A Letter to “The Media”
It’s a crowded media marketplace. Here’s how to get my attention — and keep it.
Dear Media,
According to my Twitter bio, I’ve been on the platform since 2009. Eight years later, it’s still a big part of my daily media habit — that’s a lifetime on the internet. There aren’t many things that have stuck with me as long as Twitter has (except Facebook, though I’ve recently deleted it off my phone — best decision ever). The constantly evolving digital landscape paired with my erratic schedule has got my media habits kind of all over the place.
In order to make sense of all this, while helping you do your job better, I took note of my media consumption habits over the course of a 48-hour period. This is what I learned.
Twitter and email are my main sources for news and I usually access them through my phone. I’ll check them first thing in the morning, several times during the day then right before I go to bed. I follow outlets, journalists, writers and some friends on Twitter. I love a good email newsletter— The New York Times Cooking is a favorite, but more on that later. Snapchat (and sometimes Instagram) is where I go for fun.
As an entertainment writer, I keep up with the trades on a regular basis. I visit home pages for The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline and blogs like IndieWire and Film School Rejects (full disclosure: I write for them). I also listen to public radio and podcasts — KPCC is a staple and I love storytelling shows. Lately, though, I’ve been into NPR Hidden Brain and Pod Save America. Sign of the times.
Like I said, my current media consumption habits are irregular. In a previous life as a film industry professional, I had a fairly predictable schedule. These days, I’m a graduate student in an intensely packed one-year journalism program. When things get busy, I find myself with an inbox backlogged with unread newsletters and a stack of unopened New Yorker magazines. Don’t get me started on my Pocket archive.
Lifestyle changes aside, the big picture here is that the media marketplace is ridiculously saturated. I have a wide variety of options available on countless platforms. If media organizations (you) want my attention as a subscriber (or if advertisers want my clicks/eyeballs), they need to stand out. Two things are key here: quality and timing.
Let me explain:
The reason I love The New York Times’ Cooking “products” so much is because they are doing everything right: an informative, well-designed website with text and videos, a helpful mobile app and eye-catching photos paired with engaging text in an easily digestible email newsletter format. They also tailor their content to my current needs — turkey recipes in the fall, comfort soups in the winter and so forth. High quality and impeccable timing.
So what does this all mean?
I’ll consume — and even pay for — high quality content that meets my needs and reaches me somewhat organically. I donated to KPCC after they provided excellent election coverage (bonus: I got free socks). I pay to see good films like Moonlight and The Handmaiden in theater. But as a longtime Netflix subscriber, I’m a big fan of streaming because that’s the present and future. I like to try new things but I’m not afraid to drop them if they don’t work (RIP Hulu).
Audiences should not be underestimated in this media landscape. Media organizations need to take the time to understand their audience (and the various segments within it), reach out to them in engaging ways and provide good content in a variety of formats (ex. audio, video, interactive) that are native to the platform (ex. desktop, mobile, virtual reality headset). Ads shouldn’t get in the way of the experience — they should improve it, or at least be something worth watching or glancing at.
Content is still king, but it has to be packaged right and designed efficiently. Find me on my phone or on my desktop without being annoying. Authenticity and a real relationship with me (audience member) is key. Everything else is a waste of my time.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Paola
