Helen Lee Schifter has been an educated observer of the news industry over time. It is no secret that readers and viewers’ reading and viewing habits have changed dramatically as time has gone on and on. This has in part been a function of the changes among those that create the news. Moreover, those in an administrative capacity at news agencies who oversee significant news gathering operations, have been privy to these changes in ways others simply haven’t.
According to Helen Lee Schifter, there are changes that will persist as time continues to evolve. It’s the technology that has offered consumers the ability to access news in a myriad of different ways – and on so many different outlets. This is a pattern that is sure not to change. On the contrary, it will likely persist with a sense of aggressiveness and velocity that will be difficult to keep up pace with.
The changes in readers’ own habits have also been a function of these larger changes taking place in the media industry. For instance, readers have limited attention spans that have increasingly grown more and more limited with time. So content providers have to be in a position now to create content that’s a reflection of these changes in their reading habits.
That means condensing content in a way that’s both comprehensible but also consistent with their reading habits. Some content providers have taken to using various social and digital media profiles and platforms in order to help disseminate these condensed and abbreviated messages and news stories.
This has certainly been a relief for many in the news industry who feel that we have a public that has grown more and more despondent of the need to be well-informed about matters in government and beyond. Condensing news is certainly one way to change that paradigm shift.
It’s important to be a part of this movement. But it’s also important to ensure that news properties are able to maintain balance sheets that are fruitful for themselves so that they can generate a healthy amount of revenue that sustains their operations in meaningful ways.
So turning to advertising revenue has been a very useful transition for many news operations. As the news environment becomes more and more fragmented it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that these changes need to be adapted to, in ways that generate profit that is significant for these media outlets.
