the paid online content subscription plan that allows readers free between El País’s model and a tougher game, The Atlantic launched its original access to five articles a month. Once they metered paywall is that readers can still paywall way back in 2008. That effort hit their limit, readers are prompted to access articles through social media click- was eventually called off, after Goldman purchase an annual subscription, starting throughs and newsletter links, even if Sachs signed on to sponsor the site’s free at $49.99 for digital-only. they’ve hit their ten-article monthly limit. content. Fast-forward to last year when Over time, the paywall is expected to the magazine decided to capitalise on RESULTS Six months after launching tighten, lowering the number of free its formidable 20 per cent annual digital the paywall, The Atlantic, like hundreds articles per month and the open referral growth rate over the past five years. of online publishers worldwide, dropped access, but the group is currently customers in April alone during the its paywall for all coronavirus-related prioritising subscription growth in paywall’s promotional campaign. STRATEGY In September of 2019, content, while also refocusing the subscriber numbers over optimising Following the boom in growth and the publisher announced a site-wide majority of its editorial staff on pandemic revenue per reader. conversion, El País now has the second- coverage. Since then, readers can read highest number of digital subscribers in as much coronavirus-related content as RESULTS Within the first six weeks Spain. The newspaper is soon expected they please, without hitting the five- of the model’s implementation, the to surpass industry leader Eldiario.es at article threshold. Despite this paywall newspaper gained 52,000 exclusively 56,000 subscriptions and is halfway to its relaxation, The Atlantic experienced its digital subscriptions, despite also relaxing goal of 5 million new registered users by best week of subscriber growth in March the paywall for all coronavirus-related the end of 2020. of this year. content. While the paywall’s launch was initially delayed from March, the group SEE ALSO The New York Times, SEE ALSO Slate, Wired, New York generated over a million new registered The Irish Times According to Piano, a company that serves payment propensity technology, “registered users are up to 10 times more likely to subscribe than anonymous users. Special Edition of Innovation in News 130 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 131 FREEMIUM MODELS 5 . TIMEWALL FREEMIUM The freemium model has become one of the most popular paywall strategies, allowing free access to much of a brand’s content, while placing a smaller crop of articles behind As the name would suggest, timewall models allow publishers to make content free to a premium paywall, for paying customers only. readers for a limited time before restricting access behind a paywall, or limiting an article to A May 2020 report from INMA revealed that, while only 39 per cent of national its first few paragraphs. When implemented correctly, and with enough testing, this strategy media outlets charge for digital content at all, roughly half (47 per cent) of outlets that can increase the frequency of visitors who are not yet subscribers, therefore increasing the do charge use freemium paywall models. Within this freemium paywall category, a few site’s retention, while incentivising the audience to keep checking back for new news. different strategies are worth highlighting in greater depth.

4 . DYNAMIC FREEMIUM

STRATEGY German regional legacy news publisher, Madsack+, launched a timewall across all of its websites in July of 2019. In this model, all content (including premium) is freely accessible for the first hour after its publication. Once that hour passes, readers are prompted to register for a free 30-day trial. The timewall motivates readers to frequently check Madsack+’s sites for Legacy liberal newspaper Expressen a responsive, audience-centric basis. new articles, which not only launched its digital subscription service, The paywall was developed in-house, incentivises user experience but drives Premium, in December 2018, choosing eliminating the need for third-party retention through increased frequency. to only enter the paywall game after management. hitting their benchmark of 5 million RESULTS By December of 2019, six unique digital users (in a nation of RESULTS “In addition to going from 0 months after the timewall’s launch, the 10.3 million). to 70,000 subscribers in only one year, group was nearly halfway to meeting its Expressen also met its revenue target and goal of 30,000 subscribers, with 12,500+ STRATEGY Expressen’s model allows exceeded its goals for churn and retention; subscriptions. The strategy also boasts free access to 95 per cent of its articles, all this while increasing its digital reach,” impressive conversion rates: as of Febru- with 5 per cent of its most-unique content said Helena Sund, Senior editor at ary 2020, 52 per cent of all trial subscrip- behind a paywall. Expressen Premium, at a WAN-IFRA tions had been converted into paid mem- The dynamic aspect exists in the site’s webinar in May 2020. berships at the end of their first month. ability to put each article behind its own unique paywall, determining which SEE ALSO L’Edition du Soir (France), SEE ALSO MittMedia (Sweden), content should be subscriber-only on Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Switzerland) BoiseDev (US) Special Edition of Innovation in News 132 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 133

