The News Landscape in 2014: Transformed or Diminished? Formulating a Game Plan for Survival in the Digital Age

Is there a potential path for renewal for traditional news organizations struggling to survive and thrive in the digital age?

“The News Landscape in 2014: Transformed or Diminished? Formulating a Game Plan for Survival in the Digital Age,” co-authored by Penelope Muse Abernathy, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media Knight Chair in Digital Media Economics and Journalism, and Richard Foster, Senior Faculty Fellow with Yale University’s School of Management, analyzes the situation from the perspectives of shareholder, journalist and economist.

“Continuing on the current path, traditional news organizations are at great risk of meeting either a Hindu-style death of transformation, as they are acquired and merged with other corporations, or a Judeo-Christian demise, as they are shuttered and disappear entirely from the landscape,” Abernathy said. “This is why we felt the need to do this study.”

The authors highlight the necessity of shedding legacy costs, identifying and pursuing new communities, and building new online revenue streams. They provide a concrete target for change that news organizations need to achieve in order to stay ahead of the curve.

The report was presented Friday, Nov. 13, at the "Journalism and the New Media Ecology: Who Will Pay the Messengers?" conference sponsored by Yale University School of Law.