Nearly two-thirds of media leaders worldwide are concerned about the sharp decline in traffic from social media, according to a Reuters Institute report published on Tuesday.
A 2024 forecast report based on Chartbeat data shows that traffic to news sites from Facebook fell 48% in 2023, with traffic from X (formerly known as Twitter) down 27%, indicating that 62% of Media Managers fear such a scenario.
“In response to these events, news publishers’ priorities are changing,” the report said.
Up to 77% of respondents say they will focus more on their own direct communication channels in 2024, with 22% looking to cut costs and a similar share (20%) experimenting with alternative third-party platforms.
When it comes to news formats, most respondents indicate they will produce more videos (+64 net points), more newsletters (+52) and more podcasts (+47), but the same number of news articles.
When looking at third-party platforms, media representatives say they will focus much less on Facebook and X and put more resources into WhatsApp (+61 net rating) and Instagram (+39) following Meta’s decision to open up broadcast channels to publishers.
“Interest in video networks like TikTok (+55) and YouTube (+44) remains high, while Google Discover is becoming a more important but inconsistent source of referrals,” he says.
The report also shows that publishers are more pessimistic about the fair distribution of benefits from agreements with artificial intelligence platforms.
On the other hand, only 47% of the sample of editors, CEOs and digital leaders say they are confident in the prospects for journalism in 2024, with 12% expressing low confidence.
“Concerns include rising costs, declining advertising revenue, slowing subscription growth, and increased legal and physical harassment,” it said.
On the other hand, reasons for some optimism include “hope that disputed elections in the US and other countries could increase traffic, despite the risks that the increase will be temporary and further erode confidence.”
According to the report, publishers continue to invest in subscription models, with the vast majority of respondents (80%) citing it as an important source of revenue, ahead of display advertising.
Editors also indicate that they will focus on better explanations of complex stories (67%), more solution-oriented or constructive approaches to storytelling (44%), and more inspiring human stories (43%).
The report also predicts that artificial intelligence tools, “which change the language of news to improve its relevance and understanding for specific audiences, will become a growing feature of the news landscape in 2024.”
The report is based on a survey conducted between late November and early December 2023, with a sample of 314 participants from 56 countries.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.