As we near the close of 2020, we wonder what the new year might bring to the entertainment and media industry. During these complicated 12 months, we have seen an apparent acceleration of the trends that had been in the works since the early 2010s. In 2021, that transformation of the market will only speed […]
Local outlets struggle during COVID-19
As we settle in our quarantines, we have more time in our hands to read the news—and sometimes obsessively. Thus, it’s not surprising that since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Western hemisphere, news readership has surged dramatically. But what has also drastically changed is newspaper revenue. With businesses closing, the number of ads has plunged, […]
Subscriptions work, especially for the NYT
Last week, The New York Times disclosed in the fourth-quarter earnings report it had broken a record of its own—its subscription numbers. The paper has added over one million digital-only subscribers in 2019, in what Mark Thompson, the Times’ CEO, described as “a record-setting year for The New York Times’s digital subscription business, the best […]
Local news outlets need help from citizens or the state
It’s no secret that local news outlets in the United States have been struggling financially for years. Internet and the abundance of subscription options made revenues for local papers scarcer. Still, there have been multiple initiatives to save them in recent years, from donations, fellowships, and grants, to public subsidies and novel revenue models. Conclusions? […]
Facebook, a veteran media outlet
Facebook has finally rolled out a feature that will change its relationship with the media industry—Facebook News. The new section will allow users to read the main headlines of the day and access those news stories through the app. In exchange for the ‘free’ content, the tech company is willing to pay some publishers. News […]
The short life of the New York Times en Español
When two weeks ago, The New York Times closed its Spanish operation, journalists and readers alike tweeted their outrage. The New York Times en Español did not prove financially successful, said the paper, hence it had to be closed. With a small newsroom in Mexico City entering a market full of established Spanish-speaking papers, the […]
Journalism is still male, but the tide is turning
In college, women fill journalism classes, while men remain a minority. But a few years later, when those students enter the workforce, the situation shifts. Men dominate newsrooms, outnumbering women on almost all occasions. Although the gap has decreased in recent years, women still lag in journalism—they represent only 41.7% of newsroom employees, according to […]