Where news outlets are seeing success on social media

Social media has become a more challenging space for news outlets to reach audiences; data from Chartbeat found that traffic from social media has dropped by one-third since January 2023, writes Laura Hazard Owen for NiemanLab. But some publishers are combating the problem by experimenting with WhatsApp’s new functionalities. Katie Robertson and Mike Isaac write for The New York Times that news outlets are using WhatsApp Channels to grow readership, particularly internationally. 

While news outlets are hesitant to become too reliant on a single platform, Channels is one of the few traffic sources on the rise. Some publishers are focused on pushing news alerts and guiding users back to their home page, while others see it as a way to build brand awareness with original reporting or experimental ideas. 

Meanwhile, political media outlet The Bulwark has found impressive success on YouTube in the last year. Republican creator Tim Miller’s Never Trump outlet had 50,000 subscribers last September; now it has 631,000. Max Tani at Semafor writes that Miller’s “natural loose on-camera persona” has drawn in viewers, alongside some well-known political names. 

And in Brazil, news outlet Zero Hora used Instagram to distribute information, photos and stories about devastating flooding. Social media coordinator Rafaella Fraga writes for INMA that their success highlighted how the social platforms are valuable “for conversations with the audience and for mobilizing the community into a chain of solidarity to help people rebuild.” 

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Join us tomorrow: Pulling back the curtain on what happens on election night

Join this API and AP webinar with news leaders who will help you understand AP’s vote count operation and approach to election coverage. The webinar will be held tomorrow from 1 – 2pm EDT. 

>> New from API: American Press Institute awards 31 new election community engagement grants alongside Knight Election Hub 

The American Press Institute awarded grants to 31 local and community-based media across the country as part of expanded work with the Knight Election Hub. The new grants specifically help augment community engagement efforts with at least one of two strategies for community engagement: 1) community listening and conversations, and 2) the strategic use of print.

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Culture & Inclusion

>> Over half of journalists considered quitting due to burnout this year, per new report (Poynter)

According to a new MuckRack report, 56% of journalists thought about quitting their job this year, and 40% had previously quit a job due to burnout. The report’s author says that the election is likely playing a large role, and he expects the number to be lower next year.  

>> New from API: The movement to strengthen collaboration between journalists and academic scholars

Each year, scholars produce hundreds of research articles focused on issues impacting newsrooms. However, research from the academy is often not consumed by everyday journalists. Researchers say the solution is more collaborations between newsrooms and scholars. 

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> How the Haitian Times is covering dangerous rumors in Ohio (The Washington Post)

The Haitian Times has been attacked and threatened for covering the false allegations against Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, with reporters being swatted and doxxed. Publisher and founder Garry Pierre-Pierre says they have no intention of curbing their reporting. (The Haitian Times is an API Election Coverage and Community Listening Fund grantee.)

>> The reported RFK Jr.–Olivia Nuzzi ‘relationship’ casts new scrutiny on all journalists (Vanity Fair) 

The revelation of an inappropriate relationship plays into worrisome tropes about the possibility of romantic entanglements between journalists and their sources. 

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Revenue & Resilience

>> How Ukrainian media is navigating the challenge of reporting ethically on the Russian invasion (Nieman Reports)

The war in Ukraine upended the country’s journalism industry, but a new project from NewsGuard and Reporters Without Borders has found that Ukrainian newsrooms have maintained impressively high standards of journalism throughout the conflict. 

>> New from API: How the Minnesota Star Tribune built relevance, one community at a time (Better News)

Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: Organize a series of events (with wide-ranging topics) in communities across your state to build your news organization’s relevance. 

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What else you need to know

📰 Gannett names Caren Bohan as editor-in-chief of USA Today (The Wrap)

🖥️ Washington Post to lay off a quarter of staffers from software unit (The Wall Street Journal) 

🗳️ Minnesota Star Tribune to make its election coverage free until November (Star Tribune) 

📖 Vice debuts a subscription product and relaunches its print magazine (AdWeek)