In Care We Trust: Putting Readers First to Overcome News Fatigue
This Thursday, we are all about caring!
Caring takes various forms, from active listening and tailoring your coverage to your readers' needs to engaging them in respectful dialogues.
But it's the combination of these efforts that can truly make a difference, especially for newsrooms looking to reconnect with their audiences amid a turbulent election year!
Here's what you can expect from today's newsletter:
?? Take Care, Make Care: Lessons from the Care Collaboratory.
This project by jesikah maria ross explores topics surrounding care and how integrating care into storytelling processes contributes to community-building, increasing a sense of belonging and trust.
When people feel cared about, they are more likely to engage with reporters and be honest — even vulnerable — about their experiences. That’s crucial to help reporters “get the story right.”?
— jesikah maria ross, 16 January 2024.
Here are some of our takes from the Collaboratory:
1. For newsrooms, gathering audience feedback isn't sufficient if there's an initial lack of trust. Trust-building starts with deep listening. This means persistently tuning in not just to words but actual needs, acknowledging differences in worldviews, and adapting to the outcome of the listening.
2. Identity-aware care implies embracing personal and professional identities in reporting. Activating one's personality in reporting deepens relationships, making the reporting more accurate and relevant.
?? ?? How to let readers guide the coverage.
Many reporters still treat elections as sensational "horse races" for clicks and attention, only adding to the fatigue of an audience already tired of political news. Which, let's face it, is all of us.
Jay Rosen 's Citizens' Agenda model flips the script by relocating the coverage focus from politicians to the electorate. It suggests asking readers:
What do you want the candidates to be talking about as they compete for voters?
If you go to your readership before diving into coverage, you'll likely gain insights and perspectives you hadn't considered before, increase reader participation, and build trust.
"Audience first" is the core idea behind this model. Ask your readers what they want to know about elections, compile their responses into a citizens' agenda, and use it as a roadmap for coverage. Share it with readers, create voter guides, and, most importantly, keep listening and adjusting as you go.
| Read about all the model's steps in Joy Rosen's article.
?? Tapping into comments to show you care.
One of the simplest ways to demonstrate attentiveness is by activating the comment section. Encouraging readers to share their thoughts strengthens relationships and fosters trust.
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The best thing you can do for a community is to actively show people that somebody at the organization is listening.
— Bassey Etim , former Community Editor at the NY Times
But you know how it goes: things can get a bit messy in the comments. This will negatively affect people's perceptions of your newsroom and news in general.
Research from the Center for Media Engagement - The University of Texas at Austin shows that when reporters actively respond to readers in the comments, it reduces the chances of uncivil comments by 17%. Plus, having the right tools to moderate the comments section can also help reduce negativity and increase participation and trust.
That's exactly what we're aiming for with our liveblogging software. Our intuitive moderation tool makes it easy for reporters to keep the conversation respectful.
In the video below, our International Key Account Manager, Devon Ramirez , gives a quick demo of our liveblogging software and shows how reporters use our commenting tool.
| Read the summary of the Center for Media Engagement study here.
#TeamTickaroo recommends:
> Liveblog Highlight Section <
Never thought I'd be so excited about potholes!
- That was the reaction of our Marketing Team Lead, Kate Sherman , when she stumbled upon an incredibly engaging liveblog by New Zealand news company Stuff . Surprisingly, the main focus was... potholes!
In a perfect example of "audience first" journalism, Stuff capitalized on the New Zealand Government's allocation of funds to address potholes nationwide. They invited readers to share pictures of potholes in their areas and share their experiences of how it affects them.
| Interested in the full story? Check it out!
Big thanks for sticking with us, and see you soon!
Happy Liveblogging,
Tickaroo Team
Tickaroo is your live content software expert. Based in Regensburg, Germany, we equip publishers to effortlessly deliver real-time updates, captivating content, and standout live coverage. From breaking news to events and sports, we've got the tools to make your coverage a success. Interested in more? Let's chat!
Absolutely loving the spotlight on "care" as a guiding principle! ?? Aristotle once advised we are what we repeatedly do - nurturing trust through active listening surely shapes excellence. Let's keep fueling meaningful connections! ?? #ListeningToGrow
Creating participatory media projects that spark dialogue and change. Community engagement meets journalism with a dash of social practice art.
11 个月Thanks so much for including me and the work of the Care Collaboratory. YES to making care the word for 2024. American Press Institute and Samantha Ragland are centering care and you can find more in this series https://americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-with-care/
Helping you with media interviews and presentations. Because words matter wherever they appear - on air, online, in print and in person. Drop me a line. Give me a call. Send me a carrier pigeon... oh hang on.
11 个月I guess what the Stuff New Zealand example here shows is that news is in sense better defined by the audience than by journalists (and I speak as a journalist concerned that to often we talk at our audiences rather than with).