#22 - Heavy Platform Users

I blinked for a moment and the summer was over. This extra-long back-to-school edition is packed with?the best links and insights from the holiday weeks.?What struck me the most??A new study from the Pew Research Center looking into the use of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.?Fully 35% of teens in the US between 13 and 17 now?admit they are on at least one of them “almost constantly”. That’s a third of a generation that is basically?locked into social video sharing platforms?and increasingly hard to reach or engage outside these experiences.

Enjoy the selection!

IN FOCUS

Ofcom’s fifth annual Media Nations report?came out last month. As always it’s a treasure trove of key trends in the media sector and it paints a similar picture as the latest Pew Research survey. Tik-Tok is on the rise. While?YouTube remains the largest social video platform in the UK?in terms of reach (92% of UK adult internet users, to TikTok’s 35%),?the gap is closing amongst online?15-24s of whom TikTok now reaches 66%.

Related: If memes are a measure of where internet culture currently lives,?TikTok beats all other platforms in 2022.?This and more in?an incredible analysis of “Meme Origins By Platform”?between 2012-2022.

And?INMA released a new report?focused on how news media organisations can engage the next generation of readers. The report details three methods:?delivering the news Gen Z wants, on the platforms they trust, and hiring them in the newsroom.

AUDIENCE

More and more publishers (including Mediahuis) are?exploring user needs to inform their product and content stratetgy. But what are they exactly and how do other publishers work with them? Two recent articles highlight the latest developments in the field of audience news needs.?Here?&?Here.

And Simon Owens shares?4 ways publishers can nurture their communities?from?being hyper-responsive to hosting regular AMA’s and crowdsourcing content.

Related: How local journalism can bring communities together.

NEWS & PRODUCT

Product management can feel like a jungle. Here's?a fun but also serious guide?of?the dangerous animals that can get in the way of product plans.?

Artificial intelligence is radically reshaping how we work in the newsroom. A third revolution in software is already happening, and we’re?just beginning to understand it argues Nathan Baschez.

Related: A new academic paper on the way?editorial independence can be safeguarded in the context of automation.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Global news publishers have seen?a spike in subscription cancellations over the past 15 months, according to?data from the 125 publishers that make up INMA’s subscription benchmarking initiative.

David Tvdron made?a brilliant excercise comparing the top reader revenue-driven news organisations’ subscription conversion pages.?How NY Times, WSJ, Bild and Le Monde’s subscription offer pages evolved over the decade.?My take-away: Less is more.

Stratechery interviewed The New York Times Company CEO Meredith Kopit Levien: For her, ultimately, being the world’s?best news destination remains the core driver for subscriptions.

Finally:?German publisher Süddeutsche Zeitung?lays out its?approach to subscriber-only newsletters.

SHORT

• Twitter had a very productive week. Not only did it?launch Circles to all users, a feature that lets you limit your tweets to a smaller audience, it also is?adding podcasts?to its platform, is trialing?a?new way of sharing stories with Guardian, NYT and WSJ, and?the big one it will let paid subscribers edit tweets.
• TikTok is testing a new ‘Nearby’ feed and launched a text-to-image generator.
• Instagram and Snapchat are exploring a BeReal-esque dual camera feature.
• Netflix is looking at charging $7-9 a month for its new ad-funded tier.
• Axios has a?profile of the impact Apple had on the online ad industry in the last year.
• Publisher-focused subscription management platform Zephr sold to Zuora for $44 million.

AUDIO

Since June 2021, the number of Apple Podcast subscribers increased by more than 300%, and?over 25% of the top 100 shows in Apple’s “Top Shows” chart offer a subscription.?Digidays takes?a look at how podcasters are trying to grow paid subscriptions.

Launching a podcast can be an intimidating prospect for publishers.?Editorial resources, concepts and marketing strategies all need to be carefully thought through?to ensure the product resonates with listeners.?Here is how four publishers are using podcasts to enhance their brands.

INNOVATION

A new paper looks into?second-generation newsroom innovation labs?with?case studies from The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Der Spiegel, and Bayerische Rundfunk.

Here's a video that?explains the Metaverse in 14 minutes. I usually would ignore this but since it’s?Matthew Ball doing the explaining?I do recommend it.

And?a new guide?helps creators?consider the impact of image making with new AI and ML tools. Not a bad idea given the recent storm about an AI-generated picture that won an art-prize.

LEARN

WAN-IFRA is launching a new edition of?Table Stakes Europe, their challenge-centric and performance-driven transformation coaching programme.?Deadline for applications is 30/09!

And for everyone who doubts when to use he/she/they in reporting,?Language, Please is a free, living resource for journalists and storytellers?seeking to thoughtfully?cover evolving social, cultural, and identity-related topics.

READ

A new book for on your nightstand:?Status & Culture by W. David Marx?takes an ambitious and invigorating look at how the?pursuit of social status drives cultural change?and innovation and?how the internet is better at driving ephemeral fads than era-defining trends.

And finally - if you read some French and want a great analysis of the current state of media you should check the latest Meta-Media Newsletter by Eric Scherer and his team at France Television.

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As always?feel free to share the newsletter with friends & colleagues?who might be interested: they can?join the newsletter here!

Ezra Eeman, Change Director News - Mediahuis nv