“The biggest change to News Feed since 2013”: Facebook is making it easy to bypass its algorithm
Not everyone is a fan of the Facebook News Feed algorithm. The algorithm ranks available posts that can display on a user's News Feed based on various parameters known only… (more)
Google will pay publishers to “support a sustainable news industry”
First Facebook offered to pay publishers “millions of dollars”. Now Google is following suit. BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti predicted almost a decade ago that major tech firms—such as Facebook and… (more)
“Buy applause and show support”: YouTube rolls out a new monetization tool for creators
Within days of Google revealing—for the first time—how much revenue YouTube generates ($15 billion-a-year), it’s rolling out more ways publishers can make money off the platform. Content creators on YouTube… (more)
Internet media jobs are at an all-time high, and online ad spend will rise to 60% by 2022, reports AdAge
AdAge’s Marketing Fact Pack 2020 projects that the US online ad spend will rise to about 60% of all advertising outlay by 2022. This is in sharp contrast to the… (more)
WSJ crosses 2 million digital subscribers: says there is “strong and growing appetite” for deeply reported journalism
Days after The New York Times reported record subscriptions, News Corp announced that The Wall Street Journal has crossed the 2 million digital subscriptions mark for the first time. Dow… (more)
A “really big, maybe even massive” Google search ranking algorithm update may be underway right now
Publishers and search experts have noticed major Google ranking fluctuations over the weekend, which points to the rolling out of a significant search algorithm update. Google hasn’t officially intimated any… (more)
NYT says it’s “seeing an acceleration in digital growth” as it reports a record 5 million+ subscribers
5,251,000 That’s the total number of subscribers reported by The New York Times Co.—a record high—as it announced its 2019 fourth-quarter and full-year results. In 2019 it also passed $800… (more)
Apple’s “News+ appears to be a flop,” and its other services may be spluttering too
Apple News+ is struggling to attract paying readers, and Apple TV+ is “failing to resonate with customers” What’s going on with Apple’s Services business? The company declared 2019 was the… (more)
Google too launches a TikTok rival, focused on “snackable creativity” for niche creators
When we first covered TikTok and its half a billion users, it was to some collective brow-raising. Many felt the app was interesting, but hardly a serious contender in a… (more)
“Two nearly inverse news media environments”: An overwhelming majority of US adults live in separate media bubbles, Pew reports
There's none so blind as those who will not see, the old saying goes. And when 3 out of 4 people simply refuse to consider a different point of view,… (more)
Google warns publishers to “expect some traffic loss” if these mobile-first guidelines are not met
Google has already enabled mobile-first indexing—using the mobile version of the content for indexing and ranking—by default for all new websites, since mid-2019. For older websites, it’s still continuing to… (more)
TikTok could dethrone Instagram, says Snap founder, as 2020 heralds “a significant shake-up in the social media pecking order”
The winds of change are blowing hard at the onset of 2020. Just days ago we reported about TikTok overtaking Facebook to become the 2nd most-downloaded app in the world.… (more)
As Instagram growth stalls, Pinterest surges to become the 3rd biggest social media platform in the US
Research firm eMarketer reports that US user growth for Instagram fell to single-digits, for the first time ever, in 2019. eMarketer projects a continued decline for Instagram, and has revised… (more)
After publisher backlash, Google initiates redesign to highlight organic results
Over time, organic results have been getting pushed down in Google search pages, with sponsored results and ads featuring prominently in the prime real estate, along with various other Google… (more)
The publishing industry begins 2020 on a “confident” and “happy” note
It was not too long ago that Bo Sacks, a veteran of the publishing industry since 1970, opined that “I think this is the new golden age of publishing.” Two… (more)
50% of publishers to double down on subscriptions in 2020, reports Reuters Institute
Podcasts and AI to play a greater role in news organisations’ strategies, and three-quarters of publishers are confident about their company’s prospects in 2020 Leading publishers say they are confident… (more)
BuzzFeed plans to cut out “Google and other middlemen” to solve publishers’ attribution problem
After a tumultuous 2019, BuzzFeed is now edging closer to profitability, thanks in part to recent efforts in generating new revenue streams. The company’s newer lines of business brought in… (more)
Magazine audience crosses the 2 billion mark, fueled by triple-digit growth in mobile and video
Magazine media has reached a total audience of 2 billion, and is more engaging to consumers online than non-magazine brands, according to a 5-year study on audience trends by MPA—The… (more)
Publishers believe email is the most effective tactic for driving subscriptions (Apparently, so does Apple)
“For publishers looking to drive more subscriptions, email is king,” says Digiday Research's Shareen Pathak, sharing the results of a recent survey of 136 publishing execs, on the various tactics… (more)
News podcasts grow by 32% as daily news shows become increasingly popular, reports Reuters
The number of news podcasts globally rose by almost 12,000 between January and October 2019 – an increase of around a third, according to a new report from the Reuters… (more)