As we head to the end of the year, I wanted to look at some of the big trends in media we’ve seen over the last few months. Fair to say, it’s been a busy one…
AI has been the biggest topic of the year as every industry, including journalism, tries to work out what to do about this emerging technology. Some outlets, including The New York Times, have tried fighting back. One important thing that all of us need to remember is that the audience is what matters, instead of obsessing over the tools.
Of course, Donald Trump totally and utterly dominated the media environment for much of 2024. I don’t think that the industry covered itself in glory when covering him. The New York Times media correspondent Ben Mullin disagrees and came on to the show to talk about it. We had a General Election here in the UK too.
Elsewhere, coverage of women’s sports has grown hugely. This includes a huge new media deal for the WSL. However, the league still needs to overcome some hurdles.
The streaming market feels like it’s consolidating too. Prime Video became the latest streamer to add adverts and did so not by launching a cheaper tier, but by making customers pay extra to not have advertising. The reaction from users wasn’t very good, but I have not heard of a mass exodus… or a mass of upgrades.
There’s no doubt it’s been another troubling 12 months in media. It seems like barely a week, let alone a month, goes by without us hearing about layoffs and closures. (And that is not just due to AI!) Yet there is plenty to be positive about too.
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