Trib Total Media CEO To Testify Before Senate Subcommittee
President and CEO, Jennifer Bertetto, is set to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Wednesday in regards to challenges facing the newspaper industry. The hearing is related to proposed legislation aiming to help news publishers in an era where the vast majority of Americans source their news through digital platforms. Bertetto will address the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights.
The head of the Subcommittee, U.S. Sen. Amy Kolobuchar, stated, “We must enable news organizations to negotiate on a level playing field with the big tech companies if we want to preserve a strong and independent press… This bipartisan legislation will improve quality of reporting and ensure that journalists are able to continue their critical work. Our media outlets need a fighting chance when negotiating for fair treatment by the digital platforms where so many Americans consume their news”.
The legislation aims to address that imbalance, providing a 48-month window for companies to negotiate fair terms that would send subscription and advertising money back to publishers and protect American’s tight to access quality news.
New York Times Surpasses 10 Million Subscriptions
After acquiring The Athletic, a digital sports publication, for $550 million, the New York Times has seen an immense amount of growth. At the end of last year, the New York Times was sitting at 7.6 million subscriptions, however since the acquisition, the New York Times has surpassed 10 million subscriptions, well ahead of its initial goal of hitting the mile stone by 2025.
Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of the New York Times, stated, “We’re moving towards an emphasis on individual subscriber growth rather than the growth pf digital subscribers”. The intend on doing this by offering more bundled subscriptions, some including games, sports, cooking and more. Giving more incentive to customers to engage with the New York Times.
In addition to acquiring The Athletic, the New York Times also recently purchased the app, Wordle. A crossword game that has been going viral across multiple social media apps.
Due to these acquisitions, as well as more upcoming strategies implemented by the New York Times, the company is hoping to reach 15 million subscribers by the year 2027.
CherryRoad Media Acquiring Texas And Oklahoma Newspapers
CherryRoad Media, Inc. has announced it is acquiring a group of newspapers in Texas and Oklahoma from Gannett Co., Inc. With this acquisition, CherryRoad Media will publish newspapers in 10 states. It acquired more than three dozen newspapers in Arkansas, Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska in a series of transactions last year. The company acquired its first newspaper in November 2020 — the Cook County News Herald in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
“We are excited to become a part of these vibrant communities as a result of this acquisition,” CherryRoad CEO Jeremy Gulban said. “These are two new states for us. These papers, and the people they serve, fit perfectly with our efforts as we continue to engage with local communities around the country. I wish to thank Gannett for working with us to transition these community newspapers to a new home.”
How Local Ad Spending Will Play Out In 5 Key Categories This Year
BIA Advisory Services is calling for the local ad market to come in at $173.3 billion, an 11.4% improvement over 2021. Once again, traditional media keeps a slight edge at 50.8% of the ad spend, or $88 billion, compared to 49.2%, or $85 billion for digital media. Of that $88 billion traditional budget, $6.4 billion will come from political advertising. But digital is closing the gap and projected to surpass traditional in 2023. The trend is expected to continue through 2026 as traditional media inches up at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 0.7% while digital grows 10.0%.
Financial/Insurance- Encompassing everything from auto, property, and life insurance to consumer lending, mortgages, commercial banking and credit cards, this massive vertical is poised to hit $24.7 billion in 2022.
Retail- Local ad spending in this vertical will hit $24.4 billion, making it the second largest ad category behind finance/insurance in 2022.
Leisure- Spanning travel, fitness, gambling, movies and museums, this category was devastated by COVID. As it continues to recover, marketers will plunk down $14.1 billion in 2022.
Auto- Of the $13.9 billion in 2022 local ad spend earmarked for this still struggling category, TV is poised to take the biggest piece (20.3%), followed by mobile at 18.3%. Radio is projected to get an 8.8% share. Tier 3 new car dealers will make up $4.7 billion of the local spend.
Consumers Should Opt Out Of Ad Targeting To Avoid Social Scam
The Federal Trade Commission, which is gearing up to pass privacy rules, suggested this week that consumers opt out of targeted advertising on social media in order to avoid fraudsters. “Scammers could easily use the tools available to advertisers on social media platforms to systematically target people with bogus ads based on personal details such as their age, interests, or past purchases,” the FTC says in a new report exploring scams on social media.
The FTC wrote that consumers lost approximately $770 million last year due to fraud originating on social media, including schemes related to investment, romance and online shopping. Consumers who reported being bilked often said they placed an order but didn’t receive merchandise.
Daily Clips is a culmination of various articles from an array of news sources on topics spanning from news to tech
