|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Surprise COVID trend: Doomscrolling moved to desktop
Working from home has changed the way we read. People are now scrolling deeper through article pages on desktop, and slightly less through articles on mobile. Several factors are likely to be influencing the trend, including a higher likelihood of finding relevant articles via search on desktop than via social on mobile.
For publishers with ads, this is good news. Mobile views have historically been much harder to monetize with ads due to limited screen space and less reliable connectivity.
If readers are now sitting back at home and engaging at a deeper level with articles on their desktop, that in turn means the time spent on the site will be generating more revenue than if they’re skimming through a piece on a small screen on their commute.
How niche digital magazines are breathing life back into the South African media industry
Few media sectors have been hit harder by Covid-19 than the one in South Africa. But amid all the carnage, there’s been some good news online. With the launch of two digital magazines – music platform TheJournalistDJ.com and seasonal jewellery title JZA, niche publishers in the Republic are playing a leading role in helping the industry get up off the canvas.
No, the pandemic didn’t wreck news outlets’ hopes for events
Some great examples here of publishers who have actually made a pretty impressive shift to virtual. The Texas Tribune found that the less expensive logistics of going online allowed it to produce more events with an increased profit margin. And the Minneapolis Star Tribune managed to preserve the majority of sponsorship revenue through a virtual state fair.
Facebook’s Trump ban upheld by Oversight Board for now
Facebook’s top “court” has upheld Donald Trump’s ban from the platform. But they have criticised the permanent nature of the ban as beyond the scope of Facebook’s normal penalties. Facebook now has to review the decision and ‘justify a proportionate response’ that is applied to everyone.
This content originally appeared in The Media Roundup, a daily newsletter from Media Voices. Subscribe here:
