Rethinking legacy media: How the FT and ITN make history pay in the digital age

Legacy - or ‘heritage’ - media brands such as the FT and ITN have long-standing relationships with their audiences, grounded in trust that has been earned over decades of reliable reporting. Despite these strong roots, prolonged periods of disruption since the turn of the century have led some commentators to question the long term prospects of these organisations, with some wondering how businesses that are built on old values and ways of working can compete with newer, more agile news providers who are seemingly more suited to the digital age.

The challenge for legacy brands has been to overcome these doubts, reinventing themselves to take on ‘disruptors’ in the news industry without compromising the relationships they have built over years of success. With digitisation, the rise of AI and an increasing amount of misinformation causing concern across the news sector, the FT and ITN have nevertheless remained at the forefront of the industry. Both brands have evolved and see continued success in the modern day.

In our webinar on March 19th Rachel Corp, CEO, ITN and Jon Slade, CCO, Financial Times, discussed these topics at length. Moderated by Jim Egan, Principal, FT Strategies and former CEO, BBC World News the panellists discussed the importance of trust in a time of uncertainty, the new competitors that the digital world has created and the opportunities presented by a year which sees approximately a quarter of the world going to the polls.

During this discussion 4 key themes stood out:

Trust is a significant asset that ‘heritage’ brands can leverage in times of disruption, as audiences want high-quality news they can rely on regardless of whether that is in print, broadcast or online.

Both ITN and the FT are proud of their history, pointing to the importance that a record of quality, impartiality and trustworthiness plays in a world of increasing misinformation. These are all significant assets during periods of geopolitical and economic instability, with people of all ages looking for sources of information they know are reliable regardless of where it is they consume their news.

As legacy brands look to take advantage of new channels such as social and Video-On-Demand (VOD) they can leverage their track records of expertise and quality to grow. Rachel pointed to this, explaining how the launch of ITN’s Youtube channel has been incredibly successful, with for example The Royal Family channel garnering over 3 million subscribers, which can be attributed to the fact they had built up a loyal audience base prior to its launch.

ITN and the FT are both seeing a higher number of people consuming news than normal as a result of it being an election year in many countries. 2024’s likely UK General Election also presents opportunities for media outlets to embrace new platforms such as Tik Tok and YouTube. Video content has become the format which resonates highest with younger audiences for ITN, a demographic that organisations are desperate to build lasting relationships with.

To take advantage of the commercial opportunity that this presents it is vital that coverage remains relevant, impartial and serves the public interest. Rachel asserted one of the most important aspects is reducing the focus on politics through the lens of the Westminster bubble and instead ensuring that reporting is done from the perspective of how developments affect the public and their daily lives.

Rachel also pointed out that the opportunities that an election year brings can be found not only in the reporting of politics but also the reporting of those stories which risk being ignored as electoral news dominates discourse. Pointing to conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, she said that it is imperative that these critical stories are not forgotten and there is an opportunity for those brands who manage to produce high quality reporting on a plethora of issues can keep a variety of news consumers interested and engaged.

In the digital world, news providers face stiff competition for people’s time and money. Traditionally rivals would only originate from the news sector but today this list has grown to include anyone who your customer base could give their money or attention to. This is especially true for subscription businesses like the FT who have to contend with anyone who draws from a consumer subscriptions wallet, creating a much wider group of organisations that news providers now compete with.

This is especially true with younger generations, who consume news and media in a plethora of new and different ways compared to those before them. Although news is now just part of their wider media diet, and is increasingly less intentional, younger audiences still see the potential value of news yet seek it in ways that are convenient and native to the way they navigate information in a mobile and internet-first way.

Therefore it is vital that news providers are going where both the audience they have and the audience they want are. For some this means expanding their operations to create content for all platforms, from Tik Tok to VOD, and for others it's about specifically choosing those that are best for their audience. ITN, as a public service provider, has a formal remit to serve audiences wherever they are whereas the FT instead focuses on the platforms that suit their respective audience best. However both deal with this challenge, and the new competitors that come with it, by focusing on emphasising storytelling and engaging journalism regardless of the platform they use to deliver it.

Generative AI is the next big disruptor, with companies across the industry split on the best way to approach both the tools integration into their operations and collaboration with the companies who own them. Both ITN and the FT are excited yet cautious about generative AI, both championing the idea that AI should be approached as a tool to make existing capabilities better, not replace the vital human element of news reporting. An example of this came from Jon Slade who explained that one of the comments the FT gets from younger audiences is that often articles lack context and use technical language. AI could help ensure that different readers can interact with content in ways that suit them or be given context they lack to help make it more useful.

On worries that AI could replace traditional news companies and reporting, both companies remain optimistic about the future of human-led reporting. Rachel argued that as AI generated news stories become more prevalent, the value of high quality, human-generated content will rise as people look for the outstanding in a crowded market. This is underpinned by the unstable times we live in with wars, disease and economic uncertainty pushing audiences back to those they trust and those they relate to.

As the webinar concluded both Rachel and Jon stated their optimism about the future of news despite the prolonged period of disruption that the industry has experienced. With disruption comes opportunities for organisations that produce high-quality, trustworthy content as audiences turn to those that they know can be relied upon. This is true across all age groups, with Rachel explaining that ITN has found that young people are intuitively seeing the value of trusted news brands despite the fact they’re consuming news differently than previous generations.

To hear more of Rachel and Jon’s thoughts, click the button below and catch the full webinar on demand.

Joseph Miller joined FT Strategies in September 2023 and is passionate about helping clients undergo sustainable transformation to safeguard the future of the news industry. Before joining FT Strategies, Joe worked at the Financial Times’ global events business, FT Live, overseeing content and events on topics from digital transformation to ESG to accelerating fan engagement in football. Joe holds an Msc in International Relations, and specialised in social media’s effect on the news cycle.