Tuesday 13th October: The bittersweet impact of 2020 on journalism and journalists

October 14, 2020

Good morning! Today's Media Roundup is brought to you by Chris.

At first glance the impact of the virus on journalism is obvious: it's accelerated all trends and stripped away the foundations on which much digital journalism is built. Obviously things are more nuanced than that in practice, which is why we're glad that the ICFJ and the Tow Centre have published this first report from their The Journalism and the Pandemic Project, breaking down the reality of journalism in the pandemic. Do go in a little prepared; much of it isn't pretty reading.

Take the psychological impact of reporting during a global pandemic. 20% of the 1406 respondents said their experience of online abuse, harassment, threats or attacks was “much worse than usual.” Combine that with the stress of knowing your job is less secure - 89% reported that their news organization had enacted at least one Covid-19 related austerity measure (including job losses, salary cuts and outlet closures) - and you have an industry forced to face and seek out news that is likely to be personally painful.

However, there are modicums of good news too: "Our respondents’ perceptions of audience trust - an issue critical to journalism’s future - is surprisingly strong. Over two fifths (43%) felt that audience trust in their journalism, or that of their news organization, had increased during the pandemic. Only 4% felt that trust had declined." The whole report is well worth a read, if only to reaffirm that we're all in it together. And if you want to vent or share your own concerns, the Media Voices team will always listen. Please do just email if you want to chat.

Faced with the reality of limited travel and restrictions on mixing for the next twelve months, Bloomberg is pivoting to virtual events. Its New Economy Forum has big ambitions, too - it seeks to usurp the World Economic Forum as the go-to Forum for Economics. (If it wants to do it well, it could do worse than to read Corinne Podger's tips for running virtual events)

The pivot to paid newsletters is well underway, but the drive to subscription-based business models is a few years ahead of it. One such publisher, the South Asian-based The Juggernaut, is demonstrating that the trends that underpin a successful subs strategy are global in nature. Well worth a read.

Remember the interminable discussions over the distinctions between 'citizen' journalists and real journalists? Happily that little argument has been left in the dust. As this article from the London School of Economics makes clear, the conversation has moved onto whether publishing a passion newsletter can make you a journalist. And would you look at that? Our latest interviewee makes an appearance in the article too. And speaking of...

This week's podcast:

This week, we hear from Casey Newton, founder of Platformer. He talks to us about what made him decide to take the plunge, how his first week with his new newsletter has gone, and what a Platformer podcast model would look like.

Just a reminder that entries are open (and free!) for 2021's Publisher Podcast Awards for another seven weeks. Lots of categories to enter, plus nominations for Podcast Hero of the Year. We're also opening calls for judges, so if you'd like to join our line-up of fantastic judges and spend the new year discovering some great listens, just reply to this email.