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How newsrooms can expand their thinking around audience engagement
The impact of AI as well as a decline in traffic from social media and search engines means that news outlets need to focus on audience engagement as the path towards a sustainable future, write RJI fellows Zoli Csernatony and Dana Amihere. That’s the goal of their new tool DigInThere, which uses quizzes to deepen audience engagement. (They’ve written previously about how their tool will help fight “the tsunami of information on the internet” and how to write compelling, AI-resistant quizzes.)
They argue that both subscribers and members will spend more time on a site that offers these quizzes, not only increasing the value for paying audience members but also increasing the potential revenue for advertisers.
This type of unique engagement can also help to bring in different types of readers and ensure that their needs are being met by news coverage. Bridget Thoreson of Hearken writes that, particularly when it comes to the election, newsrooms should focus less on coverage for people whose information needs are already well met, and instead put the time and effort into reaching audience members with significant information gaps.
News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.
Civic Discourse & Democracy
>> The New York Times won’t endorse in local races. A group of prominent journalists aims to fill the gap (CNN)
In August, The New York Times announced that it will no longer make endorsements in local races, leading a group of veteran New York journalists to form the New York Editorial Board. “Maybe we can shame The Times back into some sense of civic responsibility,” said Semafor founder Ben Smith, who helped form the group.
>> New from API: Mission statement and dedicated team guide KXLY’s improved election coverage (Better News)
Here’s an idea to steal and adapt: Traditional TV news stations can take an audience-centered approach to election coverage by following the lead of nonprofit and digital news outlets. Instead of formulaic horse-race coverage, they should focus on covering races and issues by informing and empowering the audience.
>> New from API: Use postcards and flyers around your election coverage
Local and community-based media this year are strategically using print to build engagement around their election coverage. These election-focused flyers, postcards and print voter guides will add to the knowledge of how news organizations can deploy print to reach new audiences and deepen community ties.
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Culture & Inclusion
>> No time to read? Google’s new AI will turn anything into a podcast. (The Washington Post)
Google’s new NotebookLM doesn’t just turn a document into an audio recording; it can digest as many 50 pieces of content and turn them into a “deep dive” podcast where AI “hosts” will explain, explore and discuss the topic.
>> Male experts dominate broadcast news (but far less than a decade ago) (Press Gazette)
Broadcast news programs in the UK quote twice as many male experts as female experts, according to a recent survey. But this is an improvement from 10 years ago, when four times as many men were quoted.
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Community Engagement & Trust
>> FEMA administrator issues dire warning on hurricane disinformation (Axios)
On Tuesday, FEMA launched a fact-checking page that responds to rumors related to the hurricane response. The agency said that misinformation about the storms has impeded response efforts and put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk as Hurricane Milton grows.
>> When to turn your coverage into a zine (and how to get it into the right hands) (Medium, Engagement at LAist)
LAist worked with their community college fellow to distribute thousands of zines across Southern California that focused on stories of people who had changed careers by going to community college. The goal was to reach people who may be looking for a career change in venues like libraries and bookstores.
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Revenue & Resilience
Want to change money in Cuba? It’ll probably involve an exiled news outlet — and AI (Nieman Lab)
Cuban businesses often rely on Miami-based news outlet El Toque for the conversion range between the U.S. dollar and the Cuban peso, which allows them to conduct business in dollars. El Toque, run by Cuban exiles, relies on AI and automation to keep its exchange rate accurate — and has increased its site traffic tenfold since launching the service.
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What else you need to know
📺 Fox News to debut Spanish-language show and website ahead of the election (Axios)
🎙️ CBS rebukes anchor over tense interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates (The New York Times)
🗞️ Hearst, OpenAI announce partnership for U.S. newspaper and magazine content (CT Insider)
🫥 As part of the Newsroom Safety Across America Initiative, the International Women’s Media Foundation is offering a free DeleteMe subscription to U.S. journalists.
