Editor’s note: The Fix is reviewing key findings from the “World Press Trends Outlook” for 2022-2023 by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). Information on how to access the full report is available on their website; you can also read a brief overview by the report’s co-author. 

2022 was a difficult year – Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and other challenges have impacted global economic stability, including news publishers’ businesses. High inflation, advertising downturn and rising costs of newsprint have collectively taken a toll on the news business. 

“After the optimism of our 2021-22 report, this year’s World Press Trends study makes for a more sobering read”, authors of the latest “World Press Trends Outlook” study contend, even though some publishers show modest optimism in a longer-term perspective.  

The report surveyed 167 media leaders from 62 countries to measure the state of the world’s press and expectations going forward. The Fix picked six key points from the report.

1. More than half of publishers are concerned about their short-term prospects due to new world challenges

Media outlets have faced a lot of difficulties over the past year as Russia’s war against Ukraine and other global challenges triggered inflation, the energy crisis, and issues like the increasing cost of paper. For example, the increase in newsprint costs leaves no choice for publishers but to raise the cover price, or reduce the number of pages, which could decrease demand.

Due to that, 55.4% of the publishers surveyed are pessimistic about the next 12 months. (The survey was conducted in the summer and early autumn of 2022). At the same time, 53.6% of respondents are optimistic about prospects for the next three years.

Media outlets from developed countries are more pessimistic about short-term prospects. On the contrary, news organisations from emergent markets are more optimistic – publishers from developing countries expect to grow their revenue by 24% compared to 2021. More optimistic publishers tend to be more resilient in adapting their business and less reliant on revenue streams such as print circulation and advertising.

2. Advertising and print revenue is still a big part of total income, although publishers are looking for other sources

In developed markets, the fundamental income sources are still print revenue and advertising. “When combined, print advertising and circulation generate more than half (53.5%) of the total income seen by our survey respondents”, the authors note.

More outlets are seeing success with digital subscriptions, including those who are expanding beyond their domestic markets (the report cites the example of The Athletic, which has expanded into Spanish-speaking markets).

The publishers understand the need of having different sources of income and work not to rely on only one source. 

Events are described by publishers as an important area they are concentrating on. During COVID, news outlets organised events online, but as soon as the world started to recover, there was again an opportunity to arrange in-person activities. “After embracing virtual events during COVID, WIRED continues to offer regular virtual briefings, suggesting that hybrid event strategies (offering a mixture of online-only and in-person events, sometimes with the opportunity to also join virtually) may be here to stay for many publishers”, to take one example from the report.

Grant funding is “also taking on a more significant role for some publishers”, with local news and climate reporting receiving special attention from funders. Other promising revenue sources include contract publishing and e-commerce. 

Image: “World Press Trends Outlook 2022-2023” report

3. The relationship with tech platforms is uneven, and digital transformation efforts are not complete yet  

Tech platforms from big companies such as Facebook, Apple, Twitter and Microsoft have a great influence on digital publishing, with media outlets having limited control over the distribution of their products on these platforms. The publishers’ perception of their relationship with tech platforms is quite uneven – while 45% respondents said “relations with tech platforms have gotten better in the past year”, 24% said the opposite. Tech layoffs (including those in the news partnerships teams) and Twitter’s meltdown will further complicate the picture going forward.

More broadly, the work on digital development is ongoing. Media outlets are developing their digital capacity and trying new platforms such as TikTok or Patreon, creating podcasts, and developing mobile apps for products to keep up with time. For instance, after initially opposing it, publishers like the BBC have recently established a presence on TikTok. However, “more work needs to be done” on digital transformation.

4. Product development, revenue streams, and data analytics lead the rank of areas to invest in 

According to the report, the top three areas that decision-makers believed their organisation needed to spend in were reader revenue and other revenue sources, product development and R&D (Research and Development), and advertising investment. 

Investments in product thinking can come through recruitment and the creation of interdisciplinary teams for working on a common goal, the authors note. Product development helps reduce audience churn and increase engagement. To give an example of product thinking, The Washington Post launched an end-of-year interactive summary for their subscribers.

The next pressing priority after product development is finding revenue streams. Publishers are still looking at additional advertising solutions as they work to increase and develop these revenues. The ongoing expansion of publisher podcasts and newsletters offers a new platform for increasing sponsorship and ad sales. “Podcasts are the third fastest area of growth after Connected TV Advertising and Paid Search”, the report notes.

Image: “World Press Trends Outlook 2022-2023” report

Also, publishers will keep making investments in data analytics and intelligence. In an environment without cookies, this sector will become even more essential for publishers. Media outlets in that environment will need to use consumer data to inform their product, subscription, and other initiatives. “First-party data gives us the chance to have a direct relationship, control the pricing, content, and dialogue with our readers without intermediaries”, Juan Señor and Jayant Sriram noted, as quoted by the report.

5. AI technologies will have a huge impact on media in near future, but there are ethical concerns to grapple with

Artificial intelligence is becoming a part of different fields and in the media industry especially. AI can be used in a variety of ways: from content creation to content distribution, says the report. Media organisations are working on tools for journalists and publishers. To give an example, a global network of newsrooms and fact-checkers will be able to use the automated fact-checking tools being developed by the U.K.-based non-profit Full Fact.

Although there are a lot of new possibilities and ways of transforming the processes in media, publishers need to be aware of a bunch of questions about ethics and regulation. “For all its exciting possibilities, AI’s future is also fraught with legitimate issues that newsrooms, policymakers and technologists all need to grapple with as the adoption of this technology continues apace”, the report notes.

6. Physical attacks on media have grown in developing countries; online harassment of women journalists and cyber attacks pose an issue in all regions 

Physical attacks remain a prominent way to crack down on freedom of speech. There is a broad split between developed and emerging countries. The latter category has weaker public institutions and lower levels of investigation of crimes against journalists. Thereby, over 80% of attacks against journalists, including murders, across the world remain unsolved, the report says.

Due to the Russian war against Ukraine, the number of physical attacks and murders of journalists in 2022 increased. Last year, at least 15 journalists were killed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – both Ukrainian journalists like Maks Levin, who was likely executed by Russian soldiers, and foreign reporters like Pierre Zakrzewski, an Irish Fox News photojournalist killed in March of 2022.

Image: “World Press Trends Outlook 2022-2023” report

Freedom of media is suffering less from physical harassment and government threats in developed countries, but cyber attacks are a huge threat. “Six in 10 (60%) of respondents indicated that their employer had been a target of cyber attacks”. Online gender-based harassment of female journalists is a problem across all regions.

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