Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2024

This annual Reuters Institute predictions report looks at the key trends that will impact news media in 2024. Extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence (AI) offer the chance for publishers to deliver news more efficiently but the implications for the reliability of information, and the sustainability of the mainstream media are likely to be profound in a year that sees critical elections in more than 40 democracies. With some sources suggesting that the vast majority of all internet content will be synthetically produced by 2026– journalists and news organisations may need to rethink their role and purpose. The report looks ahead to legal battles between publishers and AI tech companies over copyright and possible deals that could open up new revenue streams. The report predicts a further shift towards paid business models online and says that publishers will continue to invest in podcasts, newsletters and short form video content

Paying for news: price-conscious consumers look for value amid cost-of-living crisis

This report uses survey data from 20 countries and qualitative research from the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), and Germany to explore who is paying for news content online, which publications they pay for, how much they pay, and what motivations they have for subscribing or donating to news. We focus, in particular, on how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting willingness to pay for online news, through talking to those who have cancelled their subscriptions over the last 12 months as well as those who have maintained subscriptions during this period. We also look at the prospects for attracting new subscribers amid this economic downturn and ask what approaches, if any, might persuade these reluctant consumers to pay for online news in the future. Finally, we use insights from our research to explore ways in which the publishing industry could adapt current strategies around news payment

It’s not all cat videos: moving beyond legacy media and tackling the challenges of mapping news values on digital native websites

The question “what is news?” has been a topic of scholarly examination for more than 60 years as researchers have sought to develop and revise the taxonomy of news values to inform journalism education and wider public debates on the subjectivity of journalists. However, these studies have focused on legacy print and broadcast media even when attempting to bring their findings into the digital era by examining online content. To date, there has been limited research, in the UK and internationally, on news values on digitally born news websites–platforms that only exist online such as Huffington Post, Buzzfeed News and LADbible, which are consumed by a third of the UK population at least once a week. A significant impediment is the complexity of mapping offline latent coding methods to fluid online content. Digital native websites are particularly problematic due to their varied appearance across platforms–desktop, tablet and mobile–and their multiple access points–via web browser, social media and App. Yet, content analysis has a rich history dating back to the clergy's examination of newspapers in the late 1600s and the method has proved to be an adaptable tool for measuring news output as each new media technology has emerged. This paper argues that it is imperative that researchers look beyond legacy media when studying digital news values due to the growing significance of digital native news websites in the marketplace. The secondary purpose of this methodological paper is to highlight the challenges of capturing and analysing news values on digital native news platforms and suggest how researchers can begin to tackle the complexities of liquid content analysis in this field

Digital news report 2023

The twelfth Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 93,000 online news consumers in 46 media markets The report provides evidence that news audiences are becoming more dependent on digital and social platforms, putting further pressure on both ad-based and subscription business models of news organisations at a time when both household and company spending is being squeezed. The report documents how video-based content, distributed via networks such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are becoming more important for news, especially in parts of the Global South, while legacy platforms such as Facebook are losing influence. Both interest and trust in news continue to fall in many countries as the connection between journalism and much of the public continues to fray

What is news? News values revisited (again)

The deceptively simple question “What is news?” remains pertinent even as we ponder the future of journalism in the digital age. This article examines news values within mainstream journalism and considers the extent to which news values may be changing since earlier landmark studies were undertaken. Its starting point is Harcup and O’Neill’s widely-cited 2001 updating of Galtung and Ruge’s influential 1965 taxonomy of news values. Just as that study put Galtung and Ruge’s criteria to the test with an empirical content analysis of published news, this new study explores the extent to which Harcup and O’Neill’s revised list of news values remain relevant given the challenges (and opportunities) faced by journalism today, including the emergence of social media. A review of recent literature contextualises the findings of a fresh content analysis of news values within a range of UK media 15 years on from the last study. The article concludes by suggesting a revised and updated set of contemporary news values, whilst acknowledging that no taxonomy can ever explain everything

Reuters Institute digital news report 2024

The thirteenth Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford explores changes to the global news ecosystem based on a YouGov survey of over 95,000 online news consumers in 47 media markets. The report documents the declining importance of legacy social platforms such as Facebook and X for news discovery and consumption, while video formats and networks are becoming more popular. In a year that sees a record number of elections around the globe, concern about misinformation has risen further with worries about AI-generated content a contributory factor. Meanwhile, trust in the news remains low and selective news avoidance has risen again, against a backdrop of continuing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine

Social media in the changing ecology of news: The Fourth and

Abstract: This paper provides a case study of the changing patterns of news production and consumption in the UK that are being shaped by the Internet and related social media. Theoretically, this focus addresses concern over whether the Internet is undermining the Fourth Estate role of the press in liberal democratic societies. The case study draws from multiple methods, including survey research of individuals in Britain from 2003-2011, analysis of log files of journalistic sites, and interviews with journalists. Survey research shows a step-jump in the use of online news since 2003 but a levelling off since 2009. However, the apparent stability in news consumption masks the growing role of social network sites. The analyses show that the Fourth Estate -the institutional news media -is using social media to enhance their role in news production and dissemination. However, networked individuals have used social media to source and distribute their own information in ways that achieve a growing independence from the Fourth Estate journalism. As more information moves online and individuals become routinely linked to the Internet, an emerging Fifth Estate, built on the activities of networked individuals sourcing and distributing their own information, is developing a synergy with the Fourth Estate as each builds on and responds to the other in this new news ecology. Comparative data suggests that this phenomenon is likely to characterize the developing news ecology in other liberal democratic societies as well, but more comparative research is required to establish the validity of this model

Has Digital Distribution Rejuvenated Readership? Revisiting the Age Demographics of Newspaper Consumption

Newspapers’ democratic functions have not been fully assumed by the media capturing the revenues newspapers used to enjoy. It is, therefore, important to understand the determinants of newspaper use. Earlier studies found age to be the principal determinant, but did not account for newspapers’ online editions. This article investigates to what extent digital distribution has disrupted previously observed cohort effects, bringing younger audiences back to newspaper content. The annual time spent with UK newspapers by their younger, middle-aged, and older British audiences was calculated for 1999/2000—before, or just after, newspapers started to go online—and for 2016, when digital distribution had come of age. The results show (1) the time spent with newspaper brands fell by 40 per cent, even as online platforms made access easier and cheaper; (2) the proportional decrease in time spent was greatest for the youngest age group and smallest for the oldest; and (3) there are important variations between individual newspaper brands, a result, we propose, of differences in their multiplatform strategies. Digital distribution has, therefore, had little impact on previously observed cohort effects but has enabled changes in media use that have shaped the attention given to newspapers and will continue to do so