I have a jacket emblazoned with the phrase, “Suffering from realness.” The quote, if you didn’t already know, is from rapper and noted footwear purveyor Kanye West. His prose likely had nothing at all to do with the state of journalism,1 but that’s exactly why I had it airbrushed. I, along with two other of my best journo friends, co-opted Kanye to make cryptically public the commitment to powering through the tumultuous publishing seas for something worthy.
Pivoting to video, forsaking O&O for distributed, hiring growth hackers, pursuing OTT, new ad products, subscriptions, live, visual — you name it. None of these things are inherently bad — all mere tactics in our transition. And yet they are villainized, by, well, us. 2018 will be no exception. However, here’s betting that it will also be a moment when the tide turns in favor of thinking about impact — realness — in a new way. The winners will be the ones who have built a meaningful journalistic report that transcends, and likely capitalizes on, the platform moment.
Out of the darkest moments come some of the best. Take the Weinstein effect and the speed at which those stories traveled. The entire #metoo network effect is impact at a pace and scale previously unimaginable. Yes, our business model is far from settled. But do not think for a moment that this sea change would be possible without platforms that reach 2 billion people. Sure, it comes with a high cost to businesses that once reaped a 60 percent margin. But the impact potential is even greater.
If you are existentially vexed about all of this, the question to ask yourself as it is all happening around you: Are you pivoting to impact? This might sound trite, but I mean it sincerely. Below, a starter “pivot to impact” moral compass!
If you are a journalist: Have you recently revealed something to your audience that they likely didn’t know before that helps them understand the context of our changing world? Important bonus: Did you try to make it reach as many people as possible?
If you work in product: Did you build something that people want, that possibly helps enable the above? (h/t @MarcusMoretti)
If you work on revenue: Are you focusing on how your publication can uniquely serve users or advertisers?
If you are a platform: Have you worked with a publishing partner either on helping to monetize their existing body of work or offered to pay them for their expert services? Have you worked to battle fake news?
In all seriousness, I am a believer in where we are headed and the good work that’s being done along the way. That’s not to dismiss the challenges and tough calls required to get there. I’ll leave you with a line I often recite to myself and to my teams: If you focus on the story and focus on the user, you will not lose. I am betting on 2018 to value this anew.
Cory Haik is publisher of Mic.
Damon Krukowski Reviving the alt-weekly soul
Susie Banikarim R.I.P. Pivot to Video (2017–2017)
Rodney Gibbs Tech workers turn to journalism
Rick Berke Value is the watchword
Kinsey Wilson Facebook and Google: Help out or pay up
Hannah Cassius The year of the echo-chamber escapists
Sam Ford The year of investing in processes
Gordon Crovitz Serving readers over advertisers
Tamar Charney We get serious about algorithms
Aron Pilhofer We can’t leave the business to the business side any more
Marie Gilot No assholes allowed
Amy King Let’s amplify visual voice
Mira Lowe The year of the local watchdog
P. Kim Bui The reckoning is only beginning
Pablo Boczkowski The rise of skeptical reading
Steve Grove The midterms are an opportunity
Nicholas Diakopoulos Fortifying social media from automated inauthenticity
Richard Tofel The platforms’ power demands more reporters’ attention
Alfred Hermida Going beyond mobile-first
Mike Caulfield Refactoring media literacy for the networked age
Ståle Grut Reclaiming audience interaction from social networks
Mariana Moura Santos Think local, act global
Evie Nagy Pivot to mobile video frustration
Raney Aronson-Rath Transparency is the antidote to fake news
Valérie Bélair-Gagnon Seeking trust in fragmented spaces
Edward Roussel Eyes, ears, and brains
Rubina Madan Fillion Unlocking the potential of AI
Alan Soon The rise of start of psychographic, micro-targeted media
Adam Thomas Sharing is caring: The year of the mentor
Federica Cherubini The rise of bridge roles in news organizations
Elizabeth Jensen Show your work
Marcela Donini and Thiago Herdy Collaboration is the way forward for Brazilian journalism
Jim Moroney Newspapers have to be good enough for readers to pay for
Julia B. Chan Looking for loyalty in all the right places
Juliette De Maeyer A responsible press criticism
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen The Snapchat scenario and the risk of more closed platforms
Mario García Storytelling finally adapts to mobile
Monique Judge Letting black women tell their own stories
Vivian Schiller Pivot to tomorrow
Bill Keller A growing turn to philanthropy
Laura E. Davis Writing answers before you know the question
Luke O'Neil The end is already here
Craig Newmark Working together toward sustainable solutions
Kathleen McElroy Building a news video experience native to mobile
S. Mitra Kalita The arc of news and audience
Hossein Derakhshan Television has won
Brian Lam Sketchy ethics around product reviews
Mariano Blejman News games rule
Jarrod Dicker Honesty in advertising
Heather Bryant Building the ecosystems for collaboration
Emma Carew Grovum Newsroom culture becomes a priority
Nicholas Quah Stop talking trash about young people
Imaeyen Ibanga Longform video leads the way
Jessica Parker Gilbert Design connects storytelling and strategy
Jennifer Choi Standing up for us and for each other
Corey Ford The empire strikes back
Millie Tran and Stine Bauer Dahlberg (Hint: It’s about your brand)
Cristina Wilson The year of the Instagram Story
Ruth Palmer Risks will grow for news subjects — especially minorities
Manoush Zomorodi Self-help as a publishing strategy
Niketa Patel Live journalism comes of age
Pia Frey Address users as individuals
Alice Antheaume Are you fluent in AI?
