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Audience versus Community: a fresh perspective
What’s the difference between an audience and a community? Too many publishers see them as interchangeable, or worse, in competition with each other. In this post, