How are the Mexican media doing? Report by Tec, WAN-IFRA, and Facebook

Tec de Monterrey together with the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and Facebook Journalism Project conducted a special study to understand media trends in Mexico.

This study was based on 4 areas: 1) business model, 2) make-up of the newsroom, 3) organization of the company, and 4) knowledge of digital tools.

The main findings of this 2021 Media Report include the following:

• 85% of media outlets believe they must change their business model.
• 80% have implemented or are planning a paid content model.
• 75% of people in digital newsrooms are under the age of 40.
• 6% of media directors are women.

The 2021 Media Report

32 regional print media and 19 local digital media outlets in Mexico participated in the report titled “Waking a Sleeping Giant?”

“We investigated (whether media outlets) were serving their communities, how newsrooms were being shaped, but above all how the industry has been transformed in recent years”, explains Alejandro Martín del Campo, director of the Tec’s National Journalism Program.

WAN-IFRA is the World Association of News Publishers, a global world press organization, while the Facebook Journalism Project collaborates with media outlets to address the sector’s challenges and difficulties.

“We invited participants in 2 media ecosystems to take part. We investigated them, interviewed them, and applied a questionnaire.”

“The Tec provided the academic methodological component and the surveys. Facebook specifically reviewed the methodological aspect,” adds del Campo, explaining that he had already participated in several areas with WAN-IFRA.

85% of media outlets are looking to change their business model

The report notes that media advertising revenue has declined more than 30% in print advertising, from 55 million dollars in 2015 to 31 million in 2021. 

Meanwhile, advertising in digital format rose by 34%, from 9 to 12 million in the same period.

Given this scenario, 85% of Mexican media outlets believe they will need to change their business model to survive.

Meanwhile, 40% are considering implementing certain content payment options as a possible model. 

“In the subscription revenue model, Mexico lags far behind Latin American and international levels,” says Martín.

Only 21% of digital media and 22% of regional media outlets are not working on a payment or subscription model, while the rest are or plan to within a period of 3 years or less.

“We’ve focused on our local audience. That’s who might be able to pay for our content. National media outlets don’t provide local content like we do,” says Kowanin Silva of the Vanguardia news outlet in the report.

“In the subscription revenue model, Mexico lags far behind Latin American and international levels.”

Martín del Campo adds that one of the new challenges of the subscription models is the different content paying users get.

“Advance information, being part of a community, roundtable discussions, or even some books, the transition will be gradual,” he says.

The report includes not only advertising and payment models but also a growing diversification of revenues that 72% of regional media and 47% of digital media outlets consider necessary to explore.

Branded content, commercial services, events, conferences, e-commerce, editorial services, and donations are some of the revenue sources that Mexican media outlets are exploring to sustain their business model.

Del Campo says one of the findings that drew his attention the most is that there were 12 digital journalistic ventures in the last 5 years that are sustainable on their own.

We found 12 digital journalistic ventures that are sustainable on their own.

Generational change in newsrooms and few women managers

The study found that most newsrooms were staffed by young people with parity between men and women.

People under the age of 40 make up 75% of digital newsrooms and 58% of regional newsrooms, while women make up 58% of digital newsrooms and 48% of regional newsrooms.

However, women hold only 6% of managerial positions.

“We found that gender parity is present in newsrooms, but it decreases higher up (at management levels).

“We looked to see if this was a phenomenon exclusive to Mexico, but no, those challenges are present in the international industry, except in the United States,” says del Campo.

“Gender parity is present in newsrooms, but it decreases higher up (at management levels).

The challenge of competitive wages and mobility toward parallel professions

The same crisis that the media outlets are going through due to changes in their economic models has caused another challenge: retaining talent in newsrooms.

68.2% of digital media and 38.1% of regional media outlets say that the main challenge in attracting and retaining talent is the difficulty of offering competitive salaries.

Del Campo adds that this factor, coupled with the diversity of knowledge among current journalists, allows professionals to successfully venture into areas where they sometimes find greater economic compensation.

“It’s an industry with a lot of turnover among the different players. Journalists are doing public relations, marketing, and external communication.

That becomes a challenge for the industry, not only economically but also in terms of emotional challenges,” he says.

“It’s an industry with a lot of turnover among the different players. Journalists are doing public relations, marketing, and external communication.”

Other factors the report presents in this area include unattractive companies, lack of internal innovation, difficulty of offering professional development, and recruitment not adapted to current needs.

The report also analyzed protocols on workplace and sexual harassment. In digital media outlets, 52.6% report not having protocols against both types of harassment, while the figure is 25% in regional media outlets.

40% do not yet have an audience metrics team

Del Campo says that the new work schemes need specialists who hold new positions and are capable of listening to audiences and interpreting the data they receive from them.

The report states that only 56% to 57% of media outlets have teams made up of just five or even fewer people dedicated to monitoring media metrics.

“The challenge of how to listen is coming. This will serve to develop 2 articles a day that generate 100,000 views, instead of 100 articles that generate 2,000 views,” says del Campo.

What’s more, another of the new positions needed is focused on the development and production of new digital audiovisual narratives such as storytelling, podcasts, infographics, and live video.

“There will be new roles. Aside from content and audiences, there are very specific roles that are needed.

“For example, there’s the journalist who knows how to interpret the language of an editor, of an editorial board, but who can also understand the engineers. That’s a more comprehensive vision of many worlds,” adds del Campo.

According to the report, digital media outlets prioritize training in data analysis, management, social media metrics, and project management.

Meanwhile, regional media outlets prioritize new audiovisual narratives, digital marketing and advertising, and data analysis.

However, the majority (63% to 65%) only have digital audiovisual production teams of fewer than 5 people and only 9.4% to 15.3% have teams of more than 5 people.

The Tec looks to help the media with training

Finally, when asked directly, del Campo says that the Tec is working on initiatives in conjunction with organizations and platforms to prepare students in new skills and help with media training.

“We’ve proposed the new model of journalism and the importance of offering data journalism at the Tec.

“It’s becoming more important to know how to interpret. Data analysis is becoming more attractive to journalists all the time,” he said.

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