‘News’ is so much more than print: Lyons, Whitnall, Colter

By Tess Connery
Published Mediaweek

“We are still talking about print and the physical printed paper when news is now a much more omni-channel concept.”

ThinkNewsBrands is addressing misconceptions in market about news media, with the organisation saying ‘news’ is still thought of as print – or at best, print online.

“300 years as an advertising medium makes written news publishing one of the oldest media types we still use today,” Vanessa Lyons, executive general manager of ThinkNewsBrands, told Mediaweek.

“But due to this history, some people still think of it as print, and some agency systems don’t reflect the fact it is now delivered via websites, apps, digital newspaper replicas, social media, activations and partnerships.”

Top media agency executives agreed. Sian Whitnall, co-CEO at OMD, said: “We are still talking about print and the physical printed paper when news is now a much more omni-channel concept.

“If we look at any of our internal system and spend and investment levels it still says print. We need to think about changing labels and change how we think about the medium.”

In March, news publishing was back 13.1% according to Guideline SMI figures: down 22% for newspapers, but up 6.4% for digital. In 2023, ad spend for the category fell 14.4% – both newspapers and digital were down.