6 . HYBRID METRED 7 . ADAPTATIVE AND -FREMIUM INDIVIDUALISED

Hybrid models such as these use a metered paywall, allowing several free articles per month, The biggest trend in recent years has been the pivot to a data-informed strategy, one that while restricting valuable content to subscription-only access. Hybrid models are cropping allows publishers to refocus their content offerings according to reader preferences. up across digital media, and tend to benefit media companies with high-value content that In an ‘adaptive model, paywalls or meter limits are determined through data-based can be easily commoditised, like mass-market news brands or luxury magazines. personalisation for each user. With increased attention on AI for customer engagement purposes, the data strategies being employed to leverage engagement through methods like automated audience segmentation and behaviour mapping allow publishers to tailor more relevant subscription offers to their users. Using this type of machine learning to construct paywalls “takes away guesswork around how many stories, or what kinds of stories, to let readers read for free, and whether readers will respond to hitting paywall by paying for access or simply leaving,” according to a report published by Nieman Lab in 2018.

The largest subscription newspaper in Norway, Aftenposten currently generates over 70 per cent of web sales from its paywall. “That makes it really important for us to understand what kind of content converts and how long people stay on different types of content,” explained The Wall Street Journal historically kept membership, told Nieman Lab in 2018. Sidney Glasdat, Acquisition Manager for all of its content behind a hard paywall “Now we’ve got a model that’s learned to Aftenposten’s publisher, Schibsted, at since the dial-up days of 1997. However, a point where, if I get a person’s score, I a WAN-IFRA webinar in January. “That the brand relaxed its paywall in 2018, after pretty much know how likely they will be basically means that the way we work four years of development and consumer to subscribe.” today has evolved around that content.” discounts, and A/B testing to boost testing to hone their current hybrid model, conversion. focused on an AI-driven personalised RESULTS In May 2020, News Corp STRATEGY In 2015, the brand pivoted paywall. announced that WSJ had 2.2 million from prioritising ad revenue, going “all-in RESULTS Aftenposten had over 238,000 digital-only subscribers, representing on user-payment and user-revenue”, subscribers at the start of 2020. Of STRATEGY WSJ’s personalised paywall 20% growth year-on-year. Unique visitors according to Glasdat. They launched a these, roughly 120,000 are digital-only. essentially decides when users are were also up 74 per cent year-on-year, hybrid model that combined a generous The change in strategy has allowed the ready to reach a paywall and a prompt to which the company attributed to its metered paywall, at eight free articles company to completely modernise its subscribe. Reader activity dictates how reporting on the coronavirus. FIPP’s per week, with some content sections revenue streams. “Back in 2009, almost much content each reader can access. Global Digital Subscriptions Snapshot restricted to premium subscribers. 60 per cent of our revenues came from ad The paywall system uses machine from 2019 shows that WSJ is second only Since mid-2018, the site has operated revenues, but now,” says Glasdat, “almost learning algorithms to generate a unique to The New York Times in terms of digital under a primarily freemium model, 80 per cent of our revenue comes from propensity score for each customer’s subscriptions and paywall performance with a much smaller meter than the circulation and user subscriptions.” habits, based on more than sixty criteria. among digital news publishers first one used in 2015. Currently, digital “The content you see is the output worldwide. subscriptions to Aftenposten are € 25 per SEE ALSO Kauppalehti (Finland), The of the paywall, rather than an input,” month, with frequent campaigns offering Washington Post (US) Karl Wells, WSJ’s General Manager for SEE ALSO Svenska Dagbladet (Norway) Special Edition of Innovation in News 134 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 135

8 . PREMIUM-ONLY 9 . MICRO-MEMBERSHIPS

Premium-only platforms deliberately limit all content to their paying members, offering just In 2018, the legacy publisher Hearst launched an “aggressive, digital-first subscription enough free articles to convince readers of what they’re paying for. By usually forgoing all digital strategy.” By monetising specific content areas that generated consistently high ad revenue, the sustainability of the business depends on subscription revenue alone, which engagement, Hearst was able to boost membership numbers by the thousand, while is why these models are few and far between, and often billed as luxuries. But, as we’ll learn restricting a very small percentage of its digital content. below, when premium models are done correctly, they can have unlimited potential for success.

