The tone of the media’s coverage of itself these days seems to be one of handwringing anxiety. Headlines feature such dire developments as the cord-cutting threat to cable, AI’s supposedly negative impact on reader engagement, “fragmentation,” the “streaming challenge,” and declining trust in a period of intense political division. In short, if you only listened to the media talk about itself, you might think the industry is teetering on the brink of collapse.

This raises a fundamental question: Should brand managers, marketers and reputation leaders worry about these shifts, and should they still view earned media as a vital channel for building reputation? Our answer to the second question is yes, and with greater urgency than ever.

The very forces that create uncertainty in the media landscape are also reshaping and expanding opportunities for corporations to tell their stories. Where some see fragmentation, we see diversification. Where some lament declining trust, we see a premium on credible, independent, third-party validation. And where others fear digital disruption, we see powerful new distribution channels that make every earned placement go further.

In reality, many parts of the media are not just surviving — they are thriving, growing audiences and expanding influence. A single story in a respected outlet now travels far beyond its original readers, amplified through social platforms, search engines, and even boardrooms. Each mention builds digital equity and delivers what we call the trust dividend: the multiplier effect that comes when an independent source validates your story. In an era when consumers and stakeholders are increasingly skeptical of self-promotion, this kind of third-party credibility is more valuable than ever.

The resulting transformation will generate fresh opportunities to reach audiences critical to building brands and strengthening reputations. To capitalize on current trends, marketers, brand managers and reputation managers must think more than ever in terms of integrated, multichannel communications strategies, where earned media plays an essential and catalytic role. Beyond the largest players, the rise of niche, vertical and subscription-based outlets, such as Substack newsletters, illustrates that audiences are not shrinking but rather redistributing. This creates fresh opportunities for brands to connect with highly targeted communities that align directly with their business priorities.

There are three trends that are essential considerations for anyone shaping reputation-focused communications strategies:

1. The big are getting bigger.

Major news sites such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Bloomberg have shown their staying power even among the fragmentation of the media landscape. If there’s a common theme driving their audience growth, it’s their investment in a much more diversified offering in terms of both content and format.

To broaden their audience reach, these mega news franchises have bulked up offerings of newsletters, podcasts and video while adding more sports, games, lifestyle and advice content. Their scale and resources allow them to push further into these content categories while continuing to strengthen their core reporting on business, finance and the economy.

To cite a few examples, The Wall Street Journal now offers more than 40 narrow-focused newsletters and has its own channel on Apple Podcast. Similarly, The New York Times now offers more than 40 podcasts through its own app and the major podcast platforms. Bloomberg uses podcasts to offer replays of its more than 50 standing broadcast segments. Bloomberg’s “Odd Lots” podcast has become so influential it was profiled in The New York Times. Both The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have also expanded into live events, using high-profile conferences to extend their brands and deepen audience engagement. Bloomberg, in particular, now stages conferences around the world, reinforcing its global presence and influence.

Data plays an important role in this growth. Top editors and marketers in these news organizations are increasingly sharing data about readership trends and preferences to fine tune their content strategies. It’s important to note it has nothing to do with the traditional information barrier between editorial and ad sales, which remains intact. It’s about making the most of the data that news organizations have on their audiences and site visitors to shape coverage and develop story ideas. This data also helps drive the news site’s own marketing and subscriber acquisition strategies.

The results are showing up in significant audience gains:

• News Corp. reported in August that its Dow Jones & Co. division, which includes The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch, had a bounce-back first half. The total average subscriptions in the quarter ending in June increased 5% from a year ago. Digital-only subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal grew 9% to more than1 million average subscriptions in the quarter.
• The stock price of The New York Times Company hit a record high in August after reporting that it added about 230,000 digital-only subscribers in the second quarter. Nearly 11.9 million people now subscribe to at least one of the Times’s digital or print products. Those include news, as well as games, cooking articles, the Athletic, and Wirecutter, its consumer product-review site.
• Bloomberg Media told staff in August that it recorded 16% growth in paying subscribers in the year ended in June. Year-on-year, nearly 100,000 new subscribers were added to bring the total to more than 660,000. Across all the Bloomberg online and video platforms, average monthly users grew 6% over the year ended in June, increasing to more than 100 million. Average monthly views of Bloomberg video climbed to more than 60 million.

Together, these examples show that even in a fragmented landscape, scale still matters. But they also highlight an important shift: Successful communications strategies must operate on two levels — leveraging the reach and influence of the largest platforms while also engaging with specialized verticals and niche outlets that deliver credibility and precision the big players cannot.

2. In broadcast, CNBC and CNN will face fresh challenges after spinoffs planned for this year, as Fox Business continues to lead in audience share.

While the largest digital and print outlets expand their offerings, the broadcast world tells a different story, one of restructuring, spinoffs and new competition. The stagnating cable news audience has prompted Comcast to spin off this year several of its cable channels, including CNBC and MSNBC into a company dubbed Versant. It will start its corporate life with about $7 billion in revenue and no debt. CNN’s parent, Warner Brothers Discovery, has also floated the idea of spinning off some of its cable properties.

Part of the rationale is that CNBC, CNN and MSNBC will be better positioned to grow organically and through acquisition after the spinoff. Industry observers will be watching closely for strategic moves by Versant, which will be headed by media veteran Mark Lazarus. In addition to CNBC and MSNBC, Versant will include entertainment channels such as the USA Network, Oxygen, and SyFy.

