#APMillennials: Are younger audiences really different?
The senior executive producer of CBSNews.com says millennials are similar to other generations in terms of their preferences for news — the difference is how they receive it.
Are millennials really different than other generations when it comes to consuming news?
Not really, says Nancy Lane, the senior executive producer of CBSNews.com.
“When I was their age, we were not as engaged in hard news,” Lane said. “I think the difference for millennials is that technology changed as they hit that age. So it makes how they receive it different and they can receive it from more sources.”
That’s not to say 18- to 35-year-olds aren’t interested in the world around them. Lane remembers working at CNN when a focus group of younger viewers brought her a DVD of a documentary, saying she needed to see it.
So it’s not about lowering the standards of journalism, Lane emphasizes, as much as it’s changing the delivery of news. But that’s the “exciting” part — trying to determine what works and what doesn’t. Just make sure not to put all of your content on one platform, whether that is your own website or Facebook.
“Where legacy organizations make a mistake is chasing the latest shiny object,” she said. “They throw all these resources at it. The latest studies show even social media is fragmenting. So don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
To see each panelist’s perspective, click here.
Jake Kreinberg
Jake is the text and multimedia product manager at The Associated Press and the former editor of Insights. He previously covered college sports as a reporter for AP and helped design its multi-year strategic plan.
