The future of news

Two decades ago, newspaper editors were told the internet age meant they had to give away content for free, create click-bait, and support it all with any advertising they could find. It hasn’t turned out that way. Fears of fake news, the shift to quality, and the lack of patience for distraction has led to growing numbers of subscribers at some of the world’s best-known mastheads. Yet, the shift is not complete. Communications and 5G technology are likely to have five impacts on the news media: the return of regional reporting with new funding models, less focus on speed, a reduction in the number of news sources people read, the acceptance of automation, and the return of television news, in a curated format.