Tags containing: "revenue"

How to get editorial and revenue to collaborate for the win

February 1, 2024 Richard E. Brown, Media Revenue Consultant

Throughout my career, I’ve had this immense privilege and opportunity to consult for and collaborate with numerous news media organizations. Among the most recent and rewarding aspects of my work has been the opportunity to coach, a role that has allowed me to contribute to various initiatives and granted me profound insights into the essence of news media.

Coaching and consulting with burgeoning media leaders have opened my eyes to the intricate dance between revenue strategies and editorial excellence. Unfortunately, it is often awkward. But it doesn’t need to be. In fact, from what I’ve seen in successful media organizations, both sides showcase their individual skills when they perform in a smooth and elegantly choreographed routine that they perform together.

Through my work as a coach, and the conversations I have had with brilliant leaders on both sides of the business, I have identified four distinct insights that may help steer future conversations around how content and revenue leaders collaborate and strategize on sustainable revenue growth. These insights illuminate areas where our traditional practices and a legacy perspective might still create a barrier to progressive momentum.

Though I admit that it’s not as widespread a problem as it once was, the relationship between revenue and editorial can have contentious undertones. The good news is that collaboration has become more commonplace, particularly when all parties embrace and acknowledge our industry’s challenges, share a common organizational mission, and understand each other’s perspective.

Tighten your internal ties

Before delving in, I want to emphasize my understanding of, and respect for, the delicate balance between journalistic integrity, advertising, and revenue. I’ve built a career steeped in strong newsroom relationships, bridging the gap between editorial and advertising without encountering stark divides. However, I’ve always noticed a subtle barrier that, with experience and perspective, may unlock significant revenue opportunities. Rather than erode boundaries, I propose fostering stronger internal relationships.

For example, forming a revenue and content growth task force can lead to healthy collaboration on new formats, series, or projects involving editorial, advertising, and marketing teams. This approach provides editorial leaders with a comprehensive perspective on contemporary revenue development strategies and imparts a strong understanding of journalism practices for revenue personnel.

Cross-departmental collaboration promotes a shared purpose and mutual respect. Sales personnel gain pride in achieving revenue goals, all while learning to better appreciate editorial’s role and objectives. All leaders begin to understand the teamwork required for resource acquisition. Collaboration fosters empathy and understanding and promotes the overarching goal of effectively serving the community. When the entire team brings their skills to bear on revenue ideas, everyone wins.

An opportunity for creative business solutions

Balancing content and revenue generation poses challenges for leaders across various domains, particularly impacting news media startups that have largely been shaped by editorial approaches. While logic, fact-finding, research, and creativity are shared between revenue and editorial leaders, transitioning from an editorial to a revenue focus requires a significant mental adjustment. The unwavering dedication of editorial leaders to top-notch journalism often clashes with the different mindsets essential for effective revenue generation. Even when editors are committed to revenue development, navigating the intricacies of revenue may feel less natural.

In my coaching experience with smaller news organizations, the critical need to balance between revenue and content discussions became starkly apparent. However, it’s important to note that, especially at the start, not all news organizations have personnel dedicated to revenue development.

If the business side of the organization has not been fully developed at startup, consider contracting or hiring revenue or sales development support. Interestingly, supporting the development of the business side in this way can provide a constructive framework for collaboration. You can emphasize the importance of bridging the gap between editorial and revenue development. Rather than focus on the creation of traditional silos, teams can be built that work together on a common goal from the outset. This adaptability is increasingly vital to speak with a unified voice and navigate industry challenges seamlessly, accommodating both editorial and revenue progression.

Unpack the guilt and cynicism around revenue

Discussing the intersection of journalism and revenue unearthed a range of emotions among the editorial leaders I coached. What really stood out was editorial feeling some guilt around revenue, or sense of revenue representing a necessary evil.

To combat these feelings, emphasize the role of revenue in sustaining a media organization’s mission and the value of fostering community partnerships. It helps to acknowledge the historical context (cases in which the line between quality content and the demands of advertisers were blurred), but it is ok to reject this as a blanket concept.

Encourage editorial leaders to recognize sponsors and readers as integral to the community and the organization, deserving of respect and appreciation. The authenticity of relationships with sponsors and subscribers is crucial. If this connection is inauthentic or superficial, it may compromise trust and hinder revenue, growth, brand awareness, and stunt progress.

