IG news Update,
New York –
If young people are spending so much time on social media, it’s because it’s a great place to reach them with news.
The operators of the news movement are betting their business on that hunch. The company, which has been in the works for just over a year, hopes to succeed despite journalism littered with years of failed attempts to entice people over the age of 20 to become news consumers.
The brainchild of former Dow Jones executives, News Movement is using a staff of journalists with an average age of 25 to create news content for sites such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
“You really have to be humble and be open to different trends and ideas,” said Ramin Beheshti, president and founder of the organization along with former Dow Jones CEO Will Lewis. “We’ve built a newsroom that shows viewers that we’re trying to move forward.”
Among the newsrooms the company is producing TikTok videos for is the Associated Press. The AP provided office space for the company and Lewis is vice chairman of its board of directors.
Some of the content will shock a news traditionalist.
Noticing that her friends appreciated the calming video, a staff member created a “explainer” on the midterm elections for Snapchat, using videos of her grooming a horse, making pizza, and growing flowers. while an offscreen voice discusses politics.
In “Get Ready With Me”, the two women prepare for work while talking about some things in the news.
There are more specific proposals: video of the earthquake in Turkey, for example, and reports on President Biden’s proposals on abortion and social media. Explainer stories take a step back to tell people why something is news.
Some stories are not actually news at all, but stem from personal experience. A New York reporter wondered why the police did not immediately jump onto the subway tracks to save a fallen person, after he saw them working to stop the trains.
Stories about strange things Florida residents do are a major source of news coverage, a staff member created a TikTok video to learn that it’s partly because police there Often releases photos and details about events faster than other states.
There’s also related material that provides a service of sorts: asking young people on the street some of the excuses they’ve used to break up a date.
“The news isn’t always what you think it is,” said Jessica Cohen, US executive editor who’s had leadership roles at Mashable, Morning Brew and The Cut.
News Movement is not trying to be an aggregator, and cover every headline, Koen said. “We are trying to cover issues where we can provide context and clarity,” she said.
Story formats vary to reflect where they are placed. Most TikTok videos are around a minute long, while an impassioned YouTube piece about women’s safety and response to assault cases by London police ran for almost 14 minutes.
According to a study by Oliver Wyman and the News Movement, nearly 60% of people in Gen Z, or young adults up to their mid-20s, say they get their news through social media. Other studies show that Gen Z people have a lower opinion of traditional news outlets than their elders.
Given this, the News Movement believes that efforts by news organizations to attract youth to their sites or apps are hard sells.
Beheshti said, “News shouldn’t feel like work.” “It should be part of your daily intake.”
One person who sampled some of News Movement’s TikTok stories gave a mixed review, saying they often emphasize flash over substance. She needed to “read the room better,” said Gabrielle Glynn-Habron, a 21-year-old college student from Asheville, NC, who is studying journalism.
He said, ‘I appreciate this effort. “That’s part of what else the news media should be doing — just show the effort.”
Too often, those that try to appeal to young people fail because they don’t really understand who they’re trying to reach, said Linda Ellerbee, who for Nickelodeon Network in the 1990s ” Nick News” programs offered a blueprint for success. It is a mistake to think that Gen Z is apathetic; He said the generation led the protests against the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.
Ellerbee said, “Most attempts to try to get news to young people fail because they underestimate the intelligence of their audience.” “They talk them down. They assume that because they’re young, they’re dumb.”
One place where Ellerbee and the news movement agree is how many people are frustrated with traditional news because they feel they’re only getting a piece of the story, or are plunging into a movie somewhere in the middle. It argues for more lecturers.
The company’s research found that younger news consumers check information more readily than older peers, but they are also more susceptible to believing misinformation.
Because news as a business is volatile, the news movement has made diversification a part of its model since its inception. It will work with traditional news organizations and help them build social media teams.
News Movement advises brands on how to reach young consumers and has purchased Recount, which creates video content about American politics for social media and continues to operate as a separate entity.
“We can’t have a way to make money,” Beheshti said.