Pew’s recently released analysis of the state of the news media appears, upon first analysis, to be nothing but dismal. The report indicates that newspaper newsroom cutbacks left the industry down 30 percent since its peak in 2000–actually below 40,000 full-time employees for the first time since 1978! Instead of news as we know it, most of these “news” outlets are focused on reporting sports, weather and traffic. Even CNN’s news packages are down nearly half according to the report.
But, for businesses, business professionals and would-be thought leaders there’s a silver lining here.
This continued erosion of news reporting sources, says Pew, has converged with “growing opportunities for those in politics, government agencies, companies and others to take their messages directly to the public.”
We’ve seen that trend in action, actually. It is increasingly common for us to be able to submit work on behalf of our clients as “contributed content” to both new and traditional media. What that means is that we’re writing the content and submitting it and the news media are publishing it with our clients’ bylines. That means increased–and very credible–exposure for our clients, and less work for the media.
There is, of course, another consequence of the decline of the news media that deserves notice. Findings from Pew’s new public opinion survey indicates that more than one-third of respondents have given up on their formerly trusted news sources because they no longer provide the information they were used to. That means that while would-be thought leaders have more opportunities to “get the word out,” that word may be reaching fewer people than in the past.
Still, it’s an environment that holds opportunity and one that bears watching and analysis. In addition to Pew which frequently covers the industry through analysis and surveys, we’ve found EContent to be a great source of information on the industry.
Related posts:
“How Can I Get the News Media to Cover My Business?”
Is The News Release–aka “Press” Released–Dead?
Looking for PR/Media Coverage–Some Do’s and Don’ts
