How "Engaged Journalism" Can Boost Subscriptions and Revenue for News Providers
In recent years, “engaged journalism,” a reporting approach that actively involves audiences in the journalistic process, has begun to infiltrate newsrooms. This approach seeks to respond directly to readers' concerns and questions, resulting in a more interactive and community-oriented relationship between news providers and their audience. Research published in the Journal of Communication from the Moody College Of Communication at the University of Texas, Austin in July highlights a significant correlation between engaged journalism and economic and audience support for newsrooms, shedding light on how this approach can boost subscriptions and revenue for news providers.
Engaged journalism can be seen as a modern incarnation of the public journalism debates of the 1990s, but with a digital twist. It brings audiences into the journalism process, offering them a voice and a stake in the stories being covered. One notable study conducted by Natalie (Talia) Jomini Stroud and Emily Van Duyn examined the relationship between engaged journalism and news organizations' revenue streams and audience evaluations. They framed engaged journalism as a form of social exchange theory, highlighting that relationships are built and maintained through an exchange of benefits.
“Although the magnitude of the effect is unlikely to rescue local news,” Stroud and Van Duyn wrote, “it does show that engaged journalism can move local news in the right direction — toward increasing their bottom line and improving relationships with the community.”
The study involved a six-month test case with 20 U.S.-based local news sites, each affiliated with local newspapers and owned by the same parent company. The sites were categorized into large, medium, and small outlets. Half of the sites served as controls, while the other half implemented engaged journalism initiatives from June to December 2018. The engaged journalism initiative was structured to involve the audience in shaping the news agenda, and it included steps such as soliciting audience questions, voting on preferred questions, and inviting audience members to participate in the reporting process.
Over the six-month period, participating newsrooms published an average of 26 stories, with a total of 263 stories. These stories covered a range of topics, including civic information, economic development, the environment, and transportation systems.
Going into the experiment, the newsrooms had a mix of perspectives. “Prior to this study, several of the news organizations…already had engaged journalism initiatives at a smaller scale, such as closed Facebook groups or blogs, but saw the Hearken initiative as a way to further jumpstart audience interaction beyond Facebook or social media comments,” said Stroud. However, others were more concerned with the technical aspects of the initiative, such as the appearance of landing pages. Newsrooms also had questions about maintaining consistency with their branding.
One major concern for newsrooms was “about the workload for the point-person on staff, and this was especially true for papers that had recently faced layoffs or papers that had recently been acquired by the parent company.” Implementing engaged journalism initiatives means reassigning reporting responsibilities–which can be tough to do in an understaffed environment. Despite these concerns, newsrooms were generally eager to use the new platform.
The research conducted by Stroud and Van Duyn revealed concrete, albeit small, benefits of engaged journalism. The most promising outcome for newsrooms was an increase in new subscriptions. Participating news sites experienced an increase of 1.75 new subscriptions per day compared to control sites. While this increase may not single-handedly rescue struggling local news, as Stroud noted above, it shows that engaged journalism can contribute to increasing revenue.
Additionally, the engagement initiative enhanced audience perceptions of news efficacy, responsiveness, and engagement, as well as renewed faith in the participating news source. Audience members reported feeling more represented, influential, and connected to their local news outlets.
Strangely, the research found no significant impact on subscription renewals, pageviews, or return visits. This suggests that engaged journalism may not lead to immediate spikes in traffic but can foster long-term audience relationships. Over time, this could convert occasional visitors into paying subscribers.
There is plenty of compelling evidence that engaged journalism can have a positive impact on newsrooms' revenue and audience relationships. Although the benefits may be modest, they are concrete and worth considering for news outlets seeking to expand or implement engaged journalism initiatives. While this research focuses on a specific form of engagement at a single newspaper media company, it offers a strong foundation for future studies. Collaboration between academics and news organizations is essential to explore what works and under what circumstances.
