The main source of revenue for news media outlet has always been advertising. But since the pandemic, digital media outlet has seen a significant decline in ad revenue. And it's not getting any better. To be fair, the ad market for digital media is growing, but it is expected to be concentrated on TikTok and ad-supported streaming services (FAST). As of September 2023, ad agency Magna forecasts double-digit percentage growth (year-over-year) in the U.S. digital media ad market over the next 18 months. In particular, social media services and short-form video advertising, which have been stagnant since Apple's privacy restrictions went into effect in 2022, are expected to rebound.


Search and commerce advertising will also continue to play a large role in the growth of retail media. This segment is expected to grow 22% in 2023 and 17% in 2024 (year-over-year). The total search market will reach $143 billion in 2024, Magna analyzed.
However, media has been left out of the digital advertising growth. Newspapers, new media, and advertising companies are shifting their center of gravity from analog to digital, but they're not getting bigger.


In response, media organizations are increasing their non-advertising event revenue. Semafor, a global news media company founded in 2022, organizes 40 events a year.
In the wake of the pandemic, companies have become more anxious about their future, and on-site events and networks have become more important. In addition, on-site events are also playing a big role in managing subscribers, as news outlets are focusing on subscription services

Korean media outlets have been organizing events just as much as their international media outlet. Some of them are comparable to Axios. However, event revenue is not as high as that of foreign media. Except for a few events, the amount of event revenue or sponsorship is small. events host by media outlets need to work hard to establish themselves in Korea. You need a compelling topic that can build an "event ecosystem" (on-site experience, subscription, engagement, revisit) like Semafor, or a speaker with substance, not just a flashy speaker, and a class organization. It is also necessary to attract customers through interdisciplinary combinations such as "politics and media" and "culture and economics. In fact, what Korean media events need most is networking time. It is difficult to convert revenue from overseas media events with the authoritarian style of college students who only attend lectures;