Impact of COVID-19 on News Media Sustainability: Research Insights
Research conducted during the lockdown period reveals the significant impact of COVID-19 on news media sustainability. Print media faced closures and financial challenges, while online news outlets experienced a surge in audience but struggled with advertising revenue. The crisis highlighted the shifting dynamics of news consumption and the challenges faced by traditional media in adapting to the changing landscape.
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COVID 19 IMPACT ON NEWS MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY REG RUMNEY
Research began during the lockdown when things looked especially bleak During the research period two magazine operations closed and three of the major print media firms introduced salary cuts A moving target The job-loss impact will only become clear in the months to come but could be in the hundreds
Purpose of the research THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH WAS TO TRY QUICKLY TO START TO GET A HANDLE ON HOW BADLY NEWS OPERATIONS HAD BEEN HURT BY THE CRISIS UNDERLYING THE STUDY WAS THE NEED TO ASCERTAIN HOW TO RESCUE THE NEWS MEDIA NOW AND ON SHORT-TERM TO MEDIUM-TERM IMPACT THE FOCUS WAS PREDOMINANTLY ON SOUTH AFRICA THOUGH COMMON THEMES HAVE EMERGED GLOBALLY ABOUT HOW TO FUND NEWS MEDIA
Immediate impact Print media already on the edge were pushed over - the magazines that closed were already under pressure financially The lockdown limited movement and therefore sales of newspapers - initially magazines could not even be printed Retail advertising disappeared because only essential goods could be sold anyway and advertisers generally pressed pause
A big irony While advertising fell, audiences soared for online and broadcast news Some online news outlets saw audience as measured by unique browsers double Initially, the audience was looking for news about the pandemic itself, including government information
The ad conundrum The media in South Africa is dependent on advertising revenue, including the public broadcaster Third-stream income such as event hosting and Out of Home (billboards) proved unexpectedly vulnerable Advertising did not automatically follow the surge in audience
Print media problems The crisis underlined the problem: the audience is moving online, but advertising revenue online is insufficient What is unknown is how the crisis has shaped news consumption in the longer term will readers stay online? The lockdown hit legacy news media firms those we associate with newspapers hard
Broadcast news up radio and TV The Kantar Barometer (source: NAB Why Radio Now ) reports that 35% of South Africans were listening to radio more while locked down Overall average weekly ratings (SABC & e.tv, all adults 15+) rose 28,10% during the lockdown It will take time to ascertain how permanent the listenership and viewership changes are, depending on lifestyle changes, but broadcast has proved its worth in disseminating official information
Average audience the week before and the week after the national disaster was declared TV broadcast news Before disaster After disaster Programme % increase isiZulu news 3 453 848 4 825 005 39,70% isiXhosa news 3 004 022 4 809 780 60,10%
Top news sites March (narratiive) PV MoM change UB MoM change Web site Page Views unique browsers news24.com 135 039 974 140% 12 069 885 103% iol.co.za 37 510 974 18% 7 684 965 32% timeslive.co.za 38 340 392 44% 7 389 704 37% businesstech.co.za 15 329 981 41% 5 592 804 48% thesouthafrican.com 16 677 085 27% 5 056 594 18% fin24.com 16 184 580 67% 4 647 893 69% citizen.co.za 17 262 341 72% 4 608 346 73% ewn.co.za 20 890 408 51% 4 596 043 44% businessinsider.co.za 20 820 883 105% 4 586 022 89% gumtree.co.za 76 415 463 -7% 3 842 035 9%
Top news sites April (narrative) PV MoM change UB MoM change Website news24.com timeslive.co.za iol.co.za thesouthafrican.com businesstech.co.za businessinsider.co.za citizen.co.za fin24.com ewn. co.za dailymaverick.co.za Page views 135 860 305 43 188 140 34 225 697 22 198 638 18 243 699 24 828 779 19 926 782 15 004 777 19 581 006 12 878 758 Unique browsers 10 978 640 8 193 661 8 137 007 6 407 726 5 910 517 5 339 567 4 351 863 4 246 012 4 154 725 3 856 712 1% 13% -9% 33% 19% 19% 15% -7% -6% 29% -9% 11% 6% 27% 6% 16% -6% -9% -10% 28%
Real GDP Per Capita - Annual % Change 8 6 4 2 0 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 -2 -4 -6 -8 South Africa Advanced economies Source: IMF
The future of news Rescue funds will continue to be needed for a while for news organisations and individual journalists hit by the crisis The crisis has made it more urgent than ever to get readers to pay for online news subscriptions or membership The crisis has highlighted the need to look broadly at how to fund news sustainably in the medium to longer term
