Pew: Traditional advertising is declining, and TV viewers are shifting to the Internet

The Pew Research Company released the "2014 State of the News Media" report last Wednesday, summarizing the challenges faced by the US news media industry in the past year. The report pointed out that traditional advertising forms have declined seriously, while digital advertising has grown significantly, and TV viewers are shifting to the Internet. Among people aged 18 to 29, 90% watch online videos, and nearly half, or 48%, watch online news videos.

Among the larger digital media, a large number of them invest in global news coverage, which has also promoted the recruitment of a large number of traditional and non-traditional journalists by digital news media. More and more editors say that they are hiring younger staff with better digital instincts and skills. However, it is not clear whether the business model of digital media can support the development of these media.

Meanwhile, a surge in acquisitions and content sharing dominated local TV news in 2013, drawing criticism from consumer groups and attention from federal regulators. In addition, user-generated video content will play a key role in breaking news, even though only a small percentage of Americans create and share such videos.

The following are the four main points of the report (excerpted from Sina):

1. Revenue status and changing trends of the U.S. news industry

At least for now, advertising still accounts for the majority of news revenues, a little over two-thirds. However, the business model supported by advertising is being challenged. Print advertising is still in sharp decline. TV advertising is currently stable, but TV viewers are moving online, which will inevitably affect its business model. Digital advertising is growing, but the growth rate cannot make up for the decline of traditional advertising forms. Although new digital advertising forms have gained momentum in 2013, the online advertising market only favors a few companies that can reach a certain scale.

User revenue is the industry's second-largest revenue source. About a quarter of the news industry's revenue comes from newspaper subscriptions, cable TV fees, and individual donations. This is a fast-growing area in terms of both revenue amount and proportion. However, the growth in user-driven revenue is not due to an increase in paying users. The data shows that overall, a small number of users, or a constant number of users, has driven this revenue growth.

Personal wealth, capital investment, and philanthropic donations are all growing, but they only account for a small portion of this market. Last year, venture capital from angel investors to digital industry content editors was at least $300 million. This venture capital, as well as revenue from other content, helped build brands and expand original news collection activities. Foundations that support public broadcasting and various nonprofit digital organizations brought in about $150 million. These revenue sources are not receivables and account for about 1% of the funding received by the news industry.

Other sources of receivables, such as offline events, marketing services and online consulting services, are likely to become key elements in the future in terms of greater development. Currently, these sources of revenue are still small, accounting for only 7% of the total.

2. The development of digital reporting

Some digital-native media are hiring aggressively. Two years ago, BuzzFeed had about six editorial staffers; now it has 170. Three years ago, Bleacher Report hired no paid contributors; now it has about 50. This year alone, fast-growing Vice Media has hired 48 people in the U.S. Henry Blodget has plans to expand Business Insider's 70-person team by 33%. Startups like First Look Media, Project X, and FiveThirtyEight have hired a total of about 60 people in the past few months.

Many digital natives are small, unprofitable, and in their early stages of development. Of the 438 small sites studied, more than half (241) have three or fewer full-time employees. Clearly, a nonprofit business model is an attractive option for many of these sites. More than half (204) of the 402 digital sites in our sample are unprofitable. Many are very young. Nearly 30% (120) were founded after 2010, and 85% were founded after 2005.

Many small digital outlets focus on filling the gap between local news and investigative reporting. Of the smaller outlets studied, more than half (231) identify themselves as local outlets, typically covering events in nearby communities. Forty-five identify themselves as investigative outlets. In addition, some large nonprofits, including ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Investigative Reporting, focus on investigative reporting, often in partnership with traditional news outlets.

Among the larger digital media, a large number of them invest in global news coverage. The editorial focus of the 30 largest websites includes sports (such as Bleacher Report), technology (such as Re/code) and investigative reporting (such as ProPublica). However, some media with wider coverage are expanding into overseas markets on a large scale. The Huffington Post hopes to increase the number of countries it covers from 11 to 15 this year. Vice currently has 35 overseas branches. BuzzFeed has hired overseas editors to be responsible for development in Mumbai, Mexico City, Berlin and Tokyo. Quartz, a two-year-old business news-oriented website, has reporters stationed in London, Bangkok and Hong Kong, and its editorial staff can speak 19 languages.

