We’ve written before about how the media is shifting from institutions to individuals – or more specifically, from legacy print and broadcast outlets to news influencers and creators. That was confirmed again in the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Digital News Report recently.
We held a Dine With Delphi event on this topic last week with a group of brilliant in-house comms leaders. From that conversation, we identified three ways this shift is affecting how brands communicate:
🔴 Complexities
– The rise of individual news influencers is fragmenting the media ecosystem – making planning, engagement, and measurement much harder.
– Many of these influencers now expect “pay-to-play” arrangements, raising budgetary and ethical questions.
– The pace of change is relentless, with new reputational voices surfacing almost daily.
🟠 Novelties
– What counts as “news” and what captures attention is evolving, fast.
– Audiences now expect studio-level production values, which puts pressure on internal teams and budgets.
– Measurement models need to adapt to fit this new world – and internal education of business stakeholders is a growing part of the comms role too.
🟢 Continuities
– Customer stories still rule. The ultimate proof of your brand.
– High-quality earned media coverage remains gold – possibly even more so now, as LLMs ingest and amplify editorial mentions.
If you need help navigating this shift in comms strategy, drop us a line.
