Our community of experts gives a heads-up on the most important shifts your newsroom needs to prepare for this year
Let's face it - the media landscape is shifting fast, and 2025 is shaping up to be quite the year. After diving deep into expert insights with our customary prediction pieces, we summed up here what is really going to matter in the next 12 months.
This goes beyond using automation just to write weather reports. As David Caswell, founder of StoryFlow, points out, we are seeing something far more interesting: AI-powered newsgathering that can process thousands of documents in seconds. Reuters is already using it to mine stories from press releases, whilst The Associated Press is experimenting with AI that reads police reports. It is not about replacing journalists - it is about giving them superpowers.
Here is a number that might make traditional publishers uncomfortable: nearly 40 per cent of under-30s now get their news from influencers. As Jonathan Paterson from The News Movement notes, we are seeing creators take matters into their own hands - they are even hiring fact-checkers now. Traditional media can either fight this trend or embrace it. The smart money is on the latter.
Remember when Facebook was everything? Those days are over. Thomas Baekdal puts it bluntly: social traffic is becoming more unstable and will likely continue to decline. Smart publishers are building their own direct relationships with audiences, focusing on newsletters, podcasts, and owned channels that they actually control.
Jonathan Heawood from the Public Interest News Foundation brings good news: help is on the way for local news, with support coming from government, big tech, and philanthropy. But it is not about preserving old models - it is about reinventing local news for today's communities.
As Lisa MacLeod from FT Strategies explains, registered users are 36 times more likely to subscribe and generate 1.3 times more ad revenue. The New York Times sees similar numbers - its registered users are about 40 times more likely to subscribe. It is not just about collecting emails; it is about building relationships. Whatever the next episode in Google cookiecalypse saga will be, first-party cookies is the way to go.
Naomi Owusu from Tickaroo highlights an interesting shift: whilst mobile usage is rising, especially for live sports content, users are getting pickier about what they allow into their attention space. The key? Personalisation that actually matters to people.
Adriana Lacy sees a future where news subscriptions work more like Netflix and Spotify - personally tailored to each reader. Think dynamic pricing, customised content recommendations, and micro-subscriptions that fit exactly what people want.
As Mili Semlani from Splice Media puts it brilliantly: "Audience engagement is dead, audience connection is the future." It is not about broadcasting anymore; it is about building genuine communities where stories emerge collectively.
James Scurry from Sky News brings attention to a crucial shift: newsrooms are finally getting serious about trauma-informed journalism. It is about protecting both the journalists and the stories they tell.
Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, raises a crucial point: as AI becomes more prevalent, the industry needs to get serious about ethical usage and fair compensation for content. It is not just about innovation; it is about building sustainable, ethical futures.
Here is the bottom line: success in 2025 is not going to come from chasing every shiny new trend. As Ramaa Sharma, digital and AI media consultant, suggests, it is about finding the right balance between innovation and trust.
The winners will be those who can:
The media landscape of 2025 is not just evolving - it is being completely reimagined. The question is not whether to adapt, but how to do it whilst staying true to what matters most: serving our audiences with integrity, innovation, and intelligence.
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