According to Cision’s 2019 State of the Media survey—the company’s 10th annual—which collected responses from 1,999 journalists in 10 countries, relevance and trust are more important than ever.

Responses reflect growing concerns around the changing role of social media, an increasing reliance on data-driven storytelling, and positive shifts in perceptions of trust.

In this fragmented, dynamic media environment, communications and PR professionals have an opportunity to become even more reliable partners with their media counterparts.

The past 12 months have been challenging for the media industry. Members of the press must contend with personal attacks, accusations of fake news, and the rapid spread of misinformation. Social media has been particularly difficult to work with this year, with complex updates to data privacy laws and sudden changes in newsfeed algorithms.

It’s also interesting to see the way the media measure their success. That too is changing and reflects the economic realities of the media in 2019.

In the end there are still many challenges ahead, but journalists seem to feel if they can tell compelling stories, there is still a large, local, national and international market for engaging content.

Key Takeaways

1. Journalists are making more data-driven decisions around the content they publish.
2. Social media is becoming a more challenging and complex partner for publishers.
3. Facing a lack of resources, journalists are overwhelmed and overworked.
4. Journalists believe the public’s lack of trust in the media might be on the decline.
5. PR outreach needs to be more relevant and targeted to stand out.

The relationship between storytellers and audiences is complex and there are challenges, but good content, good stories are always wanted and they do find an audience. The state of the media in 2019 reflects society at large, its changing and changing fast.