The Sky s the Limit

Why This Matters News organizations are riding a rising wave of content, revenue and ratings, with millennials tuning in digitally.

Boarding a full United Airlines flight in Chicago on April 9, Dr. David Dao had no ambition to become a global news subject, much less the bloodied face of a video gone universally viral. The 69-year-old physician merely intended to Fly the Friendly Skies on an uneventful return to Louisville, near his home in Elizabeth, Ky. But smartphonecamera ready or not, Dao instead was destined for news-cycle video fame-or in his case, infamy.

When Dao wouldn't relinquish his seat to accommodate an airline staffer United wished to have on the plane instead, the airline hit the eject button, summoning airport security to manhandle the slight gentleman. Out popped smartphones as a planeload of fellow passengers morphed into citizen journalists. From myriad angles, they recorded Dao as the bouncers dragged him down the aisle; he lost two teeth and was knocked unconscious from being banged around like luggage, his midriff exposed.

Of course, by now, this is not news to you: The outrageous image has spread across the earth like (from United's shameful view) a pandemic. No quicker than you can say upload, the video file leapt from smartphones to social media to websites, blogs and, maybe most prominently, to television. Where it has been turned into ratings.

This is the coursing path of the current, vastly successful news cycle. Viral video begets viral news. The incident may have started out as the former, but quickly became the latter, especially after it was cued up as footage for traditional news outlets, topping newscasts on cable, broadcast and satellite TV worldwide. It even made the newspapers, or, to be precise, video on newspaper websites.

Just a few years ago, the incident would have rated no more than outraged dinner conversation by the eyewitnesses. But between the broadcast and cable news cycles and the immediacy of the Web, we are now knee deep in the age of what can perhaps best be called News Ubiquity. And here's the surprising rub: Unlike in past, the younger demos are along for the viewing ride-albeit on their platform of choice, through digital options and social media. The other shocker: the incredible rise in news consumption comes at a moment when broadcasters are battling the fake prefix before much of what they report.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

It's too early to tell the societal benefits-or drawbacks-of all this instant information. Is mankind becoming more widely and deeply informed on current events than ever in human history? Or for the average person, does it mean the possibility of falling victim to news overload?

For traditional news media, the phenomenon is changing the economics and audiences, and putting a spotlight on the generational divide in modes of media consumption-a trend that's already crimping ratings and revenue at entertainment cable networks.

What exactly is the phenomenon behind this latest potential tectonic shift in the media landscape? Broadcast and cable news is now saturated with a seemingly endless flood of content. That flood includes those unexpected moments spontaneously captured that subsequently become news-that can be produced by any one of 2.6 billion smart-phone users, a third of the world population. (Hundreds of millions, if not billions, of other video-capturing digital devices also qualify as production gear for news ubiquity.)

Viral video has expansive reach and a riveted like -minded audience. So when something newsworthy happens-beyond the fleeting entertainment value of a surfing squirrel-it can have massive impact. The 15-second clip of the United Airlines ruffian image hit the company's stock price, threatened the job of CEO Oscar Mu oz, sparked global outrage and prompted this reaction from President Trump, Horrible! So, too, did the recent live-streamed rape of a Chicago teen on Facebook have impact. Police have at presstime arrested two suspects, who, if convicted, will face serious punishment.

And from the first sniff of a story to the lengthened conclusion, people keep watching with more fervor than a reality TV story arc. Nielsen recently noted a phenomenal increase in news in its Total Audience Report for the fourth quarter. Increased usage across national and local TV, radio and digital sources shows a 2016 increase of 11.2 billion minutes of news consumption per week, compared to 2015, according to the report.

Adults 18 years old and up spent more than 73.5 billion minutes consuming news in the average week in 2016, up 18% from the prior year, and every platform shared in the gains, except local news. National news viewing grew to 14.3 billion minutes in 2016, up 5% from 13.6 billion the year earlier. News viewed on personal computers jumped 46% to 4.1 billion minutes from 2.8 billion minutes. Smartphone news climbed by half to 1.5 billion minutes from 1 billion minutes. Cable news saw the meatiest gains of all. Viewership increased 44% to 27.1 billion minutes from 18.8 billion in 2015.

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LINK:	http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/news-articles/sky-s-limit/164937...
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