How we read news today

Can you recall when was the last time it crossed your mind to visit the newspaper stand or renew the subscription to the newspaper delivery service?

The news landscape has been changing in the past decade. As the Internet democratised communication and information exchange, audiences like you who is reading this article right now have an increased appetite for news and for information that is accessible at any given time of the day.

Generally speaking, audiences can be divided into several groups based on their news consumption behaviour: some seek the news while a growing number are comfortable with the idea of just skimming through news (or social media news feeds), and then there are some who would prefer to get on with their lives without a care in the world (until something major hits close to home).

In my household, reading the newspapers used to be a daily routine. Every morning, fresh out of the printing machines, the newspaper was our window into knowing the state of current affairs, both local and international. Today, with my parents included (both in their sixties), we read news online.

From the news publishers and media organisations point of view, the invention and mass adoption of social media has permanently altered and shaken up the news industry. The business of news has been forced to evolve to stay relevant to the modern consumers.

We are at the juncture where news organisations are kept on their toes as new technologies continue to leap ahead. A new media startup could potentially reinvent and change the game.

The challenge for traditional news organisation remains to evolve in order to compete against new players that are ‘born digital’.

As more players are migrating to the digital sphere, some ‘digital first’ media companies have adapted the art of news storytelling to the change of times.

One of the news startup that caught my eye called Now This News tells news stories through short-form videos that are created to appeal to the social media and mobile generation.

I first started consuming news videos by Now This News on Instagram. As you know, the maximum duration of an Instagram video is 15 seconds. And that is how it presents news content to the followers: concise and to the point.

From my point of view, Now This News has found a unique positioning in the realm of digital and news. While one may argue that the format may further encourage the “skimming” behaviour, but when a news break on the World Wide Web, as all major news outlet are competing against time to provide a comprehensive and insightful stories, Now This News summarises the news for the readers.

Should a story further piqued the reader’s interest, a quick search on Google, Yahoo or DuckDuckGo will present a vast directory of news stories from multiple credible sources on the subject matter.

Summarising news in a 15 seconds video? Are you kidding me? The fact is, this type of content format works because it appeals to audiences who wants to stay in the know yet they might find it a chore to actively seeking for news.

According to a study in Canada by Microsoft Corporation on how digital affects the attention span of digital natives, it is reported that “human attention span has supposedly dropped from 12 seconds in 2002 to only eight seconds in 2013, one second shorter than a goldfish." (You can click to read the article here. Special thanks to Marshall K. for sharing the article).

As digital audiences undergo behavioural change, along with the emerging platforms (wearable technology, for example), the market for short-form news content will only increase in size.

With the empowerment of technology and social media, we are now both content creators and receivers. However, it can be overwhelming to constantly try to figure out between facts and opinions.

In the digital era, the role of a news organisation has never been more important. When people are increasingly becoming aware of the developments around them, they will also need better ways to navigate through the incessant flow of information.

The key is now for news publishers and content providers to grow alongside the digital natives, and to be willing to experiment with new content formats that will attract, engage and retain the audiences.