News consumers absorb information through screens now more than ever, making digital journalism a growing industry, a Pew Research Center study shows.
The New York Times, which began publishing hard copies in 1851, reported Wednesday that it has reached 8 million paid digital subscribers in addition to more than 100 million registered web users who may be considering purchasing a subscription.
The growth of digital news is not just visible at the NYT but also at USA Today, where most of its revenue comes from digital forces, said Mizell Stewart III, Vice President of News Performance, Talent and Partnerships for Gannett and the USA Today Network.
“We’ve been on a journey toward digital media for the past 25 years,” Stewart said.
The creation of major digital enterprises, including Google, Yahoo and Amazon, in the mid-1990s commenced this journey. Facebook, Twitter and even TikTok now provide news organizations another digital outlet.
“The growth in digital media, both organizationally and in terms of employment opportunities, I think is only going to continue,” Stewart said.
The rise of the digital age is also influenced by an increased reliance on technology during the coronavirus pandemic. The NYT and The Washington Post both gained 50% more online visitors in March 2020 when the United States went into lockdown, according to SimilarWeb.
The NYT adapted the way the public received news online during the pandemic by removing the paywall on any pandemic-related story, said Carla Correa, deputy director of Early Career Programs at the NYT. The publication also adapted the type of stories written to fit life in a pandemic.
“You can’t spend three hours reading about coronavirus in The New York Times. You need to give your brain a break,” Correa said. “We converted our Travel section to be an At Home section because people weren’t traveling.”
This shift from print to digital means there is a shift from newspaper job openings to online media job openings, but journalists say it takes more than just a strong resume to join their company’s payroll.
“I want someone who wants to be a journalist and wants to do the work, not someone who wants to work at The New York Times,” Correa said.
Journalists also stress the importance of finding compelling angles to stories, becoming skilled in digital journalism techniques and developing a passion for storytelling.
“When I graduated, people were like, ‘You’re crazy for going into journalism, you’re going to be out of journalism in three years, you’re going to get laid off or you’re going to go into PR.’ And I’m still here,” Correa said.
Lauren Berryman 