Revenue is… donations, subscribers, advertisers and more

I’ve observed a growing interest in donation-based reader revenue models, within non-profits and some for-profit organizations. However, there are potential limitations in these models’ longevity, growth, and expansion. While I recognize the strategic value of reader-support, particularly for non-profits, the term “one-time donation” inherently implies a finite nature. This can suggest hesitancy or lack of confidence in the long-term sustainability of the mission.

In fact, recurring or regular donation cycles are critical to support the ongoing health of a media endeavor. For these appeals, it is essential to reiterate and communicate the news organization’s benefits and impact and emphasize its significance for the audience within the community.

Encourage and invite audience support, not just for sustainable journalism as an abstraction, but as an investment in the local news organization in order to benefit the entire community. This shift relies on building the belief in reciprocity, where the news organization consistently communicates its impact, showcasing changed lives and areas for improvement. Aligning values, mission, and community outlook facilitates a more feasible and strategic transition to ongoing support, over one-time donations.

Explore sponsored content versus traditional display

In almost every organization I’ve had the privilege of coaching or consulting with, the initial conversation often concerns the need to understand better or develop media kits and rate cards. What remained consistent, particularly in working with editorial leaders, was a belief that the rate card and media kit were essential for revenue generation. This is true – to an extent.

However, it was intriguing that a majority of editorial leaders either held a slight contempt or outright rejected many traditional display advertising norms associated with standard news websites. I understood concerns about balancing reader experience and advertising. However, the challenge wasn’t developing tools; it was a lack of confidence in securing enough sponsorship opportunities compared to competitors due to reluctance toward traditional display advertising.

In some cases, where organizations already had a media kit or rate card, I observed that much of the information focused solely on the publication itself. While this approach is common and traditional, a more nuanced strategy is more effective in communicating how a media organization can collaborate with advertisers for success. Yes, it is important to describe the mission of a publication, its demographics, and importance to the community. But what will stand out to advertisers is that the entire organization is comfortable with, and will collaborate on, branded or sponsored content campaigns.

This approach highlights editorial leaders’ skill in identifying and seizing opportunities, especially concerning the balance between engaging readers and attracting revenue. Sponsored or branded content opportunities illuminate a path forward in which editorial works with sponsors that align with the news organization’s mission and can serve as valuable resources for the audience. Leveraging content for sponsored opportunities can be positioned as offering a guiding resource for the audience. And anything that truly serves the audience is key to resilience, retention, and sustainable revenue growth— which often differs from traditional display advertising.

Build sustainable media revenue through collaboration

While revenue and editorial teams have distinct focuses, collaboration can unlock new opportunities and positive change. Recognize the challenges and thought processes of these differing roles while also focusing on their shared narrative and objectives.

News leaders contribute to a greater mission within our communities. But we face significant hurdles in building revenue solutions that will sustain these valuable resources. As I work with news startups, as well as established media organizations, it is clear that there are sparks ready to ignite. And it is good to know that I’m not alone in this journey, ready and excited for what lies ahead.

About the author

Richard E. Brown is a recipient of the News Media Alliance Rising Star award. He previously served as the director of renewals and digital sales strategy at LPi and held the position of director of digital operations and sales at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Recently, he was the head of digital subscriber churn for Gannett | USA Today Network and is currently the senior director of retention for The Daily Beast. Additionally, Brown is a member of the board of directors for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, a monthly columnist for Editor & Publisher magazine, a contributing writer for Digital Content Next, a revenue sustainability coach for Local Independent Online News (LION Publishing), and the owner of RE Media Holdings, LLC.

Digital News Report 2022: Four key implications for publishers

June 15, 2022 Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism – University of Oregon

The annual Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is a must-read for anyone in the news, media and digital publishing industries. Clocking in at 164 pages, the latest study, which came out today, covers a cornucopia of topics, informed by an online survey of more than 90,000 digital news consumers in 46 countries.

DCN members will want to read the complete report when they can, but ahead of that, we wanted to share some of the most relevant findings for digital content companies. To do this, I read the full report, identifying key trends and corresponding with the lead author, Nic Newman, to discuss these areas in more detail.

