Another mega deal is sending shockwaves through the media landscape. There are reports that GateHouse Media is buying Gannett Co. in a deal reportedly worth $1.4 billion. If approved, the combined company, which will operate under the Gannett name, would be the largest newspaper company in the country in control of more than 300 weekly papers including dozens in New England. In late May , GateHouse Media consolidated 50 Massachusetts newspapers into 18, so it stands to reason that more layoffs and consolidations of papers should follow the finalization of the deal. As if to underscore this fact, this past Sunday, the New York Times published a special section on the decline of newspapers.

Public relations professionals need to adapt to the latest media trends like these in order to get the best results for their clients. Here are some of the latest trends identified by Pew Research Group in their annual State of the News Media report they recently released.

• Newspapers are still suffering – A major reason these mergers are possible is that fewer people are buying newspapers. The statistics for paper delivery of newspapers points to an uncomfortable future. According to Pew, papers saw their circulation drop 12 percent for weekdays and 13 percent for Sunday delivery. Although Pew is reporting digital subscriptions are up 6 – 8 percent with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting gains of more than 20 percent, they see this as something that can slow, not stop the decline. The drop in subscribers translates into fewer people working in the industry. News staff levels have dropped 14 percent in the past three years and 46 percent in the last fifteen years. This translates into fewer people stretched thinner in newsrooms, which makes it more challenging to get a story placed.
• Cable rules television news – Pew found cable news channels Fox, CNN and MSNBC increased their audience by eight percent. Cable news revenue also increased, which rose four percent this year and by 36 percent since 2015. Local news fared less well in the Pew report, showing a 10 percent decrease in morning news audience and a 14 percent drop in evening news audience. While local news revenue increased in the past year, that increase is thought to be due to campaign ads from the midterm election. The decrease in support for local news could lead to staff levels dropping in a non-election year.
• Phone fever – A majority of people get at least some of their news online. What’s more, people are increasingly getting their digital news on their phone rather than their laptops. A Pew survey found an estimated 58 percent of people get their news on a mobile device, while 39 percent get their news on a laptop. An estimated 71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 get their news on their phones. PR officials would be wise to make sure client content created for laptops, such as newsletters, is compatible for phones as well. In the absence of traditional news reporters, in Detroit, the city is providing news via txt message, according to the New York Times.
• Podcasts are popular – Edison Research and Triton Digital survey data found 51 percent – more than half of Americans over the age of 12 – have listened to a podcast. According to the Pew report NPR says downloads of their podcasts jumped from 5.6 million in 2017 to 7.1 million in 2018. According to research firm WARC, the future of podcasts is bright, with ad spending expected to double to $1.6 billion by 2022 and 78 percent of listeners willing to listen to an ad if it pays for the content. Public relations professionals should continue to look for podcast opportunities for their clients.

Although the constantly changing media world can be challenging and sometimes discouraging, taking the time to understand the trends can help you and your clients stay ahead and get the message you want to the audiences you hope to reach.