NewsBeat

May/June 2017 NewsBeat 11 Then there is Facebook, which, despite its low trust, isn't going away. Newspapers can't ignore its reach to nearly 2 billion people around the world. But by capitalizing on their trust to build more connections with their audiences, newspapers can make their own digital real estate more relevant to news consumers, especially those who worry about fake news. When they do that, they'll be able to make a better case with all the businesses that have been putting more and more of their advertising on Facebook. Newspapers and the rest of the publishing industry that were sent reeling by the massive growth of Facebook and other distribution platforms are beginning to recover their self- confidence. Toby Young, President of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, said in a recent Q & A in Digiday, "Platforms are not forever." Facebook, responding to the new pushbacks from publishers, has created a Journalism Project that will, among other things, look at current revenue-sharing formulas. But in the end, the key difference will be not how Facebook shares its revenues or tinkers with its news-feed algorithm, but how successful newspapers are in achieving sustainability will depend on the richness of the connections they build with their audiences. They've got the trust of significant shares of those audiences. But their tall blue bars in the Ipsos chart are just part of the climb that newspapers need to make to secure their future. Tom Grubisich (@TomGubisich) writes "The New News" column for Street Fight. He is editorial director of hyperlocal news network Local America, and is also working on a book about the history, present, and future of Charleston, S.C.

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