From social demise to the growth of AIs… no one would deny that the start of 2024 is a tough time for media. But in charting that change, we at least begin to understand where we are today, and helping to forge tangible forward pathways remains one of the key Jobjektiv’s of this media cover…
Social traffic is down, search likely next
The latest Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report – authored by Nic Newman – has now been published, and it makes for sombre reading. Compiling the feedback of 314 news leaders from 56 countries and territories, including 76 editors-in-chief, 65 CEOs or managing directors, and 53 heads of digital or innovation, the report is titled ‘Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2024’.
After a challenging 2023, Newman and the Institute say that further disruption is inevitable, most notably as artificial intelligence begins to reshape our digital world:
‘… it’s not just content that is going to be supercharged, distribution is also set for a major upheaval. This will be the year when Search Generative Experiences (SGE) will start to roll out across the internet, along with a host of AI-driven chatbots that will offer a faster and more intuitive way to access information. Following sharp declines in referral traffic from Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), these changes are likely, over time, to further reduce audience flows to established news sites and put even more pressure on the bottom line.’
You can access the full report here.
The Bauer Tower
From macro level media shifts to a slightly more specific one, and the news that Bauer is to rebrand Liverpool’s iconic Radio City station to Hits Radio Liverpool. To those outside the city, this may not appear to be so seismic a change, but having written and co-presented a weekly show on sister station Radio City Talk myself for many years, I can confirm that the rebrand will be felt heartedly throughout the local vicinity.
The station is broadcast from atop St John’s Beacon, which complete with its Radio City sign, has become something of a cultural landmark in Liverpool. Bauer are aware of this and have stated: “we’re sensitive to the history its branding holds while also being open to options that better reflect its new era as home to Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio.” But a timely reminder that ‘You can’t put the toothpaste back in YouTube’…
In other Bauer news, the media company has today announced that it has signed a year-long deal with Costa Coffee, which becomes the sponsor of the KISS breakfast show, along with sister stations. All the details on that one here.
TikTok… show us ya shop!
It seems to be an interesting time for TikTok right now. I myself caught a TV ad promoting more general uptake thereof during the football yesterday (LAD), which remembering back to the heady daze of the Facebook rise and fall, is not necessarily a good sign. I understand that a bit of cross-pollination is necessary between sectors, but when you’re taking to traditional media to directly ask people to use social media, clearly you’re feeling the need to bolster your reach.
One of the main issues TikTok seems to have at present, is the level of importance it has bestowed on its e-commerce play, with the TikTok Shop having been launched last September. This is of course, on the surface of things, a no-brainer, with a ready-made influencer ecosystem already in place to ram products down people’s throats.
But it’s in that ramming that friction can often occur, and users have been quick to note the frequency with which shoppable products seem to have been pushed to the top of their feed. Last week, New York Magazine contributor, John Herrman, sold a pencil on the app, in an experiment that explains the current eccentricities of the platform eloquently: “The whole process, from opening TikTok to ending the stream, took a little over an hour. In the end, I made $0.69 cents, and TikTok lost at least $4.”
What’s the Jobjektiv in all of this?
If that all sounds a bit doom & gloom (and again, it’s pointless to pretend that the industry is in anything other than a challenging spot right now), then take a look at Jobjektiv… a new initiative that reminds us that social-media innovation is still out there, you just need to look hard enough!
Axel Springer has teamed up with Snap Inc. to launch Jobjektiv – a new video show with augmented reality content designed to provide guidance to young people navigating the rapidly changing world of careers. The project is part of a global partnership between Axel Springer and Snap Inc. aimed at developing innovative storytelling formats and preparing a new generation of media creators for the challenges and opportunities of the digital world. Full story here.
