The future of media is… complicated

The future of media is messy, getting messier and there’s not much chance of that changing anytime soon.

That’s the consensus of a panel of experts from the world of media – news, entertainment, marketing, academia, civil society, PR and technology – convened by the World Economic Forum to offer a perspective to leaders on what they may expect from an industry increasingly connected to just about every aspect of business, government and society.

This was no simple task. Definitions were hard to agree (what exactly is “media” anyway?), key characteristics popped up or changed faster than we find a way to illustrate them, and there are fundamental differences of opinion regarding important considerations such as intellectual property, privacy and sustainable business models.

And yet a few (well, 12) concepts emerged we thought were worth sharing. And these prompt a few questions we thought were worth asking. And we landed on two documents we hope are worth sharing, discussing and developing.

Few industries have experienced the disruption, disintermediation and fundamental transformation that media has undergone in the past decade, challenging long-cherished notions about how we communicate, sell, buy, influence, vote, govern, invest, recruit and, well, you get the idea. It’s a big deal, and not only for the media channels, content producers or ad agencies.

This is just the beginning of a longer conversation and, we hope, a catalyst for sharing and new thinking.

See also: Eight key media questions for leaders

Author: David Gallagher, CEO of Ketchum Europe

Image: A boy uses an iPad to play a video game, projected onto the surface of the Fiesp building. REUTERS/Nacho Doce