It is a decade since the first Digital News Report was published. Newman reflects that, since then, we have seen a relentless decline in consumption of traditional news sources such as TV, radio, and print and the growing importance of digital and social media.

“This has brought [a] greater variety of sources and perspectives than ever before, especially for educated and interested news consumers,” Newman says. “But at the same time,” he adds, “we see those that are less interested [in the news] often feeling overwhelmed and confused.”

It is against this backdrop that major themes emanating from the latest report — including growing news avoidance, as well as declining interest and lower levels of trust in the news —need to be considered. With that in mind, here are four developments publishers cannot afford to overlook, and recommendations to help tackle them.

1. Respond to the implications of news avoidance

Issue:

One of the biggest topics explored in the report is news avoidance. “Selective avoidance” is on the rise globally, with growing numbers deliberately steering clear of content that is often seen as difficult and depressing. Long-running and recurrent stories — such as those covering politics, the war in Ukraine, or the COVID pandemic — are also driving audiences to disconnect more frequently from the news.

Implications / Solutions:

To avoid audiences checking out, publishers need to recognize that some approaches in practice can be off putting. Therefore, they may need to offer a different content mix and tone. Addressing this is challenging, Newman says, because audiences also want — and expect — the media to cover difficult stories. Nevertheless, Newman identifies three areas where journalists and publishers can tackle several core reasons people often give for news avoidance: accessibility, negativity and bias.

First, he argues, we need to make news content more accessible and easier to understand. “This is one of the reasons why young people and less educated groups selectively avoid the news.” He also notes that content is typically produced for avid news consumers.

“Avoiding jargon and insider speak will help,” he says. More explanation, directly asking for — and addressing — audience questions, as well as producing fact-based content for video and podcast formats, could also be useful.

Secondly, telling stories differently might mean embracing approaches such as solutions and constructive journalism, as part of a mix of formats and content styles. Newman suggests outlets consider “finding more ways to cover difficult stories that provide hope or give audiences a sense of agency around stories like climate change.”

Lastly, we need to rebuild trust and credibility. Over a quarter (29%) of news avoiders believe the news is untrustworthy or biased. That rises to nearly four in ten (39%) in the United States.

“Some of that is about partisanship,” Newman says, “some is about sensationalist chasing eyeballs and clicks.” Potential remedies include “signalling opinion more clearly,” as well as “not labeling everything breaking news when it isn’t,” an approach CNN has recently broached.

2. Double-down on revenue diversification

Issue:

Increasing reader revenue is a key strategic goal for many publishers. However, much of the digital spoils generated by subscriptions are enjoyed solely by the biggest national brands. In the U.S, around half of paid subscriptions go to just three titles: New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. More widely, fewer than one in five digital news consumers (19%) in pays for content.

Implications / Solutions:

This “winner takes most” dynamic can make it difficult for smaller and local publishers to compete. Furthermore, the rising cost of living may also mean that some audiences will look to cut back their expenditure on paid-for content.

As a result, publishers can’t afford to be over-reliant on subscriptions. It has to be just one component of their revenue portfolio.

That’s a development Newman says news providers are alive to.

“More publishers are recognizing that subscription on its own will not be enough,” Newman says, “especially as further growth is likely to [be] constrained by rising prices and the squeeze on household budgets. Developing multiple revenue streams will provide resilience and help publishers weather the coming storm.”

This impending subscription storm is not unique to news publishers, but all media players. A chart on page 21 of the report outlines this tension. It shows that while 14% of digital news users in the U.S. think that they will have more media subscriptions in the next year, a further 14% of users believe they will have fewer subscriptions in the same period.

3. Ensure you have an effective first-party data strategy

Issue:

As the experienced product marketer Aphrodite Brinsmead noted last year, browser updates and privacy regulations impact the ability to use personal identifiers and capture customer data through third-party cookies. Subsequently, Brinsmead reflected, “the race is on for publishers and brands to leverage first-party data.”

However, news consumers appear to be wary about providing personal information, such as email addresses, to publishers. Just under a third (32%) of the report’s sample indicated they trust news websites to use their personal data responsibly. This drops to fewer than one in five in France (19%) and the USA (18%).

Implications / Solutions:

Most publishers understand that they need to develop their first-party data capabilities. But knowing you need to get to grips with this, and effectively doing so, is not the same thing.

