Legacy media efforts to move with the times

Legacy newspapers have often been accused –and rightly so, sometimes – of failing to innovate enough and move with the times.

They have been described as ocean liners as opposed to speedboats because of how long they take to make turnaround decisions.

They have also been accused of stifling innovation and not being open-minded enough to absorb new ideas and ways of thinking.

This is changing, as we are now seeing legacy news organisations reinvent themselves not only to defend their positions as the market leaders but also reach out to chronically underserved audiences such as youth and aggressively enter new markets.

They are investing in technologies such as artificial intelligence for more efficient news gathering, production and distribution processes. Their investment in consumer-led product innovations seems to be paying off in the short run.

There are many international examples, but I am particularly drawn to the story of Le Monde, a French daily newspaper established in 1944. It was among the first French newspapers to have a website in 1995 and remains one of the most popular websites in France.

Today, the newspaper has nearly 550,000 paying subscribers for their digital and print products and have their sights on one million subscribers by 2025. So how does Le Monde intend to reach the one million subscriber mark?

Younger audiences

The most interesting thing I found about this newspaper is that they have made significant effort and investment to reach out to younger audiences by ensuring they are publishing on every social media platform their audiences patronise.

The newspaper is going big on Facebook, Twitter (100 tweets a day), TikTok and Instagram, ensuring that their audiences see them in the form and shape they prefer. The other strategy –which I think is brilliant – is attracting younger subscribers by giving them up to 50 per cent discounts if they use the ‘Subscribe by Google’ option.

This strategy has been immensely successful and has accounted for about 30 per cent of their new subscriptions. In 2021, about 48 per cent of their new subscribers were young folks under the age of 34. In an industry where everyone is scrambling for the young audience, which has proven to be incredibly elusive, this is a big win.

The other strategy that seems to be working for Le Monde is their dedication to new, underserved markets such as Africa. WAN-IFRA reports that Le Monde has dedicated more than 35 journalists from France to cover 55 countries in Africa and collectively produce about 4,000 stories on the region.

They have studied the African market and understood the unique subscriber habits, which has led to arrangements with telecommunication companies such as Orange to guarantee seamless payments. This, coupled with 50 per cent discounts on their subscriptions, has accounted for tremendous growth of Le Monde in the African market. With the growing internet penetration in the region, this kind of investment is set to fully pay off in the next few years.

The writer is the director, Innovation Centre, at Aga Khan University; [email protected]