Hey all,
I'm sure it goes without saying that the state of journalism in 2025 is grim. With tools like AI search and Google AI summaries, organic web traffic has plummeted. Widespread layoffs are impacting even the most qualified editors and writers. Major media outlets, from newswires to magazines, are either racing to introduce AI products (of dubious value) or doubling down on sponsored content, events, and tech partnerships.
That's not even to mention how the shareholders of these storied publications, including some particularly thin-skinned billionaires, are encroaching on editorial operations more brazenly than ever. It worries me that the people who are the most optimistic about "the future of journalism" and "new media" are salespeople masquerading as journalists.
Given the trajectory this industry is on, I can't say I'm hopeful about what journalism will look like in the coming year. I'm a reporter, but the pressure to make a leap into a more stable and better-paying communications role is real. Still, I'm reluctant to leave the industry. I truly feel like giving up would kill something inside of me.
So, what keeps you hopeful about staying in journalism? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
People will still need storytellers aka journalists, we might have to change how we do it but AI will not replace a human telling something to another human. I think that future of Journalism will come in the form of fact checking because, with the proliferation of Fake News including AI generated content, people will want to know what is true and what is not.
We had our Sales and Social Media Team form a digital storytelling agency acting independently from our local news org and kept only the senior sales staff inhouse. That agency turned into a cash cow! They can reuse big chunks of what our local news desk is producing so output is higher and cheaper than what full service agencies in our area can handle. Plus our storytelling is better because that's what we do. I know the idea is nothing new or groundbreaking, but it seems to be especially promising in local or niche news markets. All in all: Stories well told and catered to a specific audience will always prevail.
This is interesting, but how are they reusing your content and making it profitable?
Anyone have a problem with reusing news content for advertising purposes?
Thanks for asking, should have clarified: Our political content is of course restricted and we cannot accept political parties as customers. We're partially church owned so non-partisanship is an absolute must and is monitored rigidly.
justice
Not a journalist, but I will say that in recent times many independent sources have achieved success in cultivating niche followings of engaged readers. Zeteo and Drop Site News come to mind. People appreciate having reliable, trustworthy information about things that matter to them. I think that's been illustrated with the demand for coverage and news about Gaza.
Is Drop Site covering City Council meetings? Local schools?
As David Simon once said, "The day I run into a Huffington Post reporter at a Baltimore Zoning Board hearing is the day that I will be confident that we've actually reached some sort of equilibrium."
I don’t need to be hopeful. I believe in the work so I do it. I think showing up is pretty much all you can do. I don’t know how I’ll continue to get paid in the long run or how the industry will operate but I do know there is an appetite for real journalism and I think it will find a way to survive.
But also, being around other passionate journalists keeps me buoyed. And seeing the real impacts of journalism.
Real ale.
That I can retire in 2028
There isn't a lot that gives me hope about journalism. The field is dying and is going to die because the public that it serves just doesn't care enough about what they're losing and get the things they're looking for or think they're looking for -- sports scores, opinions, hot takes -- from other sources. And to your point, you have these companies consolidating and compromising or sacrificing their news operations at the first opportunity.
One of the few things I take solace in is independent outlets like The Baltimore Banner, Mississippi Today and Honolulu Civil Beat. They are filling vacuums left by depleted corporate media. And public media, too. NPR, PBS and their member stations are beacons, they've been doing incredible work, but they need our help. And publications like the Banner can't always be dependent on benevolent billionaire patrons.
Not much ... I blame the media, especially MSNBC, for the normalization of all that has happened. When you look at the news what do you see? Stories about the Kardashians or what the "Royal Family" is doing or endless marketing bullshit.
These people are living in a world that does not exist anymore. They talk about lawsuits and legal minutia non-stop as if any of that is even relevant anymore. There is only one news story these days, the decent into fascism at the hands of Trump. There is no other story .
Oddly, when you think about it, M-SNOW is now the cable news outlet with the least baggage, now that the spinoff's happened. They stood up a credible news operation of their own in a hurry, and they've gotten some good scoops.