A recent hallmark example of a members- Non-members can read the first two only, online-only, ad-free network, The paragraphs of each article before being Athletic has differentiated itself in a prompted to sign up for a free seven-day saturated digital sports news market that trial for all-access membership. Following offers readers no shortage of free content. the trial, monthly access is $10 per month Billing itself as “the new standard for sports or $60 annually (in the US), with the site journalism”, The Athletic offers long- offering routine promotional campaigns. form, in-depth coverage and specialised Memberships are further leveraged commentary on national and local athletic with cross-platform extensions such as an leagues in the US, UK and Canada. exclusive podcast platform, launched in Despite only launching in 2016, The 2019. As of February 2020, the platform Athletic currently has the fourth-highest was home to 152 daily and weekly pod- number of digital subscriptions among casts, with enough programming in the all news sites, following legacy print pipeline to reach 200 total podcasts by the behemoths The New York Times, The end of the year, according to Nick Adler, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post The Athletic’s General Manager of Audio and Financial Times. Strategy. Adler found that readers who en- gage with one of its podcasts during the free STRATEGY The Athletic has hired top seven-day trial period are much more likely sportswriters with their own existing fan- to buy an annual subscription to the site. Charles R. Pierce bases from (often) struggling newspapers, and offers its members “in-depth break- RESULTS The Athletic was valued at downs of athlete deals, playoff projections, $500 million in early 2020, and in late STRATEGY Hearst brand, Esquire, programme was and unique ideas,” as well as behind-the- March 2020, the FT reported that the offers a micro-membership specifically introduced, roughly scenes access to readers’ favourite teams sports site had attracted close to 1 mil- for content by their popular columnist, 60,000 readers were reading Pierce’s and athletes, all free of distractions like ads. lion members. (The cancellation of sports Charles Pierce. Instead of hitting Esquire’s online content daily. After a year, the brand As noted by GQ, “The site often goes to fixtures in the target markets as a result paywall after three articles, members gain had managed to retain over 10,000 new extraordinary lengths – and expense – to of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a unlimited access to Pierce’s entire article subscribers, prompting Hearst to develop produce stories that readers can’t find at significant blow, and it remains to be seen archive dating back to 1997, for USD 1.99 new micro-verticals for paid content. rival publications.” Fans will always know how a sports-focused site will recover, per month, or USD 17.99 annually (with a what has happened in a match; what the however.) bonus three months free). SEE ALSO BAZAAR Bridal (also from Athletic offers is the smart analysis that Hearst), NYTCooking and Crosswords isn’t available elsewhere. SEE ALSO The Information (US) RESULTS Before the membership verticals from The New York Times. Special Edition of Innovation in News 136 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 137

10 . DONATION-BASED STATE OF PAYWALLS 47% Freemium / premium model E.g., Bild, Germany MEMBERSHIPS 18% Paid access to e-replica E.g., Daily Mail, UK 12% Membership / donations E.g., Guardian, UK More and more digital publishers have been adopting models that allow access to readers 12% Metered model E.g., New York Times, US who donate a sum of their choice. While content remains free across the site, non-members 6% Hard paywall E.g.,Times and Sunday Times, UK are usually prompted to donate on each page. Donation-based models are often used in the non-profit news sector, or for high-quality publications seeking to extend access to readers 5% Hybrid model E.g., Aftenposten, Norway that would otherwise be financially prohibited from accessing content. Source: IMNA

