Though traditional journalists are likely to be suspicious of the correlation between journalism and niche marketing, it is indeed a new trend continually expanding. This is true particularly for India where along with hundreds of news and entertainment channels, you have the newspaper showing no signs of losing steam as in the rest of the world.
Niche journalism, as it has come to be known, is all about provisioning journalistically structured pieces or informative content catering to a specific group of people who want information on a specific subject.
What has added to this facet of journalists wanting to update news in a creative way, for a specific topic, is the rise of new media sources such as blogs, podcasts, article directories and other web-based media.
A key imperative of niche journalism is that people are not burdened with information that they find unnecessary, thus giving the journalist of a specific ‘niche’ to develop his own set of loyal readers who want to read the specific area in which he writes.
In a way, there is hardly any difference between a company practising niche marketing as a strategic approach and a niche journalist who only writes and podcasts focusing on a specific topic which he or she is passionate about. In both the cases, unnecessary investment, pointless efforts, and inexpensive promotions from the perspective of their returns are done away with to save not only time, but also money. In the Indian scenario there is, broadly, the rise of three types of niche journalists.
The healthcare journalist: With health being an imperative and crucial sector for the economy, even the smallest of towns and cities have a plethora of stories for the health journalist to write about. Then there is also the part of governance and administration in this sector. And those are not the only stories out there. The sector comprises the sub-sectors of hospitals, medical infrastructure, medical devices, clinical trials, outsourcing, telemedicine, health insurance and medical equipment. Add to this the statistics of more than a million doctors, about 2 million nurses and around 1.50 million beds, and has the highest number of medical (over 300) and nursing colleges (over 4,000), there is indeed a lot to write about in this sector.
The entertainment journalist: The Indian media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. As per Indian Brand Equity Foundation, the sector is “standing at an inflexion point with ‘digital’ being the buzzword. Every segment across the industry (television, radio, advertisement, films, print) is getting digitized in its own way and thereby leading to development of new media. It has multiple choices for the writer -- music, movies, art, the theatre, museums, performing art… the possibilities are endless.
The sports journalist: The Indian sport sector has witnessed a transformation, with not only cash but also entrepreneurial capabilities fuelling the industry. And it’s not anymore just about cricket. There is a growing interest in other sports too. Golf, tennis, even football and hockey, have piqued the sports fan’s interest.
The sports journalist has a vista of opportunities open for him, not only across sports but also the whole arena. For, it is not about just covering the national and international games, but, with the arrival of private sponsors, even the local football ground has become a place that warrants coverage.
As we see, in the new media climate, the traditional newsroom infrastructure has given way to niche media markets. Let’s take the tech world, for example. A few highly sourced pros bring up something, then the mid-tier bandwagons follow their lead, and then the lowest rung comes in with their differentiations.
Innovations upon innovation are the key here. With the rise of the new media, we find that every product in the market is up for an analysis, a close look for the masses to be critical about. So in this kind of a scenario, expertise at all levels is not only required, it is demanded. A journalist has to know deeply about a product he reviews. Therefore, he might as well become a subject expert and be classified as a niche journalist.
As it has become necessary because of the world shrinking and news travelling faster than usual, even if everyone else is talking about something, one needs to know more to be able to value add. Secondly, the consumer culture as it is, demands that there is in-depth knowledge. One needs to be informed beyond the superficial, know to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Further, everyone gets news real time. So what is the use of just reporting? The onus is upon the niche journalist to go beyond the news and provide analysis, because after all, he is the subject expert available.
According to a special report on The Rise of Niche by journalism.org, “Many of Washington’s most experienced and talented journalists no longer explain the workings of the federal government to those in the general public, but to specialty audiences whose interests tend to be both narrow and deep.”
Journalism.org goes on to say that these are publications with names like ClimateWire, Energy Trader, Traffic World, Government Executive and Food Chemical News. Their audiences vary, but most readers find the content increasingly important — even crucial — for their job, their business and their industry. “Because of this, readers—usually with employer support—are willing to pay significant subscription fees—high enough that some are profitable with small readerships and little advertising.”
It’s all about a demand and supply. Niche and special interest journalism is here to stay, and growing.
Feedback: abatra@exchange4media.com