Digital news outlets are hiring both traditional and non-traditional journalists while highlighting new storytelling skills. One traditional skill that is valued is investigative work. The Investigative News Network estimates that at least 80% of its reporters in its 92 branches come from traditional media. At ProPublica, 25 of the 41 employees have worked in traditional media. However, in native digital media, more and more editors say they are hiring younger employees who have better digital intuition and skills. "Training for traditional journalism cannot perfectly match the expectations of digital media readers," said Kevin Delaney, editor-in-chief of Quartz.

In recent years, the reduction in traditional media jobs has been concentrated in print media. According to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, there were 38,000 full-time editorial positions in 2012, down from 54,000 10 years ago. In 2013, Gannett and Tribune Group laid off hundreds of people. Ad Age Data Bank, which tracks employment in the magazine industry, said that in the past 10 years, the total number of magazine companies has decreased by 26%. This does not include the 500 layoffs recently announced by Time Inc., which is part of a restructuring.

It is not clear whether the business model of digital media can support the development of these media. Pierre Omidyar, founder and investor of First Look Media, admitted that the solution is at least five years away. The Huffington Post has 575 editorial staff, but according to analyst Ken Doctor, the company is still "not seriously considering profitability." Global Post, which recently signed a contract as a content partner of NBC, has never made a profit. Regarding the question of whether the massive hiring means that digital media has found a successful business model, a senior industry observer said: "No, it's very ironic."

3. Acquisitions and content sharing dominated local TV news in 2013

Local television in the United States changed dramatically in 2013, an area that Americans don’t pay much attention to. The main owners of local TV stations have grown significantly due to a series of acquisitions. Although the TV business is profitable, the impact on users is unclear and varies from market to market. However, the trend of multiple stations operating together has drawn criticism from consumer groups and attention from federal regulators.

Nearly 300 local TV stations changed hands in 2013, with a total transaction value of more than $8 billion. The total number of local TV stations acquired in 2013 was 290, 195 more than in 2012, and the transaction value was more than four times that of 2012. As a result of these transactions, stations in the same market that are different on paper have actually been combined, a phenomenon that has increased rapidly in the past two years. Some type of joint service agreement now exists in at least 94 markets, nearly half of the 210 local TV markets in the United States, up from 55 in 2011.

4. Online News Video

Heavy users of online video are young, and they are also the main consumers of digital news videos. Among people aged 18 to 29, 90% watch online video, and nearly half, or 48%, watch online news videos. In contrast, the proportion of people aged 30 to 49 who watch online news videos is 49%; the proportion of people aged 50 to 64 is 27%; and the proportion of people aged 65 and above is 11%.

User-generated video content plays a key role when breaking news occurs, but only a small percentage of Americans create and share such videos. According to Pew Research Center survey data, 12% of social media users have posted self-filmed news event videos on social networking sites. In addition, 11% of online news consumers have submitted their own content, including videos, photos, articles or comments, to news media or blogs. Taking non-online news consumers and social media users into account, this means that 7% of American adults have posted self-filmed news videos to social networking sites, and 7% have submitted content to news websites.

The digital video market is still small, at about $4 billion, and is a tiny fraction of the broader digital ad market. Google accounts for a quarter of that $4 billion through its YouTube unit. Facebook, whose display ad revenue is growing rapidly, began its push into digital video in early 2014. As a result, there is little room for news publishers to compete with other digital video services, such as Hulu and ESPN.

The last year has seen significant investment in digital news production. Vice Media launched a digital news channel in early 2014, NBC acquired Stringwire in 2013, and HuffPost Live has expanded overseas. These moves point in the same direction: News organizations are paying more attention to the Internet video market (despite some setbacks along the way).

Local TV news outlets are moving into digital video, but at different paces. Of the 32 local TV news sites surveyed by Pew Research Center, only four did not offer video on their homepages, though the percentage of video news varied from 92% to 6%. About half, 14 of the 32, offer live streaming of their broadcasts. In addition, 24 of the 32 offer Android and iOS apps with video viewing capabilities, and 18 have established YouTube channels. But activity levels on these digital channels still vary widely.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.