In the year ahead, the era of selfie journalism fully takes root. As print-driven journalism fades, robust coverage of communities and the issues that drive life in those areas, suffers. General news coverage provided by dominant media outlets fades. And that encourages upstart media outlets to fill the coverage gaps – and local advertising gaps, too. Family-owned operations, satisfied with reasonable profit margins, can increase their relevance and importance to the communities they serve.
On the larger scale, the big chains, now independent from other profit centers, still see potential sizable profits by cutting expenses even more as they acquire other properties and consolidate operations.