“The low numbers (28% average) who have currently registered with a news site show that most news websites simply do not have a clear enough value proposition to get people [to] give up their data,” Newman argues.

This principle aligns with the subscription challenge publishers face too. It is hard to convince audiences to pay for content if the same material is available elsewhere for free. In these circumstances it seems not even inclined to hand over their email address to access it.

To remedy this, Newman suggests, “publishers will need to use a mix of competitions, events and special features to get those numbers up. They also need to persuade people that they will treat personal data responsibly.”

4. Do things differently if you want to reach Gen Z

Issue:

As we outlined recently, Gen Z is a demographic with its own outlook and media habits. The Digital News Report reinforces this, with Dr. Kirsten Eddy, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters Insitute, commenting on the growing gulf seen in the media behaviours and preferences found among many younger audiences compared to other demographics.

Implications / Solutions:

This cohort is less interested in traditional news subjects like politics. It also has a weaker connection with news brands. “They are also more skeptical of traditional sources,” Newman advises. “They are also shaped by social aspect of news ‘who is telling the story’ and what others think about it.”

As a result, this is a demographic more likely to seek out diverse voices online. They are less concerned about impartiality and more comfortable with journalists expressing opinions on social media. A preference for more visual social networks has meant that across all markets the use of TikTok for news consumption has jumped among 18–24s from 3% in 2020 to 15% in 2022.

“But they are not simply all TikTokers,” Eddy cautions, recommending in a dedicated essay (found on pages 42-45 of the full report) that publishers connect with the topics young people care about, and develop content that is aligned to the style and tone of specific platforms. Publishers should do this, in preference to “expecting young people to eventually come around to what has always been done.”

The big four (and much more)

These four issues – reaching younger audiences, addressing issues of news avoidance, ensuring you have an effective first party data strategy and the need for revenue diversification – matter to publishers large and small. As a result, these were the topics that emerged as most critical upon first read of the Digital News Report 2022.

They are, of course, just a fraction of the actionable insights that can be gleaned from this weighty annual research study. Readers may also want to delve further into issues such as trust, polarization, as well as data related to the consumption of podcasts, online video, email news and attitudes towards coverage of climate change.

Learn more by reading the full report.

Industry-Research

Despite Covid-19 setback, PwC forecasts modest media and entertainment growth

September 15, 2020 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Consumer behavior was transformed by the shelter in place lifestyle during the pandemic. Stay at home policies not only impacted the way we work and shop but also how we consume media. We’ve seen significant changes in consumer media habits as well as those of media infrastructure. Closures of movie theaters and shutting down film and television productions altered our entertainment sources.

To access the effects of the coronavirus and adjust the entertainment and media (E&M) forecasts, PwC delayed the release of its annual Global Entertainment & Media Outlook. The new assessment comes with the realization that for consumers, E&M is centered in the home. It’s now more remote, more virtual and more streamed. PwC estimates that in 2020 the E&M world declines by 5.6% or $120 billion in absolute terms compared to 2019. However, they project the sector grows by 6.4% in 2021. Further, overall revenue grows 2.8% at a compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2024.

Additional findings:

Overall, advertising is expected to recover slowly through 2024. Digital advertising is the important vehicle with mobile advertising revenue as its growth story. Mobile ad revenue is expected to grow at 88.4% with a 60% share of revenue.

Cord-cutting continues to rise especially in North America and new over-the-top (OTT) services challenge the global dominance of streaming giants. pWC forecasts the OTT market to almost double in size from $46.4 billion in 2019 to $86.8 billion in 2024.
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) revenue is expected to exceed box office revenue this year. It’s projected to rise more than twice the size of box office revenue by 2024. Related, global cinema revenues are expected to drop plunge 66% in 2020 and is unlikely to regain momentum.

Newspaper revenue declines continue through 2024 declining advertising revenue combined with high paper production and distribution costs.
Consumer magazine competition continues to increase from major tech players, magazine aggregators and digital publishers.

Covid-19 fast-tracked many new business strategies for media companies. This shift amplifies the need for media businesses to closely follow changes in consumer media behavior. The ability to pivot operations to meet consumer needs helps generate and diversity revenue opportunities.