Changing Media Trends

and what they mean to you:

One editor’s view

Jane Wooldridge
The Miami Herald
October 2008
 The tipping point?
 Many magazines are shrinking
 Newspaper travel section – and/or dedicated
editors – are diminishing
 Websites abound
 Social-networking sites continue to gain
 Upscale publications are likely to gain ground
 Regional emphasis is becoming stronger
 Mobile devices will become more important
 Why now?

 Advances in technology
 Growing influence of younger generation
 Economic downturn
 So, what are key trends?
 Travelers are returning to trusted voices
 Digital is only part of the answer
 Newspapers are down but not out
 Not all “new media’’ are created equal
 Social media are here to stay
 Social media can’t be controlled – but it can be
managed
 Multimedia presentations will become
increasingly important
 Mobile devices will become even more important
 Think high, low and close-to-home
 TMI: Too Much Information!
 So many (websites, magazines, TV
channels), so little time
 Even the multi-tasking generation is subject
to overload
 This is resulting in a return to trusted
voices, such as authoritative editorial
publications and travel agents
 Digital is the future
 108 million North Americans (about 73
percent of the population) use the Internet
today; 105 in the U.S. alone are counted as
active surfers
 The global total is about 1.4 billion
 The global total will increase by 44 percent
between 2007-2012
 BUT…digital media are only
part of the answer
 154 million Americans read a Sunday
newspaper in print
 187 million Americans read magazines in
print
 Consumers use online and print media
differently
 Despite the obituaries,
newspapers are not dead
 More people read the Sunday Miami Herald in print
each week than watch American Idol each week
 Newspapers remain a or the dominant media company
in most markets
 In 2007, more than 60 million unique viewers visited
newspaper websites each month
 In McClatchy markets, newspaper print circulation and
websites together offer more than 50 percent penetration
 More than 5 million unique visitors came to the Miami
Herald’s website in September
 Web traffic at magazine
websites is also growing
 70.7 million unique monthly visitors went
to magazine websites during the first
quarter of 2008
 Not all “new media’’ are
created equal
 175-million-plus sites on the Web
 News and the offbeat often dominate traffic
 Among travelers, the importance of blogs
has dropped in the past year (Yankelovich)
 Popular online doesn’t always equal
widespread acceptance; remember Snakes
on a Plane?
Most popular U.S. sites (Alexa.com)

 Google.com  Microsoft Network

 Yahoo.com (msn.com)
 YouTube.com  Wikipedia.org

 Facebook.com  Ebay.com

 Windows Live  AOL.com

(live.com)  Craiglist.org
 Blogger.com
 Most popular blogs (Technorati)

 The Huffington Post  Lifehacker

 Gizmodo, the Gadget  Ars Technica
Guide  Daily Kos: State of the
Nation
 TechCrunch
 The Official Google
 Engadget Blog
 Boing Boing  Free Travel Blog to
Share Your Tips
(Travelpod.com)
 Top 5 Digg Stories / past year

 Digg’s April Fool’s Day Joke; 31,803 diggs

 Digg this if you are sick of Scientologists
burying articles; 25,698 diggs
 Heath Ledger dies; 22,472 diggs
 George Carlin has died; 19,793 diggs
 Ninja cat comes closer while not moving;
18,308 diggs
 Top Travel websites by traffic
(Hitwise, September 08)

 MapQuest  American Airlines

 Google maps  Delta Air Lines
 TripAdvisor
 Yahoo! Maps
 Local Live
 Expedia  Hotwire
 Southwest Airlines  Kayak
 Travelocity  CheapoAir.com
 Orbitz  Hotels.com
 Yahoo! Travel  Northwest Airlines
 United Airlines
 Priceline
 Cheap Tickets
 Social Networking
is here to stay
 YouTube ranks No. 3 among all U.S. websites by
traffic
 Facebook ranks No. 4 among all U.S. websites by
traffic
 TripAdvisor ranks No. 13 among top travel websites
 According to the Yankelovich Travel Monitor,
friends and neighbors are the most trusted source for
travel recommendations (8 in 10 surveyed.) 25
percent are confident of what they read on
TripAdvisor)
Social networking can’t be controlled
– but it can be managed
 Know what is being said about you
 Address it on the website where it is posted
 Encourage reviews from happy guests
 Explain on your own website how you are addressing
concerns
 Create a Facebook group and use it to promote specials
 Host your own blog – but keep it real
TSA blog
John Heald’s cruise blog
VisitFlorida blog
Multi media is increasingly important

 YouTube, you got it

Ritz Carlton short film
 Magazines and newspapers are adding
video stories daily (but no, they aren’t really
paying for it.)
Doug Lansky’s souvenir slideshow
Survive a bear attack
Travels with Jane
 Don’t ignore mobile devices
 256 million in the U.S. subscribe to wireless
phone service
 China has 540 million users; India has
slight more than the U.S.
 Abacus International estimates 1.5 billion
cell users in the Asia-Pacific region
 It’s all about the economy
 Checked your 401K lately? The Dow has
dropped more than 40 percent in the past
year.
 Despite this, experts predict that the luxury
category will rebound quickly.
 So what does this mean to me?
1. Think high and low

 Luxury or budget, value is the key.

 Deals, packages and cost-wise strategies get editors’
attention…but be ready to explain the value.
 Fixed-cost vacations – cruises, all-inclusive experiences
and packages – find favor with consumers and editors.
 Travelers likely will be making plans last minute; look for
ways to promote last-minute deals in stories and on
websites.
 Unless it has a value hook, save “green’’ for upscale
publications
 2. Think regional

 Travelers likely will stay closer to home.

Whether you’re a writer or a PR
professional, your best hits are going to
come from regional media.
 3. Think short

 The trend toward short vacations will grow

even stronger
 4. Focus on other “best bets”

 Niche travelers are driven by passion – and

passion often outweighs economic
sensibility
 Know that editors are more
short-handed than ever before
 Give them story ideas that are fully
developed and involve sources beyond your
own.
 Be sure information about packages and
deals is complete and includes pricing.
 Be accurate. Fact-check everything…twice.
 Do I need a website?
 Yes. Yes. And yes. (And that includes journalists.)
www.douglansky.com
www.timshisler.com
www.elliott.org
www.janewooldridge.com
 Do I need a blog?
 If you’re looking to make money, maybe
not.
 If you want to brand yourself and/or serve a
niche market, maybe yes.
 BUT…if you start a blog, you must feed,
bathe and clean it.
 Do I need to be multi-media?
 If you’re a travel supplier (or represent
one), you can get additional exposure if you
have high quality B-roll and audio clips.
 If you’re a journalist, it’s not essential…but
it may be soon.
 Where can I find out more?
 Forrester Research: www.forrester.com
 Jupiter Research: www.jupiterresearch.com
 PhocusWright: www.phocuswright.com
 Hitwise: www.hitwise.com
 Yankelovich Travel Monitor:
www.ypartnership.com, www.yankelovich.com
 TIA: www.tia.org
 Multimedia: www.timshisler.com
 This presentation: www.janewooldridge.com