1. Insufferable quote notwithstanding, The Athletic is seriously onto something with its fierce focus on a disproportionately valuable section of the traditional news bundle and building a whole new bundle around that. We’ll likely see straightforward adaptations of the model applied to other valuable verticals whose potential readership are susceptible towards subscriptions. Which will be pretty cool, and will go some length toward reviving some parts of the information food chain. But the model will by no means be any comprehensive solution to making up the fundamental losses in the space.
2. Style-guide changes notwithstanding, major media organizations will continue to publish op-eds that devalue, denigrate, and dismiss the value and substance of younger generations. This is, of course, an expression of the editorial power structure that stands up these organizations. After all, very rarely do the youths have a seat at the decision-making table in such places, even if these organizations purport to report on a world that will eventually be inherited by them — though a world that’s nonetheless being systematically dismantled by the generations before them. And perhaps the op-eds and the disrespect will keep coming until the youths are made to age spitefully and angrily until they become the very bitter people who used to write petty trifles about them, and they too will continue to ruin the world. ‘Tis a vicious cycle.
But perhaps one day there will be a major media organization that does not do this. Perhaps there will be a day when the youths will be afforded a proper institutional voice. Perhaps there will come a time where the youths will be treated with dignity, honor, and respect, and the tragedy of their lost futures will be adequately recorded.
Perhaps, then, will we have a marginally better society.
3. Podcast CPM apocalypse notwithstanding, we’re probably going to see minor revolutions in the podcast industry over the next year. Between Apple’s shifting position as steward of the space and what appears to be increased interest from other platforms — ranging from older digital radio types like iHeartRadio to tech platforms like Spotify — it feels like we may well be in the preamble stage of some Godzilla-level ruckus. As with all things media these days, the fate of the space is decided on the platform level. And as with all things media these days, the rest of us have to figure out ways to avoid the falling debris.
Nicholas Quah writes the podcasting newsletter Hot Pod.
Jacqui Cheng Retailers move into content
Eric Nuzum Beyond the narrative arc
Alexios Mantzarlis Moving fake news research out of the lab
Andrew Ramsammy The year ownership mattered
Mandy Velez texting is lit rn, fam
Adam Thomas Sharing is caring: The year of the mentor
Valérie Bélair-Gagnon Seeking trust in fragmented spaces
Monika Bauerlein The firehose of falsehood
Cristina Wilson The year of the Instagram Story
Gordon Crovitz Serving readers over advertisers
Felix Salmon Covering bitcoin while owning bitcoin
Sara M. Watson Feeds will open up to new user-determined filters
Alice Antheaume Are you fluent in AI?
Julia Beizer A longer view on the pivot
David Skok Finding an information-life balance
Richard Tofel The platforms’ power demands more reporters’ attention
Mary Meehan Real lives are at stake in rural areas
Corey Ford The empire strikes back
Andrew Haeg The year journalists become relationship builders
Mike Caulfield Refactoring media literacy for the networked age
Juleyka Lantigua Women of color will reclaim and monetize our time
Umbreen Bhatti The trust problem isn’t new
Craig Newmark Working together toward sustainable solutions
Michael Kuntz The only pivot that might work
Alfred Hermida Going beyond mobile-first
Lucas Graves From algorithms to institutions
Amy King Let’s amplify visual voice
Christopher Meighan Passive partnership is in the rearview
Monique Judge Letting black women tell their own stories
Mariano Blejman News games rule
C.W. Anderson The social media apocalypse
Sam Sanders Shine the light on ourselves
Matt Thompson Here come the attention managers
Jassim Ahmad Thriving on change
Manoush Zomorodi Self-help as a publishing strategy
Nicholas Quah Stop talking trash about young people
Tim Carmody Watch out for Spotify
Ståle Grut Reclaiming audience interaction from social networks
Betsy O'Donovan and Melody Kramer Skepticism and narcissism
Rubina Madan Fillion Unlocking the potential of AI
Hannah Cassius The year of the echo-chamber escapists
Michelle Garcia Navigating journalistic transparency
Evie Nagy Pivot to mobile video frustration
Tracie Powell The muting of underserved voices
Jamie Mottram From pageviews to t-shirts
Debra Adams Simmons And a woman shall lead them
Joyce Barnathan It will be harder to bury the news
Dheerja Kaur Fun with subscription products
Matt Boggie The intellectual equivalent of the Dead Sea
Imaeyen Ibanga Longform video leads the way
Ruth Palmer Risks will grow for news subjects — especially minorities
Rodney Gibbs Tech workers turn to journalism
Justin Kosslyn The year journalists become digital security experts
Bill Keller A growing turn to philanthropy
Renée Kaplan The year of quiet adjustments (shhh)
