The Hoot is changing!

BY THE HOOT| IN Media Practice | 27/01/2017
After debate and discussion, we have decided that it is smarter to offer less volume and more depth.
THE HOOT tells you what to look out for

 

In March The Hoot will turn 16.

The media universe around us has changed quite a bit since March 2001 when we began. There was not that much digital media around then, and nor were there many other media watchers. The print media and television did not critique themselves, the universe of Twitter opinion did not exist. 

The Hoot was therefore launched to create a space for media scrutiny. It has, we hope, done a fair job of it with the resources it had.

But times change. Many digital properties have sprung up in the news space over the last three years. Most of them now are not at all shy of critiquing the media or pointing out its sins of omission or commission.  And thanks to social media, there are many indefatigable media watchers.

So we have been asking ourselves: is the space we created still needed? The answer is yes. That is the easy part. After all there is a lot more media out there than before, looking for readers or eyeballs and doing what it takes to get them.

The harder part is choosing the form in which such scrutiny needs to be done. After a great deal of debate and discussion, we have decided that when there is a lot more content around for people to read on an array of devices, it is smarter to offer less volume and more depth.

So The Hoot is now reinventing itself. It will carry fewer contributions each week. But we will offer more substantial, research-based content comprising media monitoring, special reports and interviews. 

Our focus on media practice and media freedom issues will remain. But we will also increase our coverage of media and the law, and build a focus on the business side of media.  Because if there is one sector that the business press does not cover much it is the media business.

We intend to fill that gap. We hope to surprise you as we do the forensics on the enormous business that media has now become. So sign up for the newsletter, and follow us on Twitter so that you get to know  when something good is coming your way. And continue to look out for the daily briefs!