War Coverage Shows Us The Future Of Media

Digital technologies have eroded the size and attention of media audiences. The war in Iraq turns the tide momentarily -- bringing riveted viewers back to networks. But the coverage also exposes key structural changes in store for the media business.

1. A distributed media model takes shape. The first five years of the Net reshaped content delivery via millions of Web sites, devices, and other digital outlets. Now, the war shows us what distributed content creation looks like. Embedded devices, video cameras, digital photos, and desktop editing packages push content creation to the edge, putting power in the hands of writers, videographers, and reporters. Success in this distributed media world requires following the lead of Bell Globemedia, CNN, and eNetworks, which use cheap, open technologies to make, manage, and move assets -- and cut costs along the way.

2. Consumers are journalists. Distributed power on both ends of the media value chain -- creation and delivery -- undercuts media's middleman role.
In a world where many consumers already distrust media outlets, digital consumers self-direct their content experiences with search and links, filter out or ignore what they dislike, and synthesize raw content on their own.

This won't change: Online consumers who prefer the Net for news grew 118% in the past year. Rather than fight the trend, media outlets have to improve TV-Web connections, repurpose assets, and upgrade Web site search, navigation, and customization tools.

3. Advertising divorces from content. Self-directed media consumption, combined with ad-blocking technologies, leave advertisers on the sidelines. War coverage is the most extreme example of this: Media outlets stick to breaking news, and advertisers pull ads. But the trend will reach far beyond news as PVRs, video streaming, and search become mainstream. Advertisers have four options: 1) Create more of their own content -- as Toyota and Miller Lite do with advergames; 2) improve the performance of ads that do get seen through better targeting -- as 1-800-Flowers.com is doing in the TV space; 3) create and harvest direct relationships with consumers using smart email and IM -- as Renault and Hewlett-Packard have done; and/or 4) steal a page from Ford and Viking Range and embed more product placements in programming.

By next month, we will have published new reports on media site design, consumer electronics, and will have created a new integrated marketing case study, and much more. Have a great April!


Chris Charron
Devices, Media, And Marketing Group Director

P.S. I'd love to hear from you -- about our research, challenges you face, research you'd like us to write, or data points you are looking for. Drop me a line anytime at chrischarron@forrester.com.

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