Photo Source: eResources

In the era of digital media, publications, as well as journalists, have been trying to find the best way to incorporate digital media, while still keeping print in mind.

A perfect example of this would be Vox.com, an online-only news site run by Ezra Klein and Vox Media. Similar to Vice and BuzzFeed, it is all about strategic content management. In an article from The New York Times, author Leslie Kaufman explains that news sites like this are recruiting veteran journalists as well as the next generation of storytellers and innovators.

Having well-rounded and seasoned journalists, and fresh voices lets a publication be flexible and adaptive to the changing environment around them.

In an article on Forbes, author Daniel Newman gives suggestions and predictions on how to deal the future of digital media and journalism. Some predictions include jobs evolving, digital revenue streams will change business models, connecting people will accelerate digital media, and accepting and adapting to change.

These predictions go hand in hand with Vox Media’s already lucrative and successful content management system Chorus. Even TechCrunch, a competing website to Vox.com, has praised it. “It is credited with having a toolset that allows journalists to edit and illustrate their copy in dramatic fashion, promote their work on social media, and interact with readers — all seamlessly and intuitively,” Kaufman said.

This system has skyrocketed Vox’s success, as well as create a quality reputation. “Its largest demographic is educated households headed by individuals under 35 years old with incomes over $100,000,” Kaufman said.

Another reason for its success and reputation is that it doesn’t attract audiences via click bait titles or with quizzes, Vox gets its attention directly. It doesn’t even re-direct its traffic through Facebook or Twitter.

Similarly, an article from Observer suggests that “content companies are visibly all the rage.”

On another note, the same article, written by Thought Catalog Chris Lavergne, also suggests that the digital landscape isn’t much different than what it was in 2010 and actually look very similar.

Lavergne compares BuzzFeed to The Huffington Post, and Vice to MTV, saying the former are just trying to be like the latter, respectively.  Ultimately, he says that history will repeat itself, and that “the new is old.”

But to actually succeed in today’s digital age, it’s important to have a vision.

“Companies need to see what consumers want, but they also need to develop a penchant for recognizing what consumers may not know they yet need,” Newman said. “The businesses that succeed in the next 5-10 years will recognize the need to change their strategic mindsets. embrace constant change, and take calculated risks.”

This is following a classic model that most consumer-related businesses follow because they know without consumers they wouldn’t be profitable or successful in the least bit.

All in all, the future is not completely predictable, but it is important to be adaptable to change as well as utilize the connections available through social media.