Jennifer Cobb, John Montgomery
One of the great disasters hiding inside the coronavirus catastrophe is the imminent loss of local news. Financial pressure on local news has increased, and very few organizations have the resources to weather the scale of the current crisis. The great irony is that while the business model for local news continues to crumble in front of our eyes, readership is skyrocketing. Read Full Article
Farah Lalani, Juraj Majcin
In the global response to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: accurate information can play an important role in public safety. Inaccurate, unsubstantiated, and fabricated content proliferating online – creating a parallel “infodemic” – can have particularly dire consequences during this public health emergency, raising the urgency for meaningful efforts to counteract these claims. Read Full Article
The disruption of the media industry, with the rise of social media, the digitization of content and the increase in mobile consumption has changed traditional funding models beyond recognition.The role of media historically has been central to the making of society and the construction of identity. At this dark moment for humanity, threatened by COVID-19 with many people physically isolated, this role is vital in the search for information, stories and art to feed the human spirit and ignite the imagination to overcome the challenges ahead. Read Full Article
Stefan Hall, Cathy Li
The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting every industry. For the media sector, coronavirus creates both opportunities and challenges.On the one hand, social distancing has led to a spike in at-home media consumption, and growing numbers are turning to news providers for timely and trusted information on the crisis. At the same time, some of the most valuable broadcast content – such as live sports – is being postponed or cancelled, leading to spending reallocations by advertisers and a subsequent drop in income for media companies. Read Full Article