Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses everywhere are struggling. The media industry, too, has been affected by this global crisis.

But, since the industry has a long history of being in flux — and always on the edge of a breakdown — how is the Coronavirus really affecting the media?

Where are newsrooms at? 

Global newsrooms

The global pandemic threw a huge curveball at newsrooms worldwide, forcing journalists to work remotely and eviscerating whole streams of revenue. And while most journalists are used to working on the scene, they also heavily rely on meetings with their editors and collaborations with their teams.

Across the world, the majority of journalists are working remotely due to self-isolation or government-enforced lockdowns. This new, isolated environment has been the cause of much anxiety, which has led to more and more discussion about the stress and how to deal with it.

As a way to deal with this stress, a team of 11 journalists put together the Newsroom Guide to COVID-19. This came after groups of journalists from the Journalists of Colour and News Nerdery Slack channels, as well as the OpenNews organisation, began to share their anxieties about the pandemic and the effect it is having on their work environments.

“The guide covers four main topics: general need-to-know info about coronavirus itself and what to do if you’re exposed to it; how to care for your own physical and emotional health as you cover the pandemic; caring for others, whether they’re your colleagues, reporters, or freelancers; and recommendations and tips for event planners.” This is according to Hanaa’ Tameez in an article for NiemanLab.

It’s important to consider that not all journalists are built for pandemic coverage — think arts, music or sports reporters — but, as Matt Pierce, Los Angeles Times reporter, said in a tweet, “we are all coronavirus reporters now’.


Ted Han, a product consultant and a board member of the Asian American Journalists Association, said that freelance reporters haven’t been given the same guidance that managers might give to their full-time staff, so the Newsroom Guide aims to support them as well.

“It’s not just the political leaders that were caught flat-footed on this,” he said. “Certain newsrooms had a plan for this, while others didn’t. A lot of newsroom leaders are thinking about how to continue coverage in this right now, so it’s as much taking care of the newsroom as taking care of the public right now.”

While the Newsroom Guide the COVD-19 is applicable to journalists across the globe, developed nations are dealing with completely different issues from undeveloped ones — and thus, the journalists’ experiences differ.

Local newsrooms

In South Africa, the cost of data is one of the biggest issues facing journalists; working remotely is a luxury that only some can afford. On top of that, while online publications are more set up for remote working, what do broadcast and print journalists do? Well, working from home becomes a little more complex for them.

Subsequently, we’ve seen some panic from the major publishers in South Africa — especially since the announcement of the mandatory 21-day lockdown from Thursday, 26 March. Some publications have completely shut down their operations for the lockdown period, while others have pulled their distribution.

“During the lockdown period, RNA, Caxton’s distribution of magazines, as well as On the Dot, Media24’s distribution arm, confirmed that no magazines would be distributed during the lockdown,” says Marina Kruger, media manager at Target Media Directory.

On top of this, we’re seeing a huge stress put on the media industry since ad revenues have all but disappeared. Some of the country’s publications have seen their ad revenue decrease by as much as a 75% in a single week. And, in many cases, featured inserts have been condensed — or cut completely.

Is COVID-19 all bad news for the media?

While the pandemic is putting huge pressure on newsrooms, journalists and distributors, there is one sphere of the industry that has greatly benefitted from the crisis: online news channels.

Since the global pandemic went viral, so to speak, just about every content producer has created or shared something related to COVID-19. And, while no one wants to say it, the truth is that the coronavirus has been great for online traffic.

In fact, content analysis service Parse.ly found that up to 15% of all daily traffic to their major news publisher clients was to content specifically about the coronavirus.

The coronavirus has been great for online traffic
According to the analysis service, the most popular topics for stories that directly mentioned the coronavirus include:

  1. social distancing (especially as recommended by experts)
  2. analysis and explainer content on topics, including ‘flattening the curve’, self-quarantine, social distancing and the effect on the economy, and
  3. local and international travel restrictions.

As well as benefiting the world of online news sites, COVID-19 has also been beneficial to other digital channels including podcasts, online video and social media news. With readers unable to access their regular printed or out of home content, they are flocking to digital channels.

So, for publishers that are willing — and able — to adapt to the current climate, there is a great opportunity to maximise their digital efforts and hopefully subsidise some of the damage to traditional channels.

But, one thing is for sure, considering the decline of ad revenues — which has traditionally been the main stream of income for publications — the media industry will never be the same again.

What other effects do you think COVID-19 has had on the media industry? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

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Struggling to work from home? Check out these Seven tips for working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.