November 24, 2025
Welcome to The L@B Report
Welcome to this month’s issue of The L@B Report from GSG, bringing you news and insights from the intersection of digital media and public affairs. In this issue, we explore new data on how Americans are consuming media, newsletters’ renewed surge of influence, and how AI is reshaping the future of journalism in both promising and challenging ways.
This issue of The L@B Report was put together by Ryan Alexander.
In the News
Deloitte’s 2025 Digital Media Trends: A Fragmented, Personalized, and Overwhelming Media Landscape
Audiences continue to shift toward peer-driven and personality-driven content
As we know from GSG’s research into media consumption, Americans are consuming more digital content than ever. A new report from Deloitte reinforces our findings, revealing that people are feeling exhausted by the sheer volume of platforms, creators, formats, and algorithms competing for their attention.
Key insights from Deloitte: streaming remains strong, but growth is slowing as users become more selective. Social media continues to dominate across demographics, but many users—particularly younger ones—report feeling burnt out and overwhelmed. Gaming, meanwhile, continues its decade-long rise and is now one of the most time-consuming media categories among younger audiences.
Takeaway
We’ve written before about media fragmentation, and Deloitte’s report confirms what GSG’s research has consistently shown: communicators must meet audiences where they are—and those audiences are everywhere. Reaching them requires a mix of personalization, trusted messengers, and platform-specific strategies rather than one-size-fits-all campaigns.
Creators play an increasingly central role in this ecosystem. Beyond traditional celebrities, niche online creators are shaping culture, commerce, and politics at unprecedented scale. And while traditional media still matters, trust continues to shift toward peer-driven and personality-driven content.
HubSpot’s 2025 State of Newsletters: A Booming (and Crowded) Inbox
Newsletters help audiences cut through all the noise and are highly trusted
Newsletters—once written off as relics of the early internet—are experiencing a renaissance (Thank you for reading The L@B Report!). HubSpot’s new State of Newsletters report finds that newsletters have become one of the most trusted, direct, and effective communication channels for both publishers and brands.
At the same time, the proliferation of newsletters means competition for inbox real estate is fierce, and organizations must work harder to build consistent audiences and differentiate their content.
Takeaway
What’s driving the boom?
- A desire for curated, calmer content in contrast to the noise of social feeds.
- Stronger reader-to-writer relationships, fueled by authenticity and voice.
- AI tools that help creators personalize content, segment audiences, and automate delivery.
As media decentralizes, newsletters offer something increasingly rare: a direct, unmediated relationship with an audience. For organizations, they’re not just distribution tools—they’re community-building platforms. That means focusing on understanding how to deliver value, personality, and relevance straight into your audiences’ inboxes.
Harvard Gazette: AI Presents New Challenges—and Opportunities—for Journalism
Newsrooms find efficiencies with AI but questions remain about trust
A recent Harvard Gazette piece highlights growing tensions in journalism as AI tools become more capable, more widespread, and more embedded in newsroom workflows.
The article underscores that the biggest challenge isn’t the technology—it’s the uncertainty around how it will shape journalistic ethics, public trust, and the economics of news.
Takeaway
On one hand, AI offers clear benefits:
- Automated transcription, translation, and research tools save reporters hours.
- AI-driven summarization helps newsrooms repackage content efficiently.
- Data analysis tools can uncover patterns and insights reporters might otherwise miss.
On the other hand, news leaders warn of serious risks:
- Misinformation and deepfakes are eroding trust across the media environment.
- AI-generated content blurs the line between original reporting and automated synthesis.
- Overreliance on AI could reduce the diversity, depth, and nuance that human journalists bring.
AI is already transforming how information is produced and consumed. For journalists and communicators alike, the task is to harness AI’s advantages while maintaining transparency, quality, and human judgment. Trust—always the scarcest resource in media—will depend on it.
More from GSG
This month, GSG released the latest edition of our ongoing series, The Melting Pot, which took an in-depth look at how Black voters are experiencing Trump 2.0. While Black voters continue to be a strong and reliable Democratic bloc, we found that Democrats have an important opportunity to further strengthen support and engagement, particularly among younger Black men.
You can dive into all the latest findings and read the actionable recommendations on how to reach, motivate, and mobilize this pivotal voting bloc here.