2026 – What will you STOP doing?

Scott Masteller | January 8, 2026

The start of the new year is where many of us reflect on the past while looking to what is next in the future. As someone who has been in the content business for more than 45 years the changes I have seen are incredible. It started slowly back in the 70’s and now is accelerating at a faster pace.

The consumer is now in charge of what they want and how they want their content produced and delivered. Here is where things are as 2026 begins:

Content Distribution – People have more content platforms available than ever before. The old school platforms of television, radio and newspapers are fighting for their survival. Most of my broadcast career has been spent on the radio. No matter what platform, the choices on how to receive and produce content are in an ongoing state of change.
Content Saturation – This is real, there are so many sources to find content that matters to an individual person. We live in a world of on-demand programming. If there is something you are looking for it is easily accessible wherever you are and whenever you want to consume it.
Competition – In the past it was simple to know what you are up against. Today, it is much more complicated. There are so many places consumers can get the content they are looking for.

With all that in mind, it is critical to have a strategy for whatever platform you are working on. How many times have you heard the phrase “we have always done it this way”?

Over the years, I have seen resistance from many people to change. During my journey, I was fortunate to work in positions where change was embraced and even mandated. Every year, there are more options for consumers to find what they are looking for, much of this driven by technology and new platforms. There was once a world with no internet, no cellphones, no Facebook, no YouTube, and no social media.

This is where developing a smart, strategic action plan comes into play. To move forward in an ever-changing environment, it is important to take a step back and ask yourself, “What am I going to stop doing?” If you are going to adjust your content strategy, there are certain aspects from the past you need to consider stopping so you can update your priorities. There is only so much time in a day, and if you are going to add innovative ideas, it is imperative to stop certain practices so you can move things in a new direction.

The beginning of the year is a good time to build a plan for reviewing strategies and evaluating what you should stop doing, so you have time to establish new approaches that support your priorities and improve performance.

Action Steps

Put together a group of folks that represent the core values of your organization. Outline the goal of reviewing what works and what does not work.
Identify all the competitors that you need to have a strategy for.
Discuss practices/strategies that are no longer effective in driving success.
Set a deadline for determining whether the items everyone agrees upon are no longer relevant.
Once the group agrees, the next step is to determine several new priorities that everyone feels they can have an influence over.
Set up planning sessions to explore the best strategies in moving forward.
Determine new priorities for the year ahead.

The media world is evolving at an accelerated pace. With more platforms for content, understanding what is expected, and how content is delivered, is increasingly important. This is why a complete review of the process makes sense. It allows us to better understand what consumers want in terms of the programming they seek and which platforms they prefer for receiving content. Setting a timeline is also an important part of the process to ensure time is not wasted.

Taking time early in the year to step back and review processes is a smart use of time.