Nine Publishing is launching a new video series making the case for the value of news to brands.
Titled The News Effect, the series features conversations with editors and journalists across Nine’s mastheads – The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, lifting the curtain on how they curate content, what their readers are asking for, and why news holds attention.
‘The News Effect’ teaser: supplied.
The flight to trusted news
The announcement was made to a room of marketers and media buyers at the State of the Nation Breakfast in Sydney, hosted by Nine Publishing managing director Tory Maguire, where attendees were treated to expert analysis from a panel of Nine’s editors.
In volatile markets and uncertain times, a central theme was Australian audiences’ need for information they can trust.
Introducing the panel, Nine’s commercial director for publishing sales, Ashleigh Thomas, quoted ThinkNewsBrands‘ latest research, which shows 74 per cent of Australians are worried about misinformation on social platforms.
“We know now what we’ve always felt: Australians are using our mastheads as a verification layer. Two in five Australians told us they actively turn to our news brands to fact-check what they read on social media.”
Nine’s commercial director for publishing sales, Ashleigh Thomas and CEO of ThinkNewsBrands, Vanessa Lyons at the launch event. Image: supplied
What audiences want right now
The editors revealed what content is driving the most traffic to their websites. Stories resonating with nine.com.au‘s audience centre on cost of living, whether it’s at the bowser or the supermarket. Ten million Australians visit the site each month.
“Trust is the biggest thing. Whether it’s a crazy social post from Donald Trump or a politician, or breaking news, we have to ensure it’s balanced,” said Katie Davies, executive editor of nine.com.au. “Our audience wants what is ‘on the tin’ – the facts. In a saturated market, it’s about being correct and factual.”
Readers are turning to The Sydney Morning Herald for live updates on the unfolding conflict in Iran. The Sydney Morning Herald editor Jordan Baker said: “The fascination with what we are going to wake up to has driven a real interest from our readers.
We’ve adapted by putting significant resources into the live team and our correspondents because the situation is so consequential.”
For The Australian Financial Review, the war’s effect on markets is key. Business editor Kylar Loussikian said: “For our readership, it’s been about the markets since the US election cycle ramped up.
Twelve months ago, we were talking about tariffs and Wall Street tanking; now it’s back up. Despite the chaos and the Strait [of Hormuz] being closed, the ASX is up 15%. We try to explain what it means for investors.”
Deputy editor AFR, Kylar Loussikian, executive editor of nine.com.au, Katie Davies, editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Jordan Baker, and Nine Publishing managing director, Tory Maguire. Image: supplied
Curating the homepage
In answering questions about how a home page is curated, Maguire explained: “The focus is subscriber engagement and acquisition, serving the people who pay for the service based on interest points but also bringing them what they need to know.”
Baker added: “Our experts also drive the agenda. Reporters on the ground see things coming before they hit the data.”
Inside ‘The News Effect’
The new Herald editor will feature in the first episode of The News Effect, centring on how modern audiences can separate fact from fiction when social platforms continuously reward outrage over truth. The episode drops on the Nine for Brands website on May 1.
The series is evidence-based, drawing on the comprehensive News Nation report from industry body ThinkNewsBrands. Other episodes will debunk brand safety myths when it comes to credible news environments, and shed light on how younger generations interact with news.
Spoiler alert: evidence shows Gen Z are the generation most willing to pay for a news subscription.
“There is no need to take publishers’ word for it – research shows that Australians crave information they can rely on. In an information-saturated world, they are turning to news,” said ThinkNewsBrands’ Vanessa Lyons. “I congratulate Nine on a brilliantly engaging event. The News Effect will further shine a light on how news is gathered and curated, checked and vetted. There’s an appetite for engaging with journalism, because verified information counters the division driven by misinformation, which is a huge problem for society,” Ms Lyons said.
Deep fakes generated by AI and outrage prioritised by social platform algorithms is pushing a ‘flight to quality’ for readers. “Verification is key,” Davies said. “Being first is important, but being right is more important. We have to check everything. We keep the reader at heart to ensure everything we produce is accurate.”
Feature Image- Tory Maguire and Ashleigh Thomas, Nine: supplied.