What I've been reading: Meta's news chilling effect in Canada, social traffic slumps, the fans scale + burnout in journalism resources
I’m on a period of leave at the moment, one of the benefits of this is having some time to read around and there’s interesting links below that I’ve stumbled upon. If you’re in the digital media, digital journalism, social media, digital comms space then I hope these are a good reading list. I’ll try and post these as frequently as I get chance, and if you find them useful let me know. And if you spot something I should include, or you’ve written something that you think should be shared then drop it over. I’m on edward_walker86 AT hotmail.co.uk
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The social traffic slump and what's unfolding in Canada - various - I've been following Jeff Elgie's updates on LinkedIn with interest, and slight dread, about what's happening in Canada. Meta has unleashed a block on news being shared on Facebook and Instagram (note, WhatsApp currently not part of this). Jeff is chief exec of VillageMedia and has built a network of hyperlocal titles and its CMS also helps power many others. It appears to be a sad example of when government assumes it's doing good, and then manages to drive the car into a never-ending vortex loop that causes a lot of damage.
Social traffic to publishers has been declining for a while, that's not new, as this Similarweb data pulled out by Axios articulates very well. Layer on top of that a post-pandemic slowdown in news consumption and what was a challenging environment just got more challenging. But the hard stop that's been unleashed in Canada is chilling. There's reports of titles already shutting (does rather question their sustainability in the first place), or scaling down within weeks of the Meta news block kicking in.
Jeff Jarvis' take on Campbell Brown leaving Facebook/Meta is also inter-linked and woven into this story and worth reading.
And let's hope the government in the UK (I'm not holding out much hope here based on current viewpoints e.g. HS2 in the North!) is able to take a more articulated standpoint as the Digital Markets Bill makes its way through. Platforms will take action, it's not a thinly veiled threat, and it will ultimately based on current trends in Canada result in fewer journalists and less journalism being done which seems a perverse situation to end up in. Let's hope the government in the UK can ensure there's a diverse group of people, publishers and actors in the room to help reach an agreement that benefits the wider UK news ecosystem and consumers too (ultimately in Canada a lot of people may just fall-out of digital news consumption because of Meta's actions and that's perhaps the most chilling thing). But, as evidenced by the 'panel' assembled for the Tory party conference in Manchester this week to debate the future of journalism (look at the quote tweets) which had more 'Matthews' than anyone else (I mean, you've got Sarah Lester, editor of one of the largest digital operations in the UK - the Manchester Evening News - on your doorstep or Joshi Hermann from the Manchester Mill again on the doorstep!) we don't appear to have a government that is seeking that broad spectrum of views to ensure it looks to negotiate well with Google, Meta and other platforms.
In the AI Age, the New York Times wants reporters to tell readers who they are - Vanity Fair - there will be increasing focusing on audiences from Google in the wake of the social slump detailed above. And this move from the NYT I think we'll see more of, the 'who you are' of a reporter coming more to the fore again. It's been no coincidence to me that the reporters who are able to bring their own personal brand to the fore often perform very strongly on multiple platforms - or who are able to show they have an expertise and experience at something are able to get the cut through regardless of platform. Expect more emphasis on authors - real ones, not robots - in the coming months as content production through AI ramps up and differentiating between bot journo and real journo becomes very very important.
The Do Fans Care scale - Rob Abelow - this isn't journalism strictly but I think it's important in the concept of digital subscriptions/memberships. Rob shared this post about why 'intent' matters and what he calls fan development is essentially audience development or subscriptions development or membership development by a different name. It's that wodge of readers in the middle who everyone is trying to convert, people who have shown that interest (intent) to go beyond just scrolling/clicking on something and are looking to engage with the brand. There will always be super fans (and they are ace and must be nurtured) but how do you reach and engage the large chunk of people in the middle.
Burnout in journalism - a guide for journalists and newsrooms - Headlines Network - it's easy to work really bloody hard as a journalist, the stories and lines keep on coming, you're out there covering stuff and this is often set against juggling other responsibilities too (families, caring responsibilities and more). Some really useful resources, especially as we head into the winter months, from the Headlines Network about recognising burnout, mitigating against it and supporting those affected. Please share it round.
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