2022 journalism and media predictions

It's a new year. I haven't posted on here for a long while now. A chance to take stock and think about what's to come...

Here's some trends I think we will see play out in 2022 within publishing…

Discovery platforms for news
From Google Showcase to Apple News, to Facebook's Suggested For You to Google Discover, there are more and more ways that particularly on mobile people are receiving their news to them. And it's a mix of humans and algorithms deciding what is seen. I think we'll see more of these discovery platforms, for stories and content you didn't know you need to read, appear in 2022. It's an opportunity for us, as publishers, to work out how to ensure our stories reach these platforms - and it adds a layer of complexity to the publishing process as many of these platforms demand different things. And, like Google Showcase, will we see more licensing deals structured to support publishers in dealing with these complexities?

Curation v creation
Linked to the above, will curation become as important in newsrooms as content creation. We've always placed a value on finding the exclusive story and digging out those nuggets of news and information. And we've always had people then curating that news - editors, subs, page planners, whatever you want to define them as - will the rise and rise of discovery platforms mean that curation becomes a must-have department or skill in newsrooms during 2022. From pulling together a fantastic email newsletter, to writing a superb push notification or submitting a selection of stories to a third-party platform like Google Showcase, being able to curate a timely and interesting mix of content will be a much needed skill.

Social video acceleration
Much has been written about 'pivots to video' over the years. The next 12-months could well see video on social platforms continues its maturity in terms of a monetisation model behind it - tempting more publishers, as well as broadcasters, to pursue social video. It's a big opportunity to leverage both legacy brands but also create new ones - just look at LadBaby eh? Being able to tell compelling stories through video - as well as words - will be an essential skill for journalists looking to build their audience, and following, on their own platforms and indeed on others.

Interest in local news
Be that from readers - as shown by the ever-changing restrictions and pandemic environment - or from new launches, to new newsletters, to new social platforms and brands. It's a hot market - just have a read of the BehindLocalNews year in review for 2021 - to see how competitive and interesting the local news sector is just in the UK, let alone abroad, and we'll continue to see local be an investment, and competitive, area. And that's a good thing, competition fires up journalists, and should lead to better products, stories and services for readers.

First-person
Journalists who are able to report, and also show they are reporting, will be rewarded in 2022. The age old thing was 'don't become the story', but increasingly journalists who give the information behind the headlines - through social media, newsletters, or inside-track pieces - are the ones people turn to and trust when the big news happens. And not just being serious on the first-person pieces, this could be everything from trying the biggest breakfast in town to driving a new electric car around the place. This, is, ultimately nothing new - here's a double-page spread from the South Wales Echo of me driving a new city centre car club round Cardiff in 2011 -

the difference now, is this piece can readily be picked up and viewed worldwide, if those discovery platforms deem it interesting enough. We'll see first-person become an important part of any journalists story mix and skillset.

There we go, a few thoughts. Let's see what happens. All the best for the year ahead and a Happy New Year to all.

What have I missed? What do you think will be the big journalism and media trends in 2022? Feel free to comment below