At What’s New in Publishing, they’ve been following COVID’s impact on our industry closely, seeing both the downsides and the positives as publishers adjust to this new reality.
Now, they’ve released The Publisher’s Guide to Navigating COVID-19, designed to “bring together all the best examples we’ve seen of how organizations have risen to meet the challenges of Covid-19,” writes WNIP’s Deputy Editor Esther Kesia Thorpe.
Written by Damian Radcliffe and sponsored by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the report distills the chaos into understandable insights on how some publishers have been able to find success as essential sources of information for their audiences and their ad partners.
It also helps us understand where audiences are now, several months into the pandemic, and how we can best serve them going forward.
For example, the report cites data from the Pew Research Center that finds 71% of U.S. adults want a break from the non-stop COVID news. Even though it’s important, we need some non-COVID content back in our lives.
At the same time, support for “normal” advertising is increasing, as brands begin to back off their “we’re here for you” messaging that was so prevalent.
There is some great information in this report beyond consumer attitudes, including data around subscription surges.
“According to Zuora’s latest Subscription Impact Report14, in comparison with the previous 12 months, subscriptions in Digital News & Media grew by 110% between March to May 2020, although that rate is slowing,” notes the report. “This was the second-fastest subscription segment behind OTT Video Streaming.”
For publishers of any size, getting a larger view on what’s happening in our industry can only help as we all fine tune and adjust our strategies. At more than 70 pages, the report is packed with solid information and is well worth your time to download and read.