More online-only media, fewer broad marketing opportunities forecasted for this year
Birnbach Communications’ predictions for the top media trends of 2009 – if they come true – will have a considerable effect on the ways that PR professionals pitch media outlets. Among the calculations:
-Dozens of newspapers and magazines will shift to an online-only model. The traditional media that stay in print will use more maps, graphics, lists, rankings, and statistics, all while running shorter articles.
-Media layoffs mean that freelancers and bloggers will become more important. CNN’s iReport coverage of the November Mumbai terrorist shootings are an example of citizen journalism’s growing clout.
-Marketers looking to reach broad audiences have their work cut out for them as well, as niche media and social media sites grow at the expense of broad-based media. “This will make it difficult for marketers to reach broad audiences, with only a few events each year – like the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards – that reach across demographics and interest groups.”
