There’s one shift in the media landscape that we talk to our clients about more than anything else.
It’s the shift in attention from mainstream media to niche media.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but yesterday we saw three pieces all about this shift to niche.
🟢 The Information is one of the most successful new ‘trade’ outlets in Silicon Valley – deep expertise and unrivalled contacts helping to generate regular scoops. Its founder, Jessica Lessin, is now investing in niche titles in other sectors, from remote work to tennis.
🟢 London Centric and The Londoner are just two of half a dozen city-specific newsletters that have sprung up to fill the void left by the Evening Standard. Jim Waterson, who left The Guardian to set up London Centric, personally messages his readers back on WhatsApp when they send him story tips and gossip.
🟢 In his own niche newsletter, former tech investor MG Siegler wrote about how Google’s traditional web search business is eroding and being replaced by AI search – which prioritises deep, detailed content from specialist outlets, not merely ‘domain authority’.
Comms teams used to see big ‘national’ coverage as success, and trade outlets as a second-best option (massive generalisation but you get my point). That’s all changed now.
B2B audiences are spending more and more time consuming multi-hour podcasts, subscribing to niche newsletters, and reading industry-specific LinkedIn posts. And online search, especially AI, points more people towards niche content.
The future’s bright, the future’s niche.
