eight&four’s Post

Show Spotlight: Inside the Hive 🐝 Each week, Vanity Fair special correspondent Brian Stelter examines the powerful forces driving today’s news and politics. Through incisive conversations with newsmakers, journalists, politicians, and Vanity Fair’s own experts, Stelter reveals the story behind the story. With 120,000 average U.S. monthly downloads and new episodes every Thursday, Inside the Hive keeps listeners in-the-know. What's in it for brands? Blending politics with entertainment and media, Inside The Hive goes beyond the headlines by offering insightful analysis and fresh perspectives on the week's most pressing issues. With a consequential election year ahead and listeners leaning-in, it's more important than ever for brands to align with contextually relevant and timely conversations. Advertisers can leverage the engaging, conversational environment to connect with informed consumers who actively seek out in-depth coverage and analysis of current affairs. Click the link below for a sample episode. Tap into the cultural moment through sponsorship of In the Hive. Learn more by contacting your Soundrise Account Director or sending a note to Harry Clark. https://hubs.li/Q02nKjYY0

Too many news media outlets follow their audiences rather than lead them. The technical term for this is “audience capture”. It is usually to the masthead’s detriment, but I understand how it can happen and I empathize. News faces the same challenge as many other businesses, which is how to keep existing customers (readers) happy, while attracting new ones. This is most obvious in political media, where right- or left-leaning media will write what their audiences want to hear. They know it will be well received. They also know they risk losing readers if they rock the boat with a different perspective, hence they have been ‘captured’. Audience capture can take on less obvious forms, too. Titles that know most of their readers are men, for example, will be less likely to run stories on women’s health. That might suit their readers, but also reduces their chances of expanding their readership to include more women. It is a very fine line to tread, and it takes courage for a news outlet to produce content beyond its comfort zone. #news #media #mediastrategy #newspapers #journalism #corporatecommunications

Controversial women may struggle for attention on social media compared to men, but change is possible. We need our female Joe Rogan, unapologetically bold. Focus on the 3 E’s: Educational, Entertaining, Emotional content. Merge passion into profession for vitality, engagement, followers. Leverage credibility, diverse channels, consistency, collaboration, collateral, personality, community engagement, care, and cross-promotion to cut through the noise. Let's reshape the narrative together! What steps will you take to amplify your impact? Join the conversation!

At the start of the year Newsworks joined the Adwanted Events team to discuss the Year Ahead. And their Editor-in-Chief Omar Oakes asked us directly for some predictions, so here we go!  1. Context is back. As cookies finally disappear and publishers utilise their first party data to deliver relevant spaces, audiences, and content for advertisers.  2. Trusted paid environments (like news brands 😉) will be top of advertiser and agency priorities in a year of elections and the unprecedented amounts of fake news and misinformation that will accompany them.  3. Trending vowels, A&I, will affect all of us this year including you. For advertisers this will be felt most in the Ad Space as AI tech provides smarter opportunities, but as I’ve written before, the increased use of AI generally will mean human journalism and editorial will gain more, not less, importance.  4. And of course, sustainability. As the world will undoubtedly hit new heat heights, as an industry, we must ensure initiatives like Ad Net Zero succeed. So, advertisers, agencies and media owners, and marketing bodies like Newsworks too, will continue to prioritise their sustainability endeavours, from the silly small ideas to the big thumping impactful ones.  #TYA2024 https://lnkd.in/ehJyUMei

#MediaLiteracy includes ANALYSIS of what a media creator’s intent may be–what they want people to think, know, or do in response to the media; what biases the author(s) has & how the bias is reflected in the content they created. JOIN US! 👉 medialiteracyweek.us #MediaLitWk

#MediaLiteracy includes ANALYSIS of what a media creator’s intent may be–what they want people to think, know, or do in response to the media; what biases the author(s) has & how the bias is reflected in the content they created. JOIN US! 👉 medialiteracyweek.us #MediaLitWk

Keeping with my theme for the week, I’m sharing another insight from Cision’s 2024 State of the Media report. Journalists are planning to be MORE active on social platforms. The top three channels where most plan to increase their activity? Instagram (44%), LinkedIn (39%) and Facebook (34%) – in that order. X, TikTok and WhatsApp round out the back of the pack. Last year, Facebook wasn’t even in the top five. Savvy PR professionals should keep this in mind when pitching story ideas to journalists; a video on IG vs a thought leadership piece on LI show you are paying attention to how journalists use social media and don’t want to waste their time. #MediaRelations #Journalism #DigitalMarketing #AI

📱 In an era defined by unprecedented connectivity and digital engagement, social media has emerged as a powerful tool for newsrooms to disseminate information, foster dialogue, and build community. 🗣️ However, alongside its myriad benefits, social media also presents significant challenges, particularly concerning the safety and well-being of journalists in online spaces.  ⬇️ Follow this framework to effectively navigate the complex terrain of online engagement. 🔗 Read our comprehensive guide on how to establish clear social media guidelines for your newsroom, here: https://lnkd.in/eZt-t3aS #SocialMediaPolicy #DigitalEngagement #Journalism

Before launching my startups, I spent the last few years of my career pushing for change in mainstream newsrooms, big places like CNN and the LA Times, in big jobs like SVP and managing editor. I wonder now if it’s time to accept that neither speed nor embrace of digital media will be enough. Execution is not our problem; it’s the absolute reinvention of what news actually is and what it means in people’s lives. Only then might we be valued in the same manner as a Hulu or Netflix subscription. Thankfully, we have some good examples in community media of what is working, trusted, relevant, even profitable or sustainable, and occasionally joyful and beautiful. One attendee came up to me and said, “Every time you speak, you always invoke Frederick Douglass.” This repetition is intentional so I do so here again (sorry, not sorry) and explain why: Douglass’ newspapers helped readers escape slavery, access healthcare and browse ads to reconnect with loved ones. .... I often get asked why we are for-profit. Some context (even as I know very few white men who get asked why they seek so much profit):   - Money is power, and we seek community media to be more powerful and resourced than it currently is.  - We focus on the creation of value for our partners, advertisers, sponsors, and communities themselves.  - BIPOC media operates in service to communities, uplifting small businesses along the way; advertising and paid content such as job ads and event listings can be as important to users as our journalism.  - We do not envision support and coverage of Black and Brown communities as “charitable” endeavors, rather we center our joy, uplift each other and embrace our nuances.  - There can be restrictions on nonprofits and political activities (campaign endorsements, for example).  - Social justice and wealth creation not only can go hand in hand. They must. Black and brown communities continue to suffer from a yawning racial wealth gap. (I just ordered my copy of “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap” by journalists Ebony Reed and Louise Story. I suggest you do too. From a Black bookstore, if you please…) More takeaways on #KMF .... https://lnkd.in/erFHCtRq

Great read for founders --> Newsrooms Are Transforming: 3 Tactics For Startups To Be A Media Ally, Not A Nuisance Leverage your social as source of original data "One of our clients runs TikTok surveys on how her audience is falling through the cracks of the health care system, receiving insights that are a goldmine for journalists looking to verify a trend with human stories." Partner with other founders to offer trends "Be a proactive facilitator. When we noticed this trend, we started writing more joint pitches for clients, offering the opinions of multiple founders on an industry development." Make your pitches WAY shorter "News cycles are also faster than ever. Pitch hot takes on breaking stories within a day, and draw journalists’ attention by making a splash on your owned channels." https://lnkd.in/dun6nMVG