Damon Krukowski Reviving the alt-weekly soul
Dannagal G. Young Stop covering politics as a game
Matt Carlson Attacks on the press will get worse
Rick Berke Value is the watchword
Sarah Marshall Loyalty as the key performance indicator
Trushar Barot The Jio-fication of India
Steve Grove The midterms are an opportunity
Luke O'Neil The end is already here
Brian Lam Sketchy ethics around product reviews
Susie Banikarim R.I.P. Pivot to Video (2017–2017)
Basile Simon We need better career paths for news nerds
Mary Walter-Brown Show a little vulnerability
An Xiao Mina Memes and visuals come to the fore
Laura E. Davis Writing answers before you know the question
Juliette De Maeyer A responsible press criticism
Heather Bryant Building the ecosystems for collaboration
Julia B. Chan Looking for loyalty in all the right places
Kristen Muller The year of the voter
Daniel Trielli The rich get richer, the poor scramble
Mira Lowe The year of the local watchdog
Rachel Schallom Better design helps differentiate opinion and news
Helen Havlak Keywords, not publishers, power the world’s biggest feeds
Jared Newman Venture funding and digital news don’t mix
Emily Goligoski Looking beyond news for inspiration
Matt DeRienzo A recession, then a collapse
Emma Carew Grovum Newsroom culture becomes a priority
Ernst-Jan Pfauth Publishing less to give readers more
Marcela Donini and Thiago Herdy Collaboration is the way forward for Brazilian journalism
Jessica Parker Gilbert Design connects storytelling and strategy
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen The Snapchat scenario and the risk of more closed platforms
Edward Roussel Eyes, ears, and brains
Raney Aronson-Rath Transparency is the antidote to fake news
Will Sommer The year local media gets conservative
Carlos Martínez de la Serna The new journalism commons
Aron Pilhofer We can’t leave the business to the business side any more
Michelle Ferrier The year of the great reckoning
Tamar Charney We get serious about algorithms
Corey Johnson The pro-fact resistance
José Zamora Revenue-first journalism
Rachel Davis Mersey AI, with real smarts
Caitria O'Neill The new court of public opinion
Claire Wardle Disinformation gets worse
Pablo Boczkowski The rise of skeptical reading
Yvonne Leow The rise of video messaging
Elizabeth Jensen Show your work
Jennifer Brandel and Mónica Guzmán The editorial meeting of the future
Raju Narisetti Mirror, mirror on the wall
Federica Cherubini The rise of bridge roles in news organizations
Miguel Castro The arrival of the impact producer
Sally Lehrman Trust comes first
Errin Haines At the ballot, it’s time to count black women
Sam Ford The year of investing in processes
Jennifer Choi Standing up for us and for each other
Jesse Holcomb Information disorder, coming to a congressional district near you
Tanzina Vega It’s time for media companies to #PassTheMic
Jarrod Dicker Honesty in advertising
Nicholas Diakopoulos Fortifying social media from automated inauthenticity
Charo Henríquez Training is an investment, not an expense
Joanne Lipman Journalists inventing revenue streams
Kathleen McElroy Building a news video experience native to mobile
Vivian Schiller Pivot to tomorrow
Alastair Coote The year of self-improvement
Jim Moroney Newspapers have to be good enough for readers to pay for
Mi-Ai Parrish Blockchain and trust
P. Kim Bui The reckoning is only beginning
Alan Soon The rise of start of psychographic, micro-targeted media
Mariana Moura Santos Think local, act global
Millie Tran and Stine Bauer Dahlberg (Hint: It’s about your brand)
Cindy Royal Your journalism curriculum is obsolete
Molly de Aguiar Good journalism won’t be enough
Andrew Losowsky The year of resilience
Lanre Akinola Making noise is not a strategy
Borja Echevarría TV goes digital, digital goes TV
Amie Ferris-Rotman More female reporters abroad (please)
Kyle Ellis Let’s build our way out of this
Feli Sánchez The year for guerrilla user research
Joanne McNeil Gatekeeping the gatekeepers
Nushin Rashidian Publishers seek ad dollar alternatives
Eric Ulken The year local publishers get smart(er) about change
Marie Gilot No assholes allowed
Francesco Marconi The year of machine-to-machine journalism
Doris Truong Computer vision vs. the Internet vigilantes
Kim Fox Audience teams diversify their approach
Nikki Usher The year of The Washington Post
S. Mitra Kalita The arc of news and audience
Caitlin Thompson Podcasting models mature and diversify
Pete Brown Push alerts, personalized
Pia Frey Address users as individuals
Vanessa K. DeLuca Women’s voices take center stage
Carrie Brown-Smith Transparency finally takes off
Kinsey Wilson Facebook and Google: Help out or pay up
Ray Soto VR reaches the next level
Jennifer Coogan The future is female
Mario García Storytelling finally adapts to mobile
Hossein Derakhshan Television has won
Zizi Papacharissi Women come back
Rodney Benson Better, less read, and less trusted
Jim Brady With the people, not just of the people
Kawandeep Virdee Zines had it right all along
Taylor Lorenz Social and media will split
Dan Shanoff You down with OTT? (Yeah, DTC)
Lam Thuy Vo Breaking free from the tyranny of the loudest
Amy Webb Listen to weak signals
Frédéric Filloux External forces