How the media is winning back audiences in times of distrust

In times of distrust, how can the media win back and grow their audiences? And how can the PR industry help?

At this year’s Society of Editors Conference, Newsquest’s editorial development director Toby Granville, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s acting editor Mitali Mukherjee, 5 News editor Debbie Ramsay, and The Sun’s director of digital (editorial) Will Payne offered their insight and advice. Here’s what you need to know:

Understanding the audience

News outlets are more focused than ever on understanding who their audience is. This has been a focus for 5 News, whose audience is largely older, with an average age of 61. Debbie Ramsay explained the benefits:

‘The channel has been growing for the last six years and 5 News last year had its biggest audience for six years. Our focus is on growing the audience, keeping them, and telling the stories in the right way for that audience – guiding them through, not berating them or patronising them or criticising them in our tone’.

Newsquest, which has over 250 news brands and 27 daily newspapers, has print readers at an average age of 65 to 70, as explained by Toby Granville. This drops to about 45 for the 120,000 paid digital subscribers they have. For all of them, the focus is on being a trusted local news outlet:

‘We’ve focused on better front pages, higher local story counts, and news that’s actually relevant to the older readers’.

The impact on PRs: Be attuned to who a publication’s audience is. Print titles and broadcast media usually have an older audience, whereas online is where the younger readers will be. News outlets won’t publish your press release or feature your expert unless they appeal directly to their intended audience.

How audiences are accessing the news

The ways in which audiences access the news has also shifted, as Mitali Mukherjee explained:

‘We have seen extremely high engagement for video. Platforms like TikTok are doing quite well for young audiences. Facebook is making a return and YouTube is very strong.’

She revealed that in a survey of 50 countries, a third of them are approaching the news via social media platforms. At 5 News, Debbie makes sure there is content on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok every day.

The Sun has found success on YouTube:

‘YouTube is the one which it feels like it’s the most viable business model because it is a revenue share and they need your content,’ said Will Payne. ‘It’s definitely our most highly prioritised video platform, but then on TikTok we have 9.2 million followers. We use that to reach younger audiences and try to drive to hero products’.

The impact on PRs: Pitching to news outlets isn’t just about having interesting or relevant information – it also needs to be in the right format. With publishers increasingly using vertical video to reach and grow their audience, make sure that your contribution is going to work for that medium. Telling journalists that you have material which can work across a variety of platforms is more likely to get you media coverage. They will often produce the same piece of content in different formats e.g. for the paper, for the website, and for video.

An emphasis on local and the personal touch

Newsquest is building trust with its audience by emphasising that the organisation is part of the community, Toby shared. Local newsrooms are open, with between 50 and 55 across the country in town centres.

Mitali explained why local stories are resonating with readers:

‘The small local stories about how a bunch of young people or an entire community got together and saved a local park or built biodiversity back give people the affirmation that they can take action. These sort of stories really resonate and this is across countries and across newsrooms’.

Newsquest has also freed up time to spend on local stories and campaigns by hiring around 30 ‘AI assisted reporters’ to turn press releases into stories, leaving the rest of the newsroom able to get out and find original content.

At The Sun, the focus has been on putting journalists at the centre of the coverage and forming more of a personal relationship with the audience. Will said ‘we want people to see the personalities behind the content we’re producing, and we also see that this does give us a USP against mass-produced AI generated content, which will be more prolific in the coming months and years’.

The impact on PRs: A number of publishers are using AI to streamline their work and it’s likely more will follow suit, dealing with press releases in this manner. Make sure your press releases are clearer and more accurate than ever before.

The move towards a more personalised approach should make journalists more receptive to personal case studies and give PRs a better chance to make a connection.

Want more about vertical video, and how the media and comms industries are utilising AI? Check out Vuelio reports ‘TikTok journalism: The platform’s impact on news audiences‘ and ‘AI in beauty: How it equals risk – and opportunity – for the PR & comms industry‘.