Many organizations are leaping headfirst into content production, and PR professionals are leading the way. But, given the proliferation of media voices, companies need to legitimize their content. One way they’re doing it is by connecting to authoritative and trusted media brands.
Lewis DVorkin, chief product officer at Forbes, knows about the shift better than anyone. DVorkin has watched Forbes’ ascendant transformation from a print-only product into an online media hub that garners 55 million unique views per month.
In his keynote presentation at PR News’ Media Relations Next Practices Conference on Thursday, DVorkin discussed the future of traditional, authoritative journalism. Here are some of the major takeaways from DVorkin’s exploration of the new state of content creation and distribution:
- The newsroom as we know it is changing—fast. As new mediums of content distribution proliferate, the production model has changed with it. The days of the linear, reporter-editor-consumer model for news creation are gone, replaced by a web of interaction between contributors, editors, social media producers, sales staff and designers that takes audience data into account at several points along the way during the content creation process.
- Paid media, earned media, shared media and owned media are all converging. PR firms and companies are creating their own newsrooms, as users want great content regardless of association. They're also posting that content in trusted sources' feeds. Forbes’ BrandVoice—which gives marketers space on Forbes.com, telling their own narrative in a platform that’s trusted by readers—has seen a growth of 15,000 pageviews in 2010 to 8 million views in 2013.
- Mobile is going to crush newsrooms. Life was good for newsrooms when print media reigned, as print CPMs average in the $30-$50 range—keeping newsrooms well-staffed. The shift towards advertising on the Internet, where CPMs average anywhere from $2-$15 per impression, already dramatically cut into newsroom budgets. But the biggest changes are yet to come, as users become more interested in mobile platforms, where CPMs can average as low as 25 cents.
Follow Brian Greene: @bwilliamgreene