Format Innovation

Format Innovation: The Shift to Audio and Video Continues. The Shift to Audio and Video Continues. One of the underlying megatrends in digital has been the explosion of formats and channels that publishers can use to reach consumers.

Owned and operated websites are now only one of many ways of engaging audiences. Better data connections have opened up possibilities beyond just text and pictures and smartphone adoption has accelerated the use of visual journalism, vertical video, and podcasts. In our survey, the majority of publishers say that they will be focusing on podcasts and other digital audio (72%), email newsletters (69%), and digital video (67%) this year.

Interest in short-form video production has grown (+4pp) partly in response to the changing social media strategies detailed in the previous section. By contrast there is less interest in developing applications for the metaverse or for voice assistants, where journalism ‘use cases’ have proved hard to identify..