THIS is a new year and many publishers will find themselves in default setting.
The media landscape is already geared up for significant transformation in the face of a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.
If done right, there are several initiatives that will shape the future of media in the country.
Well, it has been a long road and digital first, digital transformation has become decorative terms in newsrooms.
However, the current architecture in our newsrooms present a picture where the ideas have remained catchy phrases without full understanding either of the how to, or strategy design to move away from legacy media to a fully functional digital first newsroom.
Well, change is always frightening.
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User needs: Key ingredient in newsroom strategy
If you grab any piece of news in Zimbabwe’s local outlets, you can tell there is a deep culture in the belief that journalists still decide the biggest stories of the day.
Some lead with yesterday’s news today while others still view the digital desk as the back of beyond set-up whose threat goes as far as scooping print, with yesterday’s news.
Although there is little public data on audience needs, progressive newsrooms have proved that the next generation of news consumers demand more than just prominent headlines as they increasingly need to be connected and sometimes collaborate with newsrooms.
The struggle in capturing the younger audience speaks to the need for editors to understand that value-driven journalism is the way to go.
Days of regurgitating Press statements and events should be over and newsrooms have to answer questions the audience have on specific subjects.
This calls for media houses to constantly commission surveys to understand their audience and how they want their stories told.
This will give insights into what stories or topics the audience wants to consume, the formats and the times and even willingness to pay.
Journalists who prioritise understanding and responding to audience needs will find themselves at the forefront of this transition.
Investment in technology and knowledge in current trends
While we understand that media houses are not technology companies, much of their work has been transformed by technology adoption.
It becomes imperative to invest in both human resources, software and hardware to bridge the gap between technology and journalism and achieve maximum value.
Today, newsrooms are hiring data scientist and machine learning engineers who are mostly working large language models for specialised tasks.
If your newsroom has not started this, you may be going nowhere fast.
Investment in technology and continuous learning will be vital as traditional models give way to innovative journalism practices and these include distributions channels that could be novel and have an ability to create a direct relationship with the audience.
New knowledge will help editors and media managers appreciate new trends and models and run away from the proverbial “what you don’t know doesn’t exist”.
Experimenting with new forms of journalism
While principles of journalism like credibility, balance, fairness, objectivity remain the same; creativity and storytelling have moved a gear up.
Some newsrooms have strengthened or introduced certain sections and made them prominent, for example, gender desks and climate change desks have become a prominent feature in newsrooms.
These have existed to close the gap that has previously existed in coverage of these issues.
Much to the benefit of journalism, there are partnerships ready to partner with newsrooms for climate change and gender-related content and even health and this has emerged part of revenue diversification by newsrooms.
Experimentation with news forms of journalism such as multimedia storytelling and interactive reporting as well as data journalism will engage audiences in compelling ways.
A well though digital-first strategy married to integration of artificial intelligence (AI) will enhance efficiency and content personalisation.
AI policies should be in place and strategies for sustainable AI use should be well in place.
The value of understanding new commercial models
Traditionally, advertising, copy sales and sponsorship were the only revenue models that existed.
But due to changes in consumption patterns, these are badly wounded and fast replaced by partnerships, events, e-commerce, reader revenue, e-paper, revenue share models to mention just a few.
The biggest limitation for experimentation with new revenue models has been fear.
Many commercial teams are not privy to the new models and generally, they feel threatened by the thought of adopting new ways of commercialising journalism.
But 2025 belongs to media houses that actively explore new revenue models beyond conventional advertising.
As traditional revenue streams face challenges, embracing diversification and audience-driven content strategies will be better positioned for financial sustainability.
At a time when rapid changes are transforming the face of journalism, those who adapt, innovate and prioritise audience needs will not only thrive, but also set the stage for a resilient media ecosystem in Zimbabwe, ensuring they remain relevant and profitable in an era of rapid technological changes that are confronting journalism.
- Silence Mugadzaweta is the digital and online editor at Alpha Media Holdings. He writes here in his personal capacity.