David Skok Finding an information-life balance
Lam Thuy Vo Breaking free from the tyranny of the loudest
Jennifer Coogan The future is female
Andrew Losowsky The year of resilience
Kristen Muller The year of the voter
Matt DeRienzo A recession, then a collapse
Cory Haik Suffering from realness, pivoting to impact
Dheerja Kaur Fun with subscription products
Michelle Ferrier The year of the great reckoning
Alastair Coote The year of self-improvement
Joyce Barnathan It will be harder to bury the news
Pete Brown Push alerts, personalized
Alexios Mantzarlis Moving fake news research out of the lab
Molly de Aguiar Good journalism won’t be enough
Taylor Lorenz Social and media will split
Zizi Papacharissi Women come back
Charo Henríquez Training is an investment, not an expense
Ray Soto VR reaches the next level
Carlos Martínez de la Serna The new journalism commons
Emily Goligoski Looking beyond news for inspiration
Sam Sanders Shine the light on ourselves
Mandy Velez texting is lit rn, fam
Julia Beizer A longer view on the pivot
José Zamora Revenue-first journalism
Juleyka Lantigua Women of color will reclaim and monetize our time
Tanzina Vega It’s time for media companies to #PassTheMic
Nikki Usher The year of The Washington Post
Rachel Davis Mersey AI, with real smarts
Joanne Lipman Journalists inventing revenue streams
Christopher Meighan Passive partnership is in the rearview
C.W. Anderson The social media apocalypse
Andrew Haeg The year journalists become relationship builders
Nushin Rashidian Publishers seek ad dollar alternatives
Caitria O'Neill The new court of public opinion
Jamie Mottram From pageviews to t-shirts
Doris Truong Computer vision vs. the Internet vigilantes
Francesco Marconi The year of machine-to-machine journalism
Jared Newman Venture funding and digital news don’t mix
Dan Shanoff You down with OTT? (Yeah, DTC)
Betsy O'Donovan and Melody Kramer Skepticism and narcissism
Claire Wardle Disinformation gets worse
Rodney Benson Better, less read, and less trusted
Jim Brady With the people, not just of the people
Raju Narisetti Mirror, mirror on the wall
Justin Kosslyn The year journalists become digital security experts
Yvonne Leow The rise of video messaging
Mary Meehan Real lives are at stake in rural areas
Sally Lehrman Trust comes first
An Xiao Mina Memes and visuals come to the fore
Cindy Royal Your journalism curriculum is obsolete
Andrew Ramsammy The year ownership mattered
Monika Bauerlein The firehose of falsehood
Felix Salmon Covering bitcoin while owning bitcoin
Eric Nuzum Beyond the narrative arc
Feli Sánchez The year for guerrilla user research
Basile Simon We need better career paths for news nerds
Umbreen Bhatti The trust problem isn’t new
Matt Boggie The intellectual equivalent of the Dead Sea
Jesse Holcomb Information disorder, coming to a congressional district near you
Mary Walter-Brown Show a little vulnerability
Ernst-Jan Pfauth Publishing less to give readers more
Sara M. Watson Feeds will open up to new user-determined filters
Renée Kaplan The year of quiet adjustments (shhh)
Sydette Harry Listen to your corner and watch for the hook
Carrie Brown-Smith Transparency finally takes off
Mi-Ai Parrish Blockchain and trust
Tanya Cordrey Finally, the seeds of radical reinvention
Rachel Schallom Better design helps differentiate opinion and news
Michelle Garcia Navigating journalistic transparency
Eric Ulken The year local publishers get smart(er) about change
Borja Echevarría TV goes digital, digital goes TV
Lucas Graves From algorithms to institutions
Debra Adams Simmons And a woman shall lead them
Lanre Akinola Making noise is not a strategy
Kawandeep Virdee Zines had it right all along
Trushar Barot The Jio-fication of India
Matt Thompson Here come the attention managers
Joanne McNeil Gatekeeping the gatekeepers
Matt Carlson Attacks on the press will get worse
Sarah Marshall Loyalty as the key performance indicator
Amy Webb Listen to weak signals
Kim Fox Audience teams diversify their approach
Daniel Trielli The rich get richer, the poor scramble
Errin Haines At the ballot, it’s time to count black women
Dannagal G. Young Stop covering politics as a game
Jassim Ahmad Thriving on change
Miguel Castro The arrival of the impact producer
Jacqui Cheng Retailers move into content
Vanessa K. DeLuca Women’s voices take center stage
Amie Ferris-Rotman More female reporters abroad (please)
Michael Kuntz The only pivot that might work
Tracie Powell The muting of underserved voices
Jennifer Brandel and Mónica Guzmán The editorial meeting of the future
Tim Carmody Watch out for Spotify
Helen Havlak Keywords, not publishers, power the world’s biggest feeds
Kyle Ellis Let’s build our way out of this