The next generation of news: Are young people turning away from traditional media?
As the gap between young people and the mainstream media widens, Mumbrella’s Kalila Welch investigates why a new generation of audiences are increasingly looking elsewhere for their news fill.
If the recent proliferation of new youth-led media online says anything about the Australian media landscape, it’s that traditional media players may be letting slip a new generation of news consumers.
Podcasts and social media have emerged as the news vehicle of choice, with 46% of Gen Z relying on the latter as their primary source of news, according to figures from the University of Canberra’s (UC) News & Media Research Centre.
The strong social values of Gen Z have created the perfect environment for young entrepreneurs to deliver accessible and engaging forms of news media that cut through news fatigue with easy explainers, progressive news analysis, and a healthy dose of humour.
“If the recent proliferation of new youth-led media online says anything about the Australian media landscape, it’s that traditional media players may be letting slip a new generation of news consumers.”
This isn’t a new thing – remember when Junkee was new, or Pedestrian TV or Conversant Media’s youth efforts. Traditional players have long struggled to connect with younger audiences, they then gain them as the grow older, their interests change.
The real question is can these new platforms maintain an audience and revenue in the longterm? Look at Vice. Conversant here is no longer, Junkee sold off by Ooh Media for a portion of what they paid for it. Youth-based publishing faces many of the same challenges as the mainstream publications, especially as their once loyal audience ages out of their content.
“huge right-wing concentration of media”
hahahaha, what?! Nearly all of media in AU, US and UK is strongly left leaning. Those that aren’t are not ‘right wing’ and are more so just riding whatever populist wave they can to retain/grow revenue.
Broadly agree but News Corp is currently the biggest player in print & traditional news media & content in Aus – they leave most of the cloud-screaming for the crazies on Sky News but their agenda is consistent across all their titles. They just deploy with a subtler touch depending, but they are absolutely bigotry and irrational fear parading as populism, so think it’s safe to stick them in the right-wing bucket.
you have the worldview of a small dog or a child if you think most media is left wing
Balanced in. the UK, left in US but Newscorp and 9news dominate the AU market
This is a great example of someone whose own opinion and experience dictates their own feelings and thoughts so much that they claim their opinion is facts. When in truth its not factual, rather ones own inturpretation.
People no longer want news. They want content. Some will argue that is semantics, and that is part of the problem. The two are very different.