Pacific media organisations are being urged to adapt to a changing advertising landscape as businesses increasingly turn to social media platforms to reach customers directly.
BBC Media Action Pacific program project director Dipak Bhattarai said this as he pointed out that media sustainability would be a key issue at the Pacific media summit, which begins today.
Mr Bhattarai said the region’s small advertising market was already putting pressure on media organisations, while technology companies were capturing an increasing share of advertising revenue.
“There is already concern about the survival of media organisations because of the size of the advertising market. That advertising market is also increasingly being taken by the technology giants,” he said.
He said small and medium-sized businesses were using platforms such as TikTok and Facebook to market their products and services, creating additional pressure on traditional media.
Mr Bhattarai said the summit provided an opportunity for Pacific media organisations to discuss practical ways to remain sustainable while continuing to provide factual information.
He said changing audience habits, along with misinformation and disinformation, were also challenges.
“The challenge is for media organisations to understand their audiences, identify their niche and use new platforms effectively.”
He said audience behaviour was changing, with people increasingly using social media for their daily information needs. However, established media organisations continued to have higher levels of trust, particularly during crises such as natural disasters, man-made disasters and political events.
He said the focus should be on developing solutions that allowed media organisations to remain sustainable while continuing to inform their audiences with factual information.
