Build Communities of Purpose—Not Audiences
Communities of purpose transcend demographics and go deeper than broad audiences. They’re groups brought together by shared values and interests, eager to engage with content, events, and opportunities you create.
Want to know how to create one?
Build Data-Driven Communities: Beyond Digital First & Demographics
Is your station or media team still talking about transitioning to digital? Are the metrics you’re looking at still based largely on demographics? If you answered yes to either question, this article is for you.
Stop guessing how to build relationships: build a First-Party data ecology
Stepping Up Engagement
You can’t expect people to go right from watching a show to becoming a member. Some might, but not enough for you to build a strategy around them. You need to get to know them based on how they interact with our communications–the more targeted and specific, the better. The information you collect is called ‘first party data,” but getting it is a process.
From Reagan to Trump: Lessons for Responsible Reporting After Violence and Crisis
Regardless of what party we support or which candidate wins, the impact of the attempt on Donald Trump’s life will be felt for years to come. And while the news cycle has moved onto JV Vance as Trump’s pick for VP, it will be increasingly important to use those instincts that made us journalists and to remember the many, hard-won lessons from our industry’s failures and triumphs going as far back as the attempt on Reagan and as currently as the aftermath on the attempt this past weekend.
From Likes to Leads: How TikTok Fuels Hyperlocal Journalism
The most impactful stories come from community members themselves. Becoming the person they trust with their stories, however, requires building an authentic relationship. Working for NBC affiliates in major markets like Boston and Phoenix, I found TikTok to be the perfect tool.
I’ve routinely uploaded my stories to social media platforms, starting ten years ago when I graduated college, mostly re-editing them to add new soundbites, extra b-roll, or reformatting them vertically. Over the years, buried among my story’s comments and tucked between messages from my followers, were a growing number of people entrusting me with their story ideas. The pitches ranged from rumors they thought I should investigate, to issues in their neighborhood or something they’d witnessed. Other times, the pitches come in the form of a tag or a link to a video from a user already speaking out about a story— usually before the video went viral or gained traction.
Below is a play-by-play of how engagement on TikTok turned into a double shift. If you stick around long enough, there are also ten steps for using TikTok to engage audiences and source stories.
Too White or Too Woke?
Pick a side: woke or not! That seems to be the framing that folks in partisan media want us all to adopt. NPR got dragged by Uri Berliner in his piece in the Free Press. The essay sparked an online backlash against Public Media among right wing influencers and trolls. Trust in PBS remains high, but less and less folks under fifty are tuning in according to the PBS 2023 viewership report. Digital is growing, but won’t make up the difference with current trends.