Jonathan Butler charts the rise of lone-wolf authors and the fading imprimatur of mastheads.
Here at Deepend, we’ve been trying to gaze into the crystal ball to see what’s in store for the future of digital publishing. We all know that the traditional media industry has fallen on hard times. What we don’t know is how much more change is set to be thrown upon that world.
Social media has undoubtedly been at the forefront of the digital revolution. With over 13 million Facebook users, 6.3 million WordPress users and nearly 5 million Tumblr users in Australia, published works are now inconceivably diverse. With little to no production costs or barriers to entry, social media is quite the competitor to physical publications. Gone are the days where one must live and breath by one publication. News, reviews and thought pieces come in countless incarnations, resulting in what many commentators call, the golden age of media diversity.
Speaking at the 2014 Byron Bay Writers Festival, veteran political reporter George Megalogenis said: “the constant need for news has stopped the paper’s ability to hold the public attention…It’s great for journalism, but not for newspapers.” It is interesting that Megalogenis made the distinction between journalism and the masthead.
The trust and access to loyal followers that many publications once exclusively enjoyed is now within the grasp of almost anyone.
Similarly, model and WAG Rebecca Judd is not only an expert in fashion but also pregnancy, motherhood, travel, food and drink. You can read her work at Rebecca Judd Loves. The ability for a celebrity to ‘steal attention’ is not a new trend, but its weight in countless industries has only been exacerbated by the possibilities of digital publishing.
Is it possible that in the near future, publications will continue merely as platforms for celebrities and brands? This may sound implausible, but consider a recent study by Pew Research that found that in the States, Facebook is a bigger source of political news than CNN and Fox. In an interview with Deepend, journalism academic Margaret Simons boiled journalism down to ‘telling the truth’. Celebrities, of course, are a product of a consumerist society where even opinions have a price tag. But in a game of eyeballs, it’s becoming more and more about who is writing what, than what in where. It appears that News Corp and Fairfax have exploited the newly rejuvenated power of the author. Historically, the profile of the journalist was downplayed. Journalistic authorship was made almost invisible (Zelizer 2oo8, p. 175). But both Fairfax and News Corp have begun to spin the spotlight onto their journalists.
Early in November, Fairfax Media launched a campaign that addressed public relations head on by deploying the authoritative sway of their journalists at The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. Under the tagline ‘Independent. Always’, the campaign featured their marquee journalists discussing the importance of honest and independent journalism. Posters of their sports, crime, food, business, parenting, travel and investigative journalists were accompanied by taglines such as “The best stories are the ones people don’t want you to write” and “There will always be evil, and it’s our job not to turn away.”
News Corp has also begun promoting the faces behind their content. To launch their new multichannel ‘Extra Extra’ offering, News Corp harnessed the pulling power of the author by featuring their most noteworthy journalists in multiple above and below the line channels. The adverts feature portraits of journalists from The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and Herald Sun accompanied by a small profile.
Journalism has never been as diverse as it is today. It wasn’t long ago that people would have had ‘their’ paper, based on their location, that might have solely informed them of their world. Today, however, the number of news outlets and the omnipresent nature of the internet has rendered personal location almost irrelevant. One way Australian news organisations are trying to cut through the noise is by elevating their journalists next to godliness. In an industry cluttered with weightless opinions, it makes sense to put the journalist back into journalism. The recent Fairfax and News Corp campaigns, the astronomical penetration of social media and the power of celebrity all suggest that ‘who’ is more important than ‘where’ when it comes to digital publishing. To secure their loyalty, trust and attention, readers need to know who it is they are listening to.
Jonathan Butler is the Engagement Coordinator at Deepend and self-professed research nerd. I’m not crash hot at Twitter either, but you can find me on LinkedIn.
Design by Deepend’s Digital Designer Elliot Midson. Hit him up on Dribbble or his website for more of his stuff.
