In the conclusion to the report published on CJR today, “The Story So Far: What We Know About the Business of Digital Journalism,” co-authors Bill Grueskin, Ava Seave, and Lucas Graves offer a number of recommendations to news organizations grappling with the economics of producing news in the digital age. One of their first suggestions is that outlets need to engage their readers at a deeper level than some have been doing; to offer them content that creates loyalty rather than passing interest—and fleeting clicks—so that news audiences are seen as more valuable to advertisers. The authors put it this way:
Media companies should redefine the relationship between audience and advertising. They have spent a great deal of time and resources building masses of lightly engaged readers. And the industry has turned online ads into what Rothenberg calls low-value “direct-response advertising—a.k.a., junk mail.” That kind of advertising is dependent on volume—a game publishers will never win when competing with behemoths like Facebook and Google. This is not a goal that can be accomplished just by the business side. Journalists must make a fuller commitment to understanding the audiences they have and the ones they want, and to revamping their digital offerings to ensure deeper loyalty.
We’re curious to know who you think is already doing this well, and who isn’t.
Which news sites make you feel engaged and part of a community of readers? Which sites consistently offer you a quality, high-value experience? And which news sites could be doing a much better job understanding the audiences they have and the ones they want?
uh, seems like trying to engage on engagement -- not very engaging! to engage this a little, TPM seems to have generated the richest interaction between readers and site that I've seen. The reader comments pulled up into the editor's blog are a reflection of that. that said, gawker feels as much a community in its own way as anywhere else.
politico, on the other hand, feels like a barren wasteland, totally impersonal -- just like DC!
#1 Posted by dean starkman, CJR on Wed 11 May 2011 at 04:10 PM
Given then I mostly write about politics, I am more familiar with the political news corners of the web. And I think the successful ones here are the ones that have a clear identity and foster an identity around that—TPM, for instance, I think is a stickier experience than say CNN's politics pages because when you go to TPM you know you are among like minds and are likely to find material that interests you and caters to you. And for the kinds of orgs/businesses that advertise there, you're a high-value target. (Not saying I am one of those high-value targets or like minds necessarily, just that I think what they're doing is smart.) On something newsier, like CNN's Ticker, or political news blogs at outlets like Wapo and NYTimes, you can be sucked in by a headline, head there to read an often brief piece, and then move on, because the pieces are generally general. Politico I think does what TPM does well, too, though by focusing not on a community built on ideology but on a community of common interest: the every nook and cranny and fit and spurt of the Beltway. By doggedly catering to that they seem to have hooked a loyal community of readers. Just some thoughts.
#2 Posted by Joel Meares, CJR on Wed 11 May 2011 at 04:11 PM
Politico is great at engaging the beltway. Every journo in DC reads Politico first thing and last thing every day. Tragically, they think, and say, that "everyone reads Politico" which is far from the truth. In fact, I don't know a single person among my colleagues, friends, and family, that has even *heard* of Politico, let alone reads them every day. But you are right, they do engage the community that is their target.
So, too, does TPM. And again, I don't know a single person in real life that reads TPM. But they *do* really engage their target community, liberal political junkies.
For us people who have lives outside of political junkie-hood, I think that New York Times does a great job of engaging their target. Their meticulous moderation of their comment streams have paid off big time with fostering intelligent, informative conversation among their users, and keeps them coming back for more. And their blogs have a nice community of readers/responders -- the Lede and the Caucus are the ones I read, though other of their blogs have devout fans as well.
And then there is HuffPost, who is really the leader in engaging a huge, diverse community of fans, readers, commenters from all walks of life, a wide diversity of interests.
Sadly, my hometown newspaper, Los Angeles Times, hosts and caters to a group of angry, racist, dumbass losers, much like the comment stream of Politico. And I guess they like it that way, because they are way behind the curve in engaging their former readers. They are losing more and more every single day. Good riddance to Hartenstein!
#3 Posted by James, CJR on Wed 11 May 2011 at 07:01 PM
You know what might improve interactivity here? If commenters who do followups on old stories such as this one:
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/under_the_influence_of_koch.php
could get their updates reflected on the recent comments list. I know you guys struggle with spam, but I don't think letting past stories go stale is a way of addressing that issue.
Just my opinion.
#4 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Wed 11 May 2011 at 10:48 PM
You know what else reflects an effort by websites at engaging their communities? Responding to their readers' concerns and criticisms and *actually* engaging with their readers. What a concept!
Now, here at CJR, your Mr. Chittum is pretty good about responding to criticisms, kudos, and questions; Mr. Meares occasionally engages as well. The rest of you seem to hide under your desk after each post, or imperiously ignore the riffraff, quickly responding only to other journos, but only a select few of them. On the other hand, a request for correction or a legitimate question by a non-journo reader can sit on a comment thread for a week, ignored, unless one happens to stumble upon the contacts page and somehow divine through esp or whatever that if one emails "tips and laurels" one *might* get a correction. We low-lifes almost never get a followup to a legitimate question.
Well, there, I've said it. You asked, after all. Or, maybe you weren't asking for yourself?
#5 Posted by James, CJR on Thu 12 May 2011 at 10:56 AM
Fair enough, James. We try to jump in as often as we can and certainly as needed, and I for one will try to do better. Don't interpret silence as imperiousness, though. It's probably just busy-ness. If we don't respond to a correx, please send a note to editors@cjr.org and someone will be sure to see it. I'm glad you give Ryan and Joel credit bc they do mix it up pretty good.
#6 Posted by Dean Starkman, CJR on Thu 12 May 2011 at 01:34 PM
James, point well taken. Dean's right, it's mostly just busy-ness. Which is no real excuse and we'll try to do better. Sending a note to editors@cjr.org is a good option if you notice us slacking, or click on the author's name at the top of an article to send a direct note. This is most often how I am made aware of corrections I need to see to.
#7 Posted by Joel Meares, CJR on Thu 12 May 2011 at 01:43 PM
James is right about this. A serious reaction deserves a serious reply.
#8 Posted by Mike Hoyt, CJR on Thu 12 May 2011 at 03:53 PM
The points James made above reflect my thinking in general: TPM and Politico are not engaging the public; Among the mainstream outlets, The New York Times does the best job of engaging readers.
I would add that in addition to well-moderated comments and the standard Twitter/Facebook/sharing options, the NYT offers "Times People," which allows readers to share in a similarly convenient way but without leaving the site so a greater sense of community is created. Their blogs and multimedia content offer additional opportunities to respond.
Though they might not like to be classified as a 'news outlet," the New Yorker's online chats with authors of commented-on articles draw many readers and create a sense of active engagement.
#9 Posted by Pat Heffernan, CJR on Sun 15 May 2011 at 11:09 AM