State of Digital Journalism: The Media Business Is, And Will Be, Just Fine

This post is part of a series in which LinkedIn Influencers analyze the state and future of their industry. Read all the posts here.

No, not another “future of journalism” post!

It's become something of a regular trend to put the media industry under a microscope and ponder where things are heading from where they've been. Some say journalism is on an unstoppable decline that won't end well. Others say we're entering a new golden age of news.

And depending on the perspective you take, both arguments could be correct. But where some see this decline in the traditional journalism model, I see the emergence of exciting and innovative organizations that will power the industry in the digital and mobile age.

In order for this long-term vision to fully come to fruition, though, here are some of the changes established media organizations have to follow and the moves many younger organizations have already taken to stay ahead of the game.

Mobile Is the Future, But the Future Is Now

A late-2013 report from Pew Research Center revealed that 64 percent of tablet owners and 62 percent of smartphone owners said they got their news on their devices. These percentages are only going to increase as mobile broadband proliferates across the world.

For Mashable in 2014, roughly 45 percent of our traffic comes from users on tablets and mobile devices. We prepared for this mobile user growth by launching a responsive website in December 2012, which I'll get to below, but other media companies can set themselves up for future success by investing in their mobile strategies.

Other great examples of organizations that have invested (or are investing) in mobile-first strategies are Quartz, The Boston Globe and Circa -- which was originally founded as a mobile-only news organization.

Building Sites For All Shapes and Sizes

I wrote a piece on Mashable in December 2012 when we first launched our responsive website. In it, I wrote, "Media companies like ours are seeing a major shift in the consumption habits of their audiences." At the time, 2012 marked the first time since 2001 that PC sales were projected to be lower than they were the previous year.

It was a prominent sign of the major changes to come. While some media organizations welcomed these changes with mobile apps, we worried about the issue of building for multiple app stores -- in 2014, Mashable is accessed monthly by roughly 5,000 different devices.

Responsive web design was the route for us as we wanted consistency and a fully-functional site that worked equally well on every device. But outside of Mashable, there are some sites that have developed fantastic mobile websites -- Wired is an example -- or excellent mobile apps -- I recommend the Breaking News app.

Making News Accessible Whenever, Wherever

Email newsletters. Push notifications. Smartwatches. Smartphones. Tablets. Mobile apps. Second screen. Live streams. Video hangouts. Flipboard. Pulse. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. Vine. Snapchat. Instagram. Google+. StumbleUpon. Pinterest. And this could go on and on.

The ways users are accessing content outside of the traditional website (or print product) are continuing to grow and become more diverse by the day.

A recent study of 2,000 U.S. adults showed that more than 60 percent of people use at least two devices each day, and more than 40% use at least three devices. Of those who use at least two devices, more than half of them say they start a task on one device and finish it on another.

This study highlights the push toward not committing to one platform or social network. For the media organizations that will see the greatest successes in the future, being effective across many platforms, networks and devices is imperative.

Investing In People

There have been more stories in recent memory about the declining job market in the news industry than about the growth of the space. Many legacy media organizations have had to drastically cut staff numbers as they try to pivot in this new media economy.

The media companies that are disrupting the space today were able to approach the industry as lean startups in some ways early on in their existences and could make iterations quickly when analytics or user feedback dictated it.

Today these organizations -- the Voxs, the Vices, the Mashables of the industry -- are doubling down on people. There's much to be said of the great benefits of technology, but having high-quality people talent who can not only do excellent reporting work, but can also find creative ways to tell and share a story, is absolutely crucial, and the real differentiator.

Mashable has been following this line recently with some of the major hires we've made on our editorial team -- most notably, our Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer Jim Roberts. We have been ramping up our hiring efforts (Yes, we're hiring!) as we plan to expand to new coverage areas and locations.

We recently completed our first-ever capital raise, and much of those resources will go to quickly, and responsibly, building our editorial powerhouse.

The Future Is Bright

My enthusiasm for the present and future for Mashable and for the media industry is the highest it has ever been since I started in the business in 2005.The competition is fierce, but welcomed as it will push every organization to find new and creative ways to create brilliant work.

Some may say the proliferation of technology has made the role of media organizations less important. On the contrary, I believe our job is more important than ever, and the ways that we deliver this content today will influence how a global society will share information for generations to come.

I am excited for Mashable and the other disruptors in this industry to lead the way.

Lead image: Guido Crolla, Flickr

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Enjoyed this post? Read what other Influencers had to say:

? Steve Rubel on the State of PR: When the Worlds of PR and Publishing Collide
? Neil Weinberg on the State of Journalism: Creative Destruction Rules the Day
? Julia Boorstin on the State of Media: Consolidation and Transformation