Aller Media outlines five critical strategies for 2025

By Alexandra Beverfjord

Aller Media

Oslo, Norway

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Never before has it been more exciting — or challenging — to be part of the media industry. The technological revolution we’re experiencing is creating both enormous opportunities and complex challenges.

While our journalistic mission remains steadfast, the ways we create and distribute our work are in constant flux. As we head into 2025, here are five critical strategies we’re focusing on in Aller Media to stay ahead.

 

Aller Media is targeting five key areas for 2025.
Aller Media is targeting five key areas for 2025.

1. Everything that can be automated better should be automated

News organisations are facing fierce competition for both revenue and audience attention. Meeting the demands for higher quality, greater quantity, and personalised content will depend heavily on automation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has already begun to revolutionise journalism by generating news articles, monitoring events, and tailoring content to individual preferences. Yet, this is just the beginning of a broader transformation.

AI won’t just streamline repetitive tasks; it will free up resources that can sharpen newsrooms’ competitive edge. By saving time and effort, organisations can focus on producing more exclusive stories, in-depth investigations, and innovative journalistic projects.

This shift mirrors the Industrial Revolution, where machines replaced manual labour and enabled mass production. Similarly, AI is poised to take over routine journalistic tasks, while journalists will be able to focus more on creating unique content.

Robot journalism has been in use for over a decade, and AI is powering everything from layout design to news monitoring. This technology saves significant time and resources, enabling a stronger focus on complex and high-impact stories.

Key focus areas:

  • Automate tasks where AI can surpass newsroom teams in speed and accuracy.
  • Use the capacity freed by automation to produce more exclusive and investigative journalism that stands out in a sea of AI-generated and derivative content. 

2. Digital user payments are more critical than ever

While global advertising revenue continues to grow, tech giants are capturing an increasing share. For news organisations, digital user payments — through subscriptions and product bundling — are becoming more essential to offset declining print and ad revenues.

Although digital ads remain a crucial income stream, they alone will not suffice. Successful models will require a balance between maintaining traffic (to sustain ad revenue and journalistic impact and influence) and building robust user payment systems that grow steadily over time.

Product bundling will also become more prevalent, both within a single company’s portfolio and through partnerships with external providers offering valuable content — also outside the media industry. However, success in user payments goes beyond paywalls. It demands high-quality, indispensable content.

Key focus areas:

  • Work hard to retain traffic while developing user payment strategies.
  • Build payment models around exclusive content and personalisation targeted at areas with willingness to pay. 

3. Distribution is no longer “for free”

Distribution is of critical strategic importance. For years, platforms like Google and Facebook provided free distribution for publishers in exchange for content.

That arrangement is rapidly changing.

New players like TikTok and AI-powered search functions deliver far less referral traffic to publishers. Meanwhile, zero-click searches from tech giants threaten to diminish news organisations’ visibility even further.

In print’s heyday, distribution was a significant expense for media companies — and it’s likely to become one again. News organisations must therefore invest more in building their own channels and strengthening direct traffic (which will only increase in value), alongside tactical efforts to leverage third-party traffic.

Key focus areas:

  • Invest in direct traffic through effective, targeted content strategies, UX optimisation, apps, and newsletters.
  • Optimise technical solutions for search engines and social media to maximise visibility.
  • Explore new distribution channels, including partnerships with tech platforms or proprietary AI tools.

 4. New skills and roles in the newsroom

AI and technological tools require not just financial investment but also a recalibration of newsroom skills. Data analysis is becoming increasingly vital. 

The newsroom must transform into a space for continuous learning, where journalists not only create content but also fully understand how it’s distributed, measured, and tailored to diverse audiences. This evolution fosters a new dynamic between technologists, analysts, and journalists.

Key focus areas:

  • Ensure the newsroom has the best tools for AI and analytics.
  • Offer training in technological tools and data insights.
  • Strengthen the journalist’s role as an analyst and curator of content.

5. Collaborate or perish

In the face of global tech giants operating at massive scale, the media industry remains fragmented and vulnerable. This situation parallels the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars. It was only when the Greeks united that they overcame a seemingly insurmountable force.

Similarly, the media industry must come together to survive. There is need for more consolidations in our industry; this is already underway.

While many news organisations are developing their own technologies and solutions, this often leads to duplicated efforts and inefficiencies. Collaboration is key to achieving cost savings and driving innovation. Extracting scaling effects and synergies within media groups is a no-brainer.

Key focus areas:

  • Maximise shared platforms for advertising, technology, and distribution within the media groups.
  • Share insight and best practices across brands and organisations.

About Alexandra Beverfjord

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