Meta’s news loss could be advertisers’ gain

By Mediaweek

Vanessa Lyons said advertisers will lose the value that news brings to Meta’s platforms.

Meta’s decision to abandon news presents opportunities for advertisers to reengage with news publishers directly, according to ThinkNewsBrand’s chief executive, Vanessa Lyons.

The internet giant’s recent announcement that it would not renew deals to pay for Australian news content has received backlash from government and media brands concerned about the impact on journalism and Australia’s news publishers. However, Lyons told Mediaweek that it also has implications for advertisers.

“There are also issues for advertisers because the value that news brings to Meta’s platforms would be lost too,” said Lyons.

“Advertising in news is informative, trustworthy, and less disruptive, so it’s highly engaging.”

“In fact, advertising in news is 18% more trustworthy than all other media. So, news helps to raise the standards and makes Meta’s platforms safer places for brands.”

Lyons pointed to a recent study by Fiftyfive5, which found written news is the third most engaging medium after podcasts and cinema.

“We know that 75% of readers are fully engaged when reading written news. This high engagement factor helps to keep users absorbed and creates lean-in attention moments that are incredibly valuable for advertisers,” said Lyons.