媒體產業陷入了一個棘手的問題

本文是「媒體策略的現實檢驗」系列文章的第 8 部分。這篇文章最初是我於 2024 年 7 月 3 日與 Fathm 一起在 WAN IFRA 的「AI Unblocked」系列中發表的演講。

This is part 8 of a series called ‘Reality Check on Media Strategy’. The post was originally a talk that I gave as part of WAN IFRA’s “AI Unblocked” series with Fathm on July 3, 2024.

這是「媒體策略的現實檢驗」系列的第 8 部分。這篇文章最初是我於 2024 年 7 月 3 日與 Fathm 一起在 WAN IFRA 的「AI Unblocked」系列中發表的演講。

In this post, I’ll stitch together 7 previous posts in this series along with my Neiman Labs 2025 prediction piece. The media business is stuck in a wicked problem, an issue that’s complex and impossible to solve definitively because of its intricate interconnectedness and the fact that it involves onboarding multiple stakeholders with differing values, perspectives, and goals.

在這篇文章中，我將把本系列之前的 7 篇文章以及 Neiman Labs 的 2025 年預測文章拼接在一起。媒體業務陷入了一個棘手的問題，這個問題很複雜，不可能最終解決，因為它錯綜複雜的相互關聯性，而且它涉及多個具有不同價值觀、觀點和目標的利益相關者。

Why It Matters

為什麼它很重要

Media operators are stuck in tactical hell — endlessly reacting to external pressures, emergencies, or immediate circumstances in pursuit of short-term gains, neglecting long-term strategy and vision. Most resources (time, energy, money) are spent on firefighting rather than building towards sustainable success.

媒體運營商陷入了戰術地獄——無休止地對外部壓力、緊急情況或眼前的情況做出反應，以追求短期利益，忽視長期戰略和願景。大多數資源（時間、精力、金錢）都花在了救火上，而不是為了永續的成功而努力。

Below is how it feels to be in tactical hell:

以下是陷入戰術地獄的感覺：

This is not limited to publishers. It applies to anyone whose business relies heavily on algorithmic platforms — whether it’s a media house dependent on Google and Facebook, or a restaurant chain relying on Zomato or Swiggy for orders.

這不僅限於出版商。它適用於任何業務嚴重依賴演算法平台的人——無論是依賴Google和 Facebook 的媒體公司，還是依賴 Zomato 或 Swiggy 下訂單的連鎖餐廳。

How Media Companies Ended Up in Tactical Hell

媒體公司如何陷入戰術地獄

Two decades ago, media companies set up their websites and apps as additional distribution channels for their offline operations. What followed was a slow descent into the vicious loop represented in the diagram:

二十年前，媒體公司建立了自己的網站和應用程式作為其線下運營的額外分銷管道。接下來是緩慢陷入如圖所示的惡性循環：

Media Flywheels #3 – Setting up shop in another’s marketplace: Rather than building proprietary technology to manage their owned-and-operated (O&O) platforms, publishers began renting from BigTech — SEO tools, social media platforms, Google Ad Manager, and more. This meant publishers became increasingly dependent on platforms that they did not own, losing autonomy over their audiences and their monetization. 

媒體飛輪#3 – 在另一個市場開店：發布商不再建立專有技術來管理其自有和經營 (O&O) 平台，而是開始從 BigTech 租賃 - SEO 工具、社交媒體平台、Google Ad Manager 等。這意味著出版商越來越依賴他們不擁有的平台，失去了對受眾和貨幣化的自主權。

Media Flywheels #20 – Strategic control compromised: Over-time many of the supply-side and demand-side functions of media businesses got outsourced to BigTech algorithmic platforms. This has negative repercussions on the business:

媒體飛輪 #20 – 策略控制受到損害：隨著時間的推移，媒體業務的許多供應方和需求方功能都外包給了 BigTech 演算法平台。這對企業造成負面影響：

Media Flywheels #18 – Lack of Tech Capability and Capacity: Without capital or data insights, publishers struggled to hire and retain the technical talent necessary to develop advanced ad-targeting or monetization systems. Over time, this led to:

媒體飛輪 #18 – 缺乏技術能力和容量：如果沒有資本或數據洞察力，出版商很難僱用和留住開發先進的廣告定位或貨幣化系統所需的技術人才。隨著時間的推移，這導致了：

To mitigate these risks, media companies pursued two strategies:

為了減輕這些風險，媒體公司採取了兩種策略：

Both approaches resulted in confused user experiences and split loyalty, further reducing audience engagement and profitability. Users stopped coming directly to publisher platforms, instead migrating to search engines, social media, or even AI platforms like ChatGPT.

這兩種方法都會導致用戶體驗混亂和忠誠度分裂，進一步降低受眾參與度和獲利能力。使用者不再直接存取發布商平台，而是遷移到搜尋引擎、社群媒體，甚至 ChatGPT 等人工智慧平台。

Outdated Methods: Without the right supporting technology, media leaders ended up managing their digital businesses with offline management structures:

過時的方法：如果沒有正確的支援技術，媒體領導者最終只能透過線下管理結構來管理其數位業務：

This lack of adaptability makes it impossible to win a dynamic game with static business rules. Over time, the result is:

這種適應性的缺乏使得無法用靜態的業務規則贏得動態的遊戲。隨著時間的推移，結果是：

What’s at Stake

有什麼危險

News and advertising are a fundamental human need. Both user jobs won’t go away. The unknown question is who will serve these needs in the coming decades.

新聞和廣告是人類的基本需求。這兩項用戶工作都不會消失。未知的問題是誰將在未來幾十年滿足這些需求。

Apple’s App Store classifies X and Reddit as news products.

Apple 的 App Store 將 X 和 Reddit 歸類為新聞產品。

Elon Musk is doubling down on this positioning.

伊隆馬斯克正在加倍努力實現這一定位。

Most media publishers need to take on this wicked problem head on by addressing various structural issues identified in the vicious loop at the same time. I’ve highlighted at least one path forward in my Neiman Labs Prediction for 2025.

大多數媒體出版商需要同時解決惡性循環中發現的各種結構性問題來直面這個邪惡的問題。我在 Neiman Labs 對 2025 年的預測中至少強調了一條前進道路。

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Curious how I’m managing to write? I created a CustomGPT for myself, which serves as my go-to editor and audits my first draft. Here’s the link—give it a spin! It’s free to use. https://chatgpt.com/g/g-hgI62sWPm-mediaflywheels-review-opinion-pieces

好奇我是如何寫作的嗎？我為自己創建了一個 CustomGPT，它作為我的首選編輯器並審查我的初稿。這是連結——試一試！它可以免費使用。 https://chatgpt.com/g/g-hgI62sWPm-mediaflywheels-review-opinion-pieces

Want to republish it? This post was released under CC BY-ND — you can republish it as is with the following credit and backlinks: ‘Originally published by Ritvvij Parrikh on The Times of India. The author retains the copyright and any other ancillary rights to the post.

想要重新發布嗎？這篇文章是在 CC BY-ND 下發布的——您可以按原樣重新發布，並帶有以下來源和反向連結：“最初由 Ritvvij Parrikh 在《印度時報》上發布。”作者保留該帖子的版權和任何其他附屬權利。