Dissecting the news portfolio of the future

Does journalism have a place in our future? Find out from Kamal Ahmed of The News Movement, a Gen Z-first brand that produces video news on social media platforms.

People’s news consumption habits are changing: according to The News Movement, 18-25 year-olds get three-quarters of their new information from social media. Could this be a preview of the imminent and lasting change in information consumption patterns led by the younger generations?

Find out in this podcast episode hosted by WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi alongside Kamal Ahmed, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The News Movement, a media venture that stands as a testament to the shifting sands of journalism. We examine the present state of journalism as well as the trajectory it is headed for, also covering the news audience and how to sustain their engagement, both in terms of the platforms they use and the type of news they consume. 

The evolving role of journalism

“75% of any new information consumed by 18-25-year-olds, the first touchpoint for that new information is social media. Journalism has to move. It’s our duty as people who want to inform the world to understand where the audience is and move and help them navigate the world where they are, not where we might likely be.”

Taking an audience-first approach

“I think a lot of newsrooms are about talking first and listening afterwards. We’ve reversed that model. So we try and have a conversation, which is about listening to our young talent, understanding what the conversations are in their networks and in our audience listening systems, and then responding to that.”

Expanding the news landscape

“The issue for us as an industry is to understand we are in competition with each other. Journalism is a competitive trade and that’s important for chasing down stories, but actually we’re in competition with everything else you can do on your phone. I think our industry needs to see itself as in the content creation business and that’s where we need to have some different approaches.”
– Kamal Ahmed, editor-in-chief and co-founder, The News Movement

Head to Apple or Spotify to hear the full discussion on our Lives of Tomorrow podcast episode, Dissecting the News Portfolio of the Future.