NEWS MEDIA SUBSCRIBER NUMBERS New York Times, US 3.3 m* $2 per week This digital-only progressive publisher that prospective members of the English- Wall Street Journal, US 1.5 m $19.50 per week has remained completely member-funded language version are asked to pay what Washington Post, US 1.2 m $6 for four weeks since its founding in 2013. The site doesn't they can afford to be part of a “global use advertising and only generates revenue community committed to collaborative, Finantial Times, UK 740,000 $3,99 per week through membership, fostering a com- adfree journalism.” The news brand ran a Guardian, UK 570,000 Donations-based membership model pletely audience-focused editorial strategy, long, intensive (and not uncontroversial) one founded on unique commentary and marketing campaign during 2018 ahead of Nikkei, Japan 559,000 Y= 4200 per month analysis. the launch of the English-language version. BildPlus, Germany 423,000 €7.99 per month “We try to tell precisely those stories Sunday Times, UK 260,000 £26 per month that aren’t news, but news-worthy RESULTS The Correspondent nevertheless,” wrote media critic and de generated $2.5 million during its initial Aftonbladet, Sweden 250,000 69 Swedish Krona per month Correspondent advisor, Jay Rosen, in a crowdfunding campaign alone. By the Intuim, Hong Kong 230,000 HK$49 per month series of articles outlining the principles platform’s launch in September of 2019, of the brand’s English-language platform The Correspondent had over 50,000 Caixin, China 200,000 $2999 per month (The Correspondent). “Or, as we often say, members in 130+ countries. The site is Folha de São Paulo, Brazil 192,000 R1990 per month [stories] that reveal not the weather but the expected to generate over $500,000 from Le Monde, France 180,000 €9.99 per month climate.” new memberships by the end of 2020. Gazeta Wyborza, Poland 170,000 Z19,90 per month

STRATEGY While the Dutch site has a SEE ALSO Mother Jones (US), Source: FIPP Global set price of €7 per month (€70 per year), El Diario (Spain), The Guardian (UK) * The New York Times reports more than 4 million digital subscriptions, as of Q4 2019

MAGAZINE PAYWALL PERFORMANCE Now that we’ve charted the paywall spectrum and ity to leverage that data into increased conversion Economist, UK 430,000 55 GBP / quarter learned how leading publishers are experimenting rates and sustained engagement. with models of their own, we can expect the strat- And we to reiterate one of our key messages The New Yorker, US 167,000 $100 per year egies outlined above to further blur and hybridize in recent years: before getting caught up in how National Geographic, US 123,000 $12 per year in the years to come. to charge, it is first essential to ensure that you The Athletic, US 100,000 $9.99 per month The success of each strategy inevitably have a unique, quality product that is worth pay- depends not just on audience behaviour, but on ing for. Der Spiegel, Germany 67,000 €19.99 per month the publisher’s ability to nimbly interpret those Bottom line? When building a paywall, Source: FIPP behaviours and pivot accordingly. A robust reader don’t skimp on learning about who you’re database is only as valuable as a publisher’s abil- building it for. l Special Edition of Innovation in News VISUAL Media World Report 139 JOURNALISM COMES OF AGE DURING A GLOBAL

2020PANDEMIC saw news media companies around the world take visual journalism narratives to a new level as each came to grips with how to cover one of the biggest and most complex stories of our lifetimes. Special Edition of Innovation in News As a story, the COVID-19 pandemic Media World Report 141 has involved both rapidly changing, unfathomable numbers on a global scale as well as very tangible, personal impacts on individual lives and communities, challenging the capacities and capabilities of the best global health systems as it spread across the world. Journalists are being challenged to explain complicated scientific concepts and analyse unprecedented political actions, while remaining acutely aware that this is at its heart a very human crisis. The following extraordinary examples Financial Times UK of how best to harness the power of data A record-breaking piece of journalism, FT’s most-read story of all visualisation attempt to tackle different time uses a variety of constantly updated interactive graphics to explain the trajectory of the epidemic. The tracker page charts the aspects of the pandemic, from explaining country-wise fatality numbers daily, helping readers make sense of numbers in a global context. Its wide audience reflects the increasing its origins and path around the world, to interest in data-driven visual narratives, and FT does its part in providing credible public service journalism by making the tracker the more local, such as precise details of free to access beyond a paywall during an unprecedented public health crisis. Apart from hospital beds, ventilators and health care charting the trajectory of the epidemic itself – users can capacity in specific cities and localities. choose up to six countries to compare cases across time The pieces employ a variety of narrative on a graph – the piece also tracks various governments’ formats as well as visual tools -- from evolving responses to the pandemic. A choropleth detailed charts and interactive graphs, (a type of thematic map used to represent statistical to complex choropleth maps and simple data) of the world is shaded according to where the illustrations -- to offer engaging data- countries are ranked on the Oxford COVID-19 response driven interpretations that provide both stringency index, and the piece also offers diagrams of how measures have changed over time in different parts of the globe. context and clarity, proving, in turn, https://www.ft.com/content/a26fbf7e-48f8-11ea-aeb3-955839e06441 to be powerful vehicles of public understanding. Special Edition of Innovation in News 142 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 143

