For nearly 15 years, Pew Research Center has distributed an overview of the state of the media, analyzing different forms, target audiences and consumption. It also looks at how media organizations are performing as businesses, analyzing outlets’ ability to capture attention as well as revenue.
Rather than issuing one report, Pew distributes eight separate fact sheets, covering everything from local TV news to Hispanic and African American news to audio and podcasting.
After reviewing the fact sheets analyzing the state of the media in 2017, here are some important takeaways.
Newspapers Circulation Declines but Unique Visitors Grows
It’s no secret that as consumer preferences have shifted to digital, newspapers have experienced dips in circulation. According to Pew’s research, the estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation for both print and digital in 2017 was 31 million for weekday and 34 million for Sunday. These numbers were down 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively, from 2016.
However, prominent papers in the U.S. have seen recent increases in their digital subscriptions. Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both produced independent studies that indicated both publications experienced significant gains in digital subscriptions. The New York Times saw a 42 percent increase and The Wall Street Journal experienced a 26 percent uptick in digital subscribers.
This uptick could be due to several factors, including digital being the preferred format or an increased interest in current events over the last year. However, another possibility is the dynamic platform offered through digital media. Many publications have created interactive media sections that enable readers to interact with a map or search for data relevant to them and tie it to the story, potentially captivating more interest.
Digital Media Reaches Nine-in-10 Adults
About 93 percent of individuals in the U.S. get at least some news online, either through a mobile device or a desktop. While Pew recognizes that many “legacy” news organizations, such as The New York Times or The Washington Post, have significant presences online, its digital media fact sheet looks specifically at news sites that were founded online.
One unique piece of information revealed through the report is not the data, but a list of the digital news sources that were used for the study. Pew only included sites that averaged 10 million unique visitors per month from October through December of each year analyzed. In 2017, 35 outlets met this requirement, including Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Bustle, Digital Trends, Gizmodo, Huffington Post, Mashable, Politico, Refinery 29 and Vox. The entire list can be found here.
Because these are digital outlets, its no surprise they are largely focused on reaching readers through social media. One hundred percent of the digital outlets included in the study have Facebook and Twitter profiles, while 94 percent and 89 percent have YouTube channels and Instagram accounts respectively. So when thinking about pitching these journalists, it’s important to consider what could be used for an intriguing headline, tweet or caption, and what visuals you can offer to accompany the article.
Don’t Overlook Podcasting
Audio news has two main sources, traditional radio (AM/FM) and digital formats such as online radio and podcasts. While traditional radio hasn’t seen much of a change in listenership since 2009, online radio and podcasts are trending up.
In 2006, about 12 percent of Americans over the age of 12 had ever listened to a podcast. Now, in 2018, nearly 50 percent of Americans have listened to a podcast. One outlet that has seen substantial success in its programming is NPR, having created some of the most popular shows in the iTunes library. From 2016 to 2017, NPR saw the average weekly unique user who downloaded a show rise by 1.9 million, from 3.5 million to 5.4 million.
With the continued popularity and upward trend of listeners, you may want to consider what podcasts are reaching your audiences and determine if you have a strong spokesperson who could contribute interesting perspectives to those programs. Alternatively, if you are working with a brand dedicated to content creation, you may want to consider if an audio platform would be of interest to your target audiences. For more ideas on how to start a podcast, check out this blog post.
As individuals who leverage the media to reach target audiences, it is critical that PR professionals take the time to understand how the state of the media evolves as consumer preferences change. With this understanding and data, we can then think strategically about how to reach our target audiences and provide journalists with valuable information and stories.