If newspapers and news websites have to compete for attention with an entire phalanx of new, evolving technology and audience behaviour… then so are growing businesses who are trying to claim their stake for audience attention.
The 2025 Digital News Project report, authored by Nic Newman and Federica Cherubini, explores the significant challenges and potential opportunities facing journalism due to rapid technological advancements.
Based on a survey of over 300 news executives globally, the report highlights concerns around the disruption of search engines, platform uncertainties, and the rise of individual content creators.
The upshot: Newspapers and news websites compete for attention with an entire phalanx of new, evolving technology and audience behaviour. Audiences are choosing to disengage and sometimes entirely opt out from consuming news due to a difficult news agenda, or because of fragmented attentions taken in by alternatives to news media.
What does it mean for businesses with traditional PR approaches?
Think like a digital outreach manager: to reach out to these audiences, you need:
- Constructive narratives
- Use AI for accessibility
- Build better relationships with journalists affected by news fatigue
Why is news fatigue happening?
- A relentless barrage of so-called negative news, such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the growing impact of climate change, and political turmoil, which leads audiences to block out the news.
- News fatigue is also affecting journalists themselves, with many reporting high levels of anxiety from having to cover conflicts or toxic political developments, and the criticism that often accompanies it.
- Some news subscribers are cancelling their subscriptions, citing fatigue with the news or a lack of time as reasons.
Learning from the Strategies to Combat News Fatigue in 2025
What can businesses borrow from cutting-edge news organisations who are employing new tactics to re-engage audiences and combat news fatigue?
- Explainers and Human Stories: Audiences do want to learn, online, about your product, without necessarily being cajoled into a hard sell or having to act as a spectator to a sales pitch – generate key bullet points about your services, and use any format that can strike up interest: social video, text, real stories, speaking to users and clients.
- Positive and Constructive Angles: Select the best or most interesting aspects of the month that can generated a constructive or positive story angle, such as a human interest news that deals with your employees.
- “Slow Journalism” and Less Noise: Do not underestimate the power of less frequent, but immensely valuable deep-dives, such as monthly audio and newsletter briefings. Businesses especially can target moderate news readers wanting to spend less time on screens with well-scripted podcasts.
- New Formats and Accessible Styles: Less text and more visual and socially native storytelling can effectively be designed to appeal to younger and hard-to-reach audiences.
- Audio Integration: The increasing integration of audio (read articles, audio summaries, and podcasts) into websites and apps is another approach to make news more accessible and potentially less overwhelming than dense text.
Connection to Larger Trends
- Platform Diversification: Do not ignore TikTok and YouTube in your social media platform choice, because these tend to favour shorter, more engaging content formats that could potentially combat news fatigue by offering information in digestible ways.
- Creator Economy: Individual news creators and influencers could be both a cause and a potential solution to news fatigue. However, businesses can find new ways to connect with audiences and build trust, potentially offering alternative and less fatiguing ways to consume news, using the right influencers to reach younger audiences.
A strategic investment
In an era where reputation and visibility matter, ensuring your voice is heard in the media landscape is a smart move. A well-crafted press release or news story doesn’t just inform: it influences.
Contact Matthew Vella today
to start pitching your business stories
