The Independent's digital-only move signposts future of news (and decline of media relations)
Structural change in the news media from print to digital has taken more than 20 years to play out.
I used to pour over the quarterly reports from the Audit of Bureau Circulation data. It publishes circulation figures for the national and regional media.
Like other media watchers I was searching for evidence of the shift from print to online. Quarter after quarter print declined and online climbed.
There were fluctuations along the way as publishers tried out different paywall strategies in a bid to find a sustainable business model.
The data told a story of the rapid pace of innovation and changing media consumption habits.
It's taken more than 20 years for a national print newspaper to close from when news was first published online by The Daily Telegraph in November 1994.
The Independent announced on Friday that it will stop printing from March and shift to digital only. Other national and regional newspaper will surely follow.
Newspapers, regional and national, are cut to the bone. Journalists are doing more for less, in many instances much less.
Future of newsprint, future of public relations
The Independent's move is the beginning of the end for media relations. It's the commoditised end of the public relations business.
If your job is publicity, pitching content to journalists, my hunch is that you've got 15 or 20 years left in the business.
I'm no sage but there are some clear signposts to the future of news media.
#1 Disintermediation
Organisations and individuals are sharing stories directly with citizens via owned, paid and shared media. Stories break via trending algorithms on Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and other networks.
#2 Millennials don't buy newspapers
I've stopped asking students if they buy newspapers. They don't. The plain fact is that we don't buy newspapers for news content any more. Instead we consume news via apps, messaging services, ad-funded free sheets, and websites.
#3 Competition for attention
News organisations are competing for attention and advertising revenue. Often they are reliant on members of the public to supplement their knowledge of a situation that's playing out.
#4 Decline of regional newspapers
Regional newspapers are combining editions, shifting from daily to weekly, merging and closing. Regional news finds use via our Facebook wall or local radio.
#5 Modernisation of trade media
Trade media is pivoting into communities, events and professional development. LinkedIn is making an interesting play in this area with the Pulse product.
#6 Rise of robots in reporting
Automated technologies are being used to interpret and report on financial and sport results.
#7 Influencer marketing
New influences are emerging on every media alongside journalists and news publishers. Journalists are developing their own identities as media.
#8 Print as a niche product
Print is holding up in some niches such as comics, ad-funded free sheets, finance and long form; and sectors where high production is celebrated, such as design and fashion.
It won't be long before today's newspapers won't even be tomorrow's fish and chip wrapper. The plain fact laid bare by The Independent is that news print is set to become a niche product.
