2022 has been highly related to instability and uncertainty for newsrooms. Just a few days away from the new year, industry experts gathered their annual predictions on the skills that journalists will need in 2023 and the news products that are likely to grow.
For the year to come, media companies need to accelerate their digital shift, build out end-to-end revenue streams, and embrace hybrid working.
Below, we have gathered the key predictions based on what media strategic advisors, media analysts, news directors, reporters, and editors, suggest:
- Video is the new superpower: Major digital disruption will move from news to broadcasting, and in specific to the streaming sector. News creators will have to also increase their production value when making vertical video.
- Simply producing content is not enough. As seen earlier in 2022, selective news avoidance keeps spreading. Next-generation newsrooms ‘must understand the psychology and sociology behind what issues to cover and the most effective way to distribute that news and information back into communities so it reaches and resonates with the people who need it’.
- Creativity, critical thinking, resilience, and emotional intelligence are the key skills that journalists need to focus on to stay ahead of the game.
- For the past three years, the dominant trend for publishers has been subscriptions. In 2023, publishers need to focus on reaching the audience that did not convert. And how can they achieve that? By focusing on their ‘product’, and how to make it more relevant, more useful, and more interesting to their audience.
- 2023 will bring the ‘Great Unsubscribe’ due to information overload. News consumers have started to be pickier and curate more actively the content they want. Niche content will grow. New consumers will look for content that is tailored to their needs, desires, and wants.
- 2023 will see an increase in monetization around ‘reach’ products, like podcasts, audio, and newsletters.
- Αs publishers are getting more sophisticated with the digital world and diversifying their business models, more growth will be seen in reader revenues, especially in membership and donations models. News organizations will be looking to engage their audiences and create relationships rather than just offering transactions.
References
Predictions for journalism in 2023: newsroom leadership, product, and revenue
Predictions for journalism in 2023: audience expectations and user needs
Predictions for Journalism 2023 – The Nieman Lab