News for Generation Z: How to reach young people in the digital age?
Wednesday's festival day brought a meeting of creators from Radiožurnál, who discussed Generation Z and their relationship to news.
The popularity of traditional media among Generation Z is not very high. While radio partially reaches out to listeners through podcasts, printed newspapers have almost no chance at all of striking a chord with young people. Traditional media have to adapt to new technologies and trends. But where does Generation Z get their information if not from traditional media? Where they spend most of their time - on social media that undoubtedly have a lot of influence and power. So much so that in some foreign countries, for example, politicians have stopped communicating through traditional media because they make do with the space on their profiles.
However, it is not enough just to mirror the content, that is to say, to copy a post from a traditional medium to a new medium in order to attract young people. So how to effectively tailor news content for Generation Z? Short Instagram or Tiktok videos currently have a monopoly on social media. These, however, are entrusted to the merciless arms of an algorithm that decides how popular a video will be, if at all.
"The biggest challenge for us is the balance between publicity and attractiveness for young people. It's something we have to think about a lot. For example, whether we should put gifs and memes in videos that will attract young people, taking into account the fact that we still have to comply with the Code of Czech Radio," said Eliška Balcárková, a panellist at the discussion. The success of the videos is increased by the element of entertainment, tabloidisation, but also by the thematic definition - culture has a better chance of success than politics. In particular, entertainment proves to be an absolutely crucial element, but it reduces the quality of information. "The element of entertainment on the networks must be included and it will be difficult for news to compete with the entertainment format. The commercial media have an easier path than we, as a public service media. With commercial ones, we see infotainment in its entirety, we try not to succumb to it. Let's see if we can hold our ground," added Zajíc and Balcárková.
The discussion was interactive in relation to the audience. As there were many young people among the audience, the panellists were interested in what media they watch and where. This segment of the festival certainly provided interesting insights. One of them is the fact that Generation Z is simply setting new rules of the game, and those who cannot adapt to them can easily be left behind. However, finding a way to combine attractiveness with credibility and quality of content is no easy task. And therein lies the biggest challenge that traditional media will have to overcome in the battle for the attention of the younger generation.
The author is a member of the student editorial team of the Prix Bohemia Radio website.