Not surprisingly, rumors are already flying. The New York Post, which shares ownership with Fox and The Wall Street Journal, reported that Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post, is considering an acquisition of CNBC. (He declined to comment.) At MSNBC, there’s speculation about contract renegotiations and staff cuts.

The news of the Versant spinoff came as Fox Business retained the upper hand in audience share versus CNBC in the second quarter. For the so-called “total day” metric, Fox Business held a lead with 137,000 viewers in the second quarter, a 15% advantage over CNBC. During stock market hours, Fox Business had a 208,000 edge in total views, 9% more than CNBC. Fox’s Larry Kudlow and Stuart Varney segments continue to rank highly among the most watched cable news programs.

CNBC can still lay claim to a larger audience in age groups more prized by marketers. CNBC has about twice as many views as Fox in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic.

For communicators, this means broadcast remains influential, but relationships, formats and audience reach are in flux. It will be important to monitor leadership changes and experiment with new formats to ensure continued access to these platforms.

3. An equally pressing yet often-overlooked side of the fragmentation story is taking place on social media, especially across generational lines.

If legacy print and broadcast are navigating growth and restructuring, social media represents the third dimension of today’s media landscape — fragmented, generationally divided, and increasingly influential in shaping perceptions. A YouGov survey of social media users in April and May pointed out how splintered the social media landscape is becoming, especially along generational lines. YouGov asked social media users which platform they’ve engaged with in the last month:

• Facebook is still most-used the social media network overall, but its users skew significantly toward the older generations, with only Baby Boomers and Gen X using it more widely than other channels. YouTube, meanwhile, scored significantly higher than Facebook for Gen Z and Millennials, suggesting that YouTube has generational momentum. (The numbers: For Gen Z, 77% YouTube vs. 65% Facebook. For Millennials, 79% YouTube vs. 71% Facebook. For Gen X, 70% YouTube vs. 75% Facebook. For Baby Boomers, 63% YouTube vs. 85% Facebook).
• Instagram was cited by 65% of Gen Z respondents, well above the 54% of Millennials, 42% for Gen X, and a mere 34% for Boomers. Instagram’s video features are credited for driving the platform’s popularity among Gen Z.
• TikTok proved strong with Gen Z (43%) and Millennials (39%), but much less so with Gen X (27%) and Baby Boomers (12%).
• X (formerly Twitter) was cited by only 23% of Gen Z, 28% of Millennials, 28% of Gen X, and 21% of Baby Boomers.
• Reddit received about the same percentage as X overall (25%) but was much more popular with Gen Z (30% for Reddit vs 23% for X) and Millennials (39% for Reddit vs 28% for X). Not unlike YouTube, Reddit also appears to be benefiting from a degree of generational momentum.

The growing diversity of social platforms — and the distinct audiences each attracts — creates fresh opportunities for influencers to build followings. It also opens the door to more precise targeting strategies for paid campaigns, allowing brands to reach the right people on the right platform at the right time.

Amid this generational fragmentation, it’s worth noting the powerful position that LinkedIn commands in the social media mix. A division of Microsoft, LinkedIn rarely is mentioned by the media, but it has yet to be rivaled in the breadth and quality of its users.

By one recent estimate, there are 10 million C-level executives on LinkedIn and 234 million U.S. users. Some 32% of U.S. adults use LinkedIn, which is in line with the size of TikTok’s U.S. user base. Of interest: the 42% of LinkedIn users who say they regularly get news of the platform are between the ages of 30 and 49.

The implication for communicators is clear: Generational shifts demand tailored strategies. For Gen Z and Millennials, video-first storytelling on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok is critical. For Gen X and Boomers, Facebook (and LinkedIn) remain powerful platforms. Reddit’s momentum underscores the need to engage in community-driven conversations where credibility is earned, not imposed. And LinkedIn’s unique hold on business leaders reinforces its role as the premier platform for executive visibility and thought leadership.

Takeaways

Many forces are driving change across the media, but the three trends noted above offer some pointers:

• Leading news sites are offering content in many different formats designed to appeal to segments of their readership. Marketers and brand managers will increasingly need to put forward spokespeople and content suitable for video, podcasting and narrow-band newsletters, as well as for conventional reporting, to reach their audiences.
• Business news channels will likely be undergoing structural changes as the new streaming world takes shape and spinoffs occur. While Fox Business, CNBC and Bloomberg TV will all remain important forces in business and finance news, shaping views of issues and brands, changes in formats and personnel are likely. Communications teams should track anchor moves, programming changes, and ownership shifts closely, treating broadcast as a dynamic, not static, channel.
• Integrating both earned and paid media into programs that leverage social media will still prove to be the most effective communications and marketing strategy. Understanding the differences among news organizations and social media platforms — and their audiences — helps to get the right result. Success depends on precision, not ubiquity: tailoring messages to each platform’s audience, leveraging video where it dominates, and leaning into LinkedIn for credibility with decision-makers.

As we look at the sweeping changes underway in the media landscape, one truth remains constant: Earned media delivers something no other channel can — the independent, third-party validation that builds lasting credibility. In an era of deep skepticism, that credibility is the most valuable currency a brand can possess.

Yes, it is essential to tap into every channel — paid, controlled, and social — to reach audiences where they are. But it is earned media that anchors those efforts, lending authenticity and trust that cannot be bought. The smartest campaigns will elevate earned moments, then amplify them across all other channels, ensuring that this unique power continues to shape reputation in ways nothing else can. And, despite all the headlines lamenting the supposed “demise” of media, the reality is that earned media remains not only alive, but more powerful and more essential than ever.