Washington Post USA

In its most-read online piece ever, the Washington Post used a made-up disease called “simulitis” to simplify the complex concept of virus transmission and demonstrate the benefits of social distancing. With the help of graphics of bouncing balls, the article showed how quickly and how far a disease could spread through a network in four different scenarios – one in which no quarantine was enforced, partial quarantine, moderate social distancing, and extensive social distancing. Made available outside its paywall and in eighteen languages, the article helped reinforce the importance of individual action by showing how, “like a ball bouncing across the screen, a single person’s behavior can cause ripple effects that touch faraway people.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/ Tagesspiegel Germany corona-simulator/

This highly interactive, visually attractive series of graphics reconstructs the origin and rapid spread of the coronavirus from China. From satellite pictures of the Hunan seafood marketplace, to maps that display Wuhan’s significance as a prominent hub of rail and air connectivity with other local and international locations, the article titled So hat sich das Coronavirus augebreitet presents an overview of the pandemic’s journey since January, while also providing a day-by-day tally of those infected worldwide alongside a world map that displays the number in each country.

https://interaktiv.tagesspiegel.de/lab/karten-so-hat-sich-das-coronavirus- ausgebreitet/ Special Edition of Innovation in News 144 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 145

South China Morning Post China The New York Times US First published in January, well before 1. In what is arguably one of the most powerful visualizations of COVID-19 data, the New York most of the world had woken up to Times piece How the Virus Won traced the hidden spread of the pandemic by analysing people’s the global implications of COVID-19, movements, hidden infections and genetic data in order to uncover how the epidemic spread this detailed piece employs graphics and illustrations to explain the outbreak of in the United States and why the nation was unsuccessful in containing the virus. Lone red dots the disease in China and how the country’s neighbours restricted travel in the representing positive cases slowly double and then multiply as the story unfolds chronologically. following months. It explains where the new coronavirus originated in Wuhan The dots travel into the US from Asia, Europe and the rest of the world, and then clusters of cases as well as the region’s preparedness and response with respect to ambulance form across the country, representing outbreaks. The graphics also illustrate different strains of shortage, temporary hospitals, and imported medical staff. Updated daily since its the virus and how they travelled, how hotspots emerged and how restriction of movement led to the publication, the article presents the number of virus cases and deaths across the outbreak slowing. world in a tabular format, country-wise graphics that chart the number recovered from among those infected, and a week-by-week comparison of cases in mainland https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-spread.html China versus the rest of the world. Illustrations and embedded videos also explain protective equipment, correct mask wearing, common symptoms, hand hygiene 2. The chasm between the wealthy and poor is further deepened in the present scenario, as and incubation periods. this article with its scrolling graphics provides real-time evidence for – according to an analysis of cellphone location data, people in the wealthiest 10 per cent have been able to limit their https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/china/article/3047038/wuhan-virus/index.html movements more than those in the poorest 10 per cent, pointing to the possible connection between socioeconomic position and the possibility of contracting the infection. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/03/us/coronavirus-stay-home-rich-poor.html Special Edition of Innovation in News 146 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 147

The Guardian UK

In a video titled “Why coronavirus death rates are so different” The Guardian uses visuals to demystify the many numbers readers are often inundated with. Employing clear, simple graphics never more complex than differently coloured circles, the video explains the difference between three different numbers -- Case Fatality Rate (CFR), Infection Fatality Rate (IFR), and Crude Mortality Rate (CMR), and shows how they are calculated and what they mean. The accompanying voice-over is crisp and to-the-point, proving that complicated concepts sometimes require both “showing” and “telling” for readers to fully grasp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMtzWVTPmLI

Reuters

In this article, through a series of data visualizations and illustrated timelines, Reuters Graphics explores the explosion of the coronavirus between individuals across South Korea. It demonstrates how the country managed to contain the virus at first by tracing those who had been infected locally as well as the carriers from Wuhan, China. The 31st patient, however, who had visited several crowded areas, was responsible for the exponential rise in the number of cases, among which churches, hospitals and care homes accounted for the majority of groups of infections. The infographic shows how over 5.000 positive cases can be attributed to Patient 31, more than half of which are located in South Korea.

https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-SOUTHKOREA- CLUSTERS/0100B5G33SB/index.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_ medium=Social Special Edition of Innovation in News 148 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 149

ProPublica Illinois, US

A nonprofit news organization that seeks to specifically in- vestigate abuses of power, ProPublica Illinois’ coverage of the pandemic is an example of how regional newsrooms are taking to data visualization to engage their readers and help them make ZDF Heute, Germany better sense of the barrage of information they are faced with. Using State Department of Public Health data, this article pres- ZDF Heute’s piece on the number of intensive care beds and their occupancy ents an updated tracker of the use and availability of hospital by district and city uses simple and striking visuals. Illustrations explain the facilities across 11 regions in the state. The easy-to-use graphic different kinds of ventilation and number of healthcare workers per patient, allows the reader to place their cursor on a region of a map to and throw light on the shortage of trained and skilled specialists in hospitals. learn of the percentage of availability of beds and zoom in to Scattered blue dots allow the reader an understanding of availability of beds see hospital locations. Furthermore, a drop-down menu allows per thousand residents and map the decline in beds in hospitals since the the reader to check for ventilator and ICU bed availability in a mid-nineties. The multimedia piece also carries embedded video comprising particular county. It also mentions how many new facilities have testimonials from hospital staff. been added since the outbreak.

https://projects.propublica.org/il-hospital-resources/ https://zdfheute-stories-scroll.zdf.de/intensivbetten/corona/krankenhaeuser/index.html Special Edition of Innovation in News 150 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 151 BEYOND THEVIRUS Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been the focus of much coverage throughout 2020 so far, there have of course been many excellent visual pieces on other topics too.

Insider US

In a special 15000-word piece on The Mueller Report, Insider used text and illustration to transform a dense, inaccessible 449-page report released by the US Department of Justice to the public into a dramatic narrative so that, National Geographic US as the global editor-in-chief Nicholas Carlson tweeted, his audience would “actually read it”. The Atlas of Moons is a digital visualisation of the many moons in Also translated into German by Welt, the piece the solar system. It is deeply immersive, due in part to stunning tells a gripping story punctuated by compelling photographic images and a simple navigation system that requires imagery and is based entirely on the official scrolling without the use of a menu. At the same time, the page can be report of the findings and conclusions of Special navigated selectively by readers who wish to explore a particular moon Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into directly. The clear, striking images contain little text, though additional possible Russian interference in the 2016 US information unfolds when tags are clicked on and allow one to delve presidential election. deeper into the subject if desired.

https://www.insider.com/mueller-report-rewritten-trump- russia-mark-bowden-archer-2019-7 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/07/the-atlas-of-moons/ Special Edition of Innovation in News 150 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 151

The Economist THE CLIMATE ISSUE

WHEN DESIGN IS CONTENT “This week’s issue is devoted to climate change. Washington Post US The stripes on our cover, developed by Ed Hawkins of the University of Reading, By analyzing global datasets tracking nearly two centuries of temperature represent the period from 1850 to 2018. records, the Washington Post, in its its “2°C: Beyond the Limit” series, The colour marks each year’s temperature, mapped regions which have already seen a temperature rise of 2 degrees, compared with the average in 1971-2000. We the threshold believed to be the tipping point for global warming. Winner have found that, whether it is in Democratic of the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting, the novel series’ graphics politics or Russian dreams of opening an and animations demonstrate the severity of climate change across the Arctic sea passage, climate now touches on world. With a combination of interactive visual presentation of a treasure everything we write about. To illustrate this, trove of data and deep, painstaking analysis, the series succeeds in we decided to weave articles on the climate making obscure scientific facts real and accessible, in conveying the crisis and what can be done about it into all urgency of the public crisis of climate change and in making clear the parts of this week’s coverage.” implications of temperature rises and changing ocean currents on — Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief communities across the world.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/national/climate-environment/climate- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/ change-world/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1 2019/07/the-atlas-of-moons/ Special Edition of Innovation in News 152 Reimagining the NEWS Media World Report 153

The Guardian UK

Mona Chalabi, Data Editor at Guardian US, hand draws impressive data visualisations including this one explaining COVID-19 antibody testing and the potentially harmful implications of inaccuracies. Her illustrations – are simple, brightly coloured and highly accessible. Hand drawing communicates a sense of intimacy, authenticity and honesty, according to academics Jill Simpson and Helen Kennedy, and evokes emotions. Plenty more visualisations are available on Chalabi’s Instagram feed, often focusing on societal inequalities. (https://www.instagram.com/ monachalabi/)

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/may/08/antibody-tests-coronavirus- how-do-they-work-10-steps

Estadão BRAZIL

Estadão’s simulation to show which children in foster homes are likely to be adopted and which aren’t, based on the preferences of potential adoptive parents, won the Best Non-English-Language award at Kantar’s 2019 Information is Beautiful Awards. The story effectively and sensitively demonstrates the stark contrast in the fates of children based on their age, race, disability status and whether or not they have siblings. For example, 2-year-old white girl will be adopted almost immediately, whereas the chances of a 14-year-old black boy with a sibling being adopted within a year are 1 in 1,000. In the simulation, children are represented as plants that grow as time passes. The journalists explained to Kantar: “Well, it began like almost all data visualizations: every person was a dot. But that is usually too cold – and we wanted readers to feel connected to the story. So we asked ourselves what could symbolize nurture and care.”

https://arte.estadao.com.br/brasil/adocao/criancas/ 156 Foreword WAN-IFRA 157 WAN-IFRA SHARING GLOBAL BEST- PRACTICE One of WAN-IFRA’s core missions is to share Trends in Newsrooms: AI in the Newsroom: global best-practice and insights with its mem- This report, from the World Editors Forum, bership and the wider news industry. Here are features case studies of artificial intelligence in a few outcomes of that crucial relationship. practice in newsrooms around the world, plus discussion of risks, challenges, and ethics. Research reports To download reports, visit: www.wan-ifra.org/reports Research has been a hallmark of WAN-IFRA’s work since its inception. Most critically, the topics Global Media Trends Panel that we research reflect the burning issues and WAN-IFRA is working with data specialist Syno trends facing today’s publishers. Here are some of International to help conduct community-based the reports published in the last 12 months: surveys and research reports. We have invited some of the most innovative thought leaders, ex- The Building Blocks of a Reader Reveune perts and publishing executives to join our media Tech Stack: In an ongoing series of reports panel communities. They share their opinions, about reader revenue strategies, this report insights and data through expert surveys and summarises the basics of building a founda- our team of editors and analysts produce quick, tional tech and data intrastructure to drive digestible reports to share with our members. digital subscriptions. If you are interested in joining the panel, email: dean. [email protected] Publishers’ Response to 9 Strategic Chal- lenges Post-Pandemic: This report features the Media Management Accelerator crucial takeaways from WAN-IFRA's World Me- Our video e-learning was created to support dia Leaders eSummit, all focused around how publishers in reaching digital revenue goals. publishers are responding to 9 strategic chal- They can be used to kick-start discussions lenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic. in internal workshops – or for new starters looking to get up to speed with digital strategy. Global Survey – How Newsrooms are Coping There is even a Certification process with a with the Coronavirus: As part of a World Edi- project to be completed at the end. We keep tors Forum survey, more than 100 newsroom the courses up-to-date and add content on a executives shared how the Coronavirus has regular basis in multiple languages! l

WA N IFRA impacted their newsroom organisation. For more information, visit: mma.wan-ifra.org 116 116 INNOVATION 158 116 116

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