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Today’s number: 50 percent

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* And yet some folks on Speaker Madigan’s staff still scoff at those who run ads on social media and other online platforms…

According to Matthew Ball, chief of research at Amazon Studio, Americans under the age of 30 now watch almost 50 percent fewer hours of traditional TV than they did in 2000.

Campaigns have to go where the people are. That means knocking on their doors, calling them on their (mobile) phones and advertising on TV. But the internet is now doing to TV what it already did to newspapers and radio…

More subtly, it’s simply easier than ever to watch football now without technically “watching football”—by finding highlights on Twitter and on sports websites. Why spend four hours on the couch when you can get on with your life and catch the most alluring moments in 60 seconds in line at Starbucks?

And it’s not just football. People love to look at the hottest clips instead of watching entire programs. If you’re not online, you’re invisible.

* Somewhat related…

RedEye, the Chicago commuter daily that got its start in 2002, will eliminate print publication on all weekdays except Thursday, doubling up pages that day with entertainment and weekend coverage.

The paper told its readers in a note that it’s making the change to adapt to the “different needs” of Chicagoans who today are equipped with smartphones and social media feeds. RedEye, which is owned by Chicago-based Tronc (formerly known as Tribune Publishing), will publish its last weekday issue on Feb. 3, and the new 40-page weekly will appear Feb. 9, Tronc spokeswoman Dana Meyer said in an email. […]

Meyer declined to say how many employees currently work for RedEye or how many jobs will be eliminated as part of the restructuring. The tabloid’s staff has been shrinking in recent years, along with its circulation, as the newspaper industry contracts in the face of reader and advertiser migration to digital alternatives.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:13 am

Comments

I totally believe it. I worked with a lot of millenials who don’t even own televisions (cable tv costs too much). Best way to reach them is through their phones or tablets.

Comment by LevivotedforJudy Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:16 am
Televisions with antennas still work, and I know a lot number of people who have returned to them. Me included. Combine that with a computer and you’re set.

Comment by NoGifts Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:20 am
===And it’s not just football. People love to look at the hottest clips instead of watching entire programs. If you’re not online, you’re invisible.===

For some reason that I can’t fathom, the democrats seem content to let an entire generation of democratic voters become non-voters. It’s how Trump got elected. And apparently that isn’t even enough of a wake up call.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:21 am
And, ironically, one way to be talked about on traditional TV or in newspapers is to be hot on social media. Self-reinforcing loop. Would that be a SLOOPA loop?

Comment by Earnest Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:22 am
Why it’s so glaring that Raunerites beat the Demicrats every day is “simply” because Raunerites having a significant and permanent footprint outside the “standard” or even “old” media, and Democtats have NO footprint, significant or otherwise.

You can’t ignore a 50% drop and also ignore where those 50% go. Democrats have, Raunerites have pounced, daily, and then win daily too.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:23 am
We cut cable over a year ago. It has saved us hundreds of dollars since the decision. Other than the occasional (and actually good) MNF game or, on Monday, the NCAA Football championship, I do not miss it. I just wrapped up “Man in the High Castle” on Prime and started “Marco Polo” on Netflix. Advertising on cable TV may become a thing of the past faster than we realize or expect. Campaigns will always have to air network TV ads - especially since football is king and because football airs during election season - but cable ads seem almost like a waste of money at this point.

Comment by Team Sleep Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:27 am
Yep, while Madigan may have strong traditional leadership skills, without drastic messaging improvements targeted to the messaging platforms being used by today’s voters, Democrats are going to continue to get hammered. The only way to beat Rauner is to get him off message. Please do so, now, tomorrow, and every other day while you’re at it.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:30 am
Indeed, the only way that a Rauner ad will catch my eye is if he takes out a fifty million dollar ad on Capitol Fax.

Comment by A Jack Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:33 am
Reminds me of this interesting piece that was done by the firm that managed Bernie Sanders’s online presence, Revolution Messaging. They talk a lot about preferences but hammer the Clinton campaign that her advertising over summer 2016 “was a metaphorical digital desert. Clinton’s campaign and her allies spent millions of dollars on television advertising during the Olympics but almost nothing on digital and persuasion advertising to bring Sanders voters into the fold. Additionally, the majority of the campaign’s online ads over the summer were focused on email sign-ups, not persuasion.” Link below.

https://mic.com/articles/161885/blaming-millennials-for-trump-99-problems-but-the-kids-ain-t-one#.l7aLCjO94

Comment by ZC Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:39 am
Using my teenaged kids as anecdotal evidence….

The only live TV my kids watch anymore is sports. The son’s preference on NFL sunday is NFL Red Zone.

Everything else is on a device. Even TV shows are watched later binge style.

Comment by oneman Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:42 am
DVD the games to watch later and go through the commercials is the preferred way for friends of ours (Gen X). And single working parents, and double-income parents makes door-to-door less effective.

Comment by Bogey Golfer Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:49 am
The Swiss version of the Redeye was called Zwansig Minuten (20 minutes). Probably they should go with Sechzig Sekunden now.

Comment by Peters Post Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:52 am
Very true. I am 64, watch TV news. My wife is 36, hasn’t watched TV for five years, gets her news and other info from her computer. She has zero interest in TV and radio.

Comment by illinoised Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:52 am
My 17-year-old daughter watches zero traditional TV. My twenty-something boys watch live sports on traditional TV. That’s it.

They can be reached on their smart phones or computers.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:53 am
“If you’re not online, you’re invisible.” And, sometimes, if you are online, you are still invisible. CapFax is a “safe” place- a place to learn, to discuss, to disagree in a civil manner. It’s the corner coffee shop with the Truth table instead of the Liars table. But there are other “shops” on the interwebtubees are not built the same. There are a couple of generations out there now that live on sound and visual bytes. And, as I get older, these lures of the 30 second, 140 character sirens calls to me, too. But should that be what we are striving for as a society and as communities? Many may want the Dems to respond right now, on every platform available. A six paragraph letter to a Representative’s constituent explaining her take on politics and governance is scoffed at as too long. Yes, the Dems need to respond, but they also need to educate not troll, not snipe, not ridicule. It’s not just K-12 and higher ed that’s hurting in this country. Adult Education, and not the community college level courses, has been suffering for years and no amount of tweeting or snapchatting or instagramming is going to fix that. Those can be shortcuts to more substantial review and analysis and decision-making “classrooms” by people if they so choose. One can choose to be only decisive- swipe left or right. Or one can also choose to be deliberative before taking that action.

Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 11:58 am
Surprised the Red Eye made it as long as it did as a daily. I always thought of it as the dumbed down Weekly Reader version of a newspaper.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:00 pm
The democrats (sans Bernie Sanders) have generally been horrendous at adapting to the new age of media and how people obtain information. The republicans were able to significantly erode trust in traditional media outlets and drove their supporters to those sources that were deemed “fair and balanced”. Once the distrust in the “mainstream” media was established they were able to redefine what constituted “news”. In the on-line world this allowed for the proliferation of “fake news” but realizing that this only reaches a partial audience we now have the various Proft publications that show-up around election time.

And the democrats response to this has been?

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:19 pm
If it wasn’t for Chicago Tonight I wouldn’t watch tv for news at all. I cannot tell you the last time I looked at either the Trib or the Sun Times on paper or the web.

Comment by Cheryl44 Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:27 pm
The problem is so many get news snipets the same way and dont check the facts

Comment by The cardinal Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:29 pm
Pundent- “And the democrats response to this has been?”

I am not being snarky or disparaging, but what should they do? How do you successfully fight fake news and entrenchment without some type of discussion that lasts longer than a tweet or a snap? If nothing else this past national election is bringing to light fake news, the dangers of falling for phishing, out of control rhetoric, but how do you change someone’s beliefs if they hang on to those as their vision of hope? Most of the time that change in perception will not happen until they themselves see that what they supported and championed was not all it was cracked up to be and the hurt filters down to their level of life. And, when that happens, you can only hope that cynicism hasn’t set in so hard that they turn away from being an active citizen altogether.

Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:37 pm
With the Red Eye’s audience, it makes perfect sense to go digital.

Also, for a pub that catered to North Side hipsters, they did reporting on the Chicago homicide issue years ago that put other Chicago media to shame. Real journalism, not “personalities” or sob stories.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:39 pm
House Republicans ran online ads in my area (Western Illinois) during the fall election. You couldn’t look at your phone or computer without one of their ads. Never saw one Dem ad. The Republican candidate won (Hammond) handily. I’m a believer.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:45 pm
Remember Obama’s 2008 campaign and all the props it got for being so much better than the Republican side? Times have changed - and hoping it can change back - until then Trump’s Tweets are king!

Comment by doofusguy Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 12:45 pm
=How do you successfully fight fake news and entrenchment without some type of discussion that lasts longer than a tweet or a snap?=

Bernie Sanders seems pretty adept at this. Elizabeth Warren’s not too bad either. Maybe they could run a workshop. You can even do it old school like Bernie did last week when he put a Trump tweet up on a poster on the Senate floor. I understand this isn’t going to be easy but you have to start somewhere.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 1:26 pm
Pundent- I totally agree. And I hope the Dems realize that they need to reach back and reseed and fertilizer their grassroots, as well as realizing that there are a lot of Indies out there that are sore and looking hard at them. It’s going to be a long , hard, and potentially bitter 4 years. But hey, we in Illinois already have a jump on that bandwagon!

Comment by Anon221 Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 1:40 pm
Anon221 - There’s absolutely opportunity here. People actually want sound public policies and programs. When you poll them about eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions, lifetime medical caps and allowing kids to say on parents insurance until their 26 the favorability is overwhelmingly positive. But ask them about “Obamacare” not so much. It’s all in the messaging.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jan 11, 17 @ 3:20 pm