Will traditional media see resurgence as new media runs out of steam?

UK newspaper publishers will be hoping there is a degree of truth in the old saying: “When America sneezes, the world catches a cold”. In fact, if the news that print titles in the US are regaining ground on digital rivals like The Huffington Post and Buzzfeed, they will undoubtedly be hoping for a full-blown case of the flu.

According to comScore,, both the New York Times and the Washington Post overtook their digital rivals in terms of readership, both recording substantial growth (41% and 54% year-on-year). The New York Times attracted 85.7 million readers with the Washington Post just behind at 82.3 million.

Meanwhile, The Huffington Post fell back to 79.4 million readers and Buzzfeed trails behind with 72 millon. Worringly for Huffington Post owners, AOL, the digital title has lost more than 12 million readers over the past 12 months.

Some media pundits are predicting that the shooting stars of the digital media world are beginning to lose their shine.

Ken Doctor at the Nieman Journalism Lab commented: “Has Huffington Post, which shed 12 million unique visitors in just a year’s time – and a time of incredible political ferment – peaked?

“After all, it was born at another digital time, 2005, and as the Post’s Erik Wemple pointed out this week has had its share of journalistic hiccups. A business/editorial model of aggregation ahead of its time, the Huffington Post now must look of how to redefine its very identity.”

He continued: “Buzzfeed, of course, has confused many with its recent bolt-out-of-the-blue announcement that it would split into news and entertainment parts. That move has still not been well explained in intent or impact on its journalism. What the data does show is that Buzzfeed, too, lost 10 million unique visitors over the last year.”

Have the likes of the Huffington Post and Buzzfeed lost their way on their attempted routes to media dominance? Or in times of political uncertainty (the US elections, Brexit, the war in Syria, etc. etc.) are people turning back to legacy (trusted) news brands in an attempt to make sense of it all?

Whatever has caused this seismic shift in online readership, traditional publishers can breathe a sigh of relief. Make no mistake, they are still in the game but in the ever changing and evolving media landscape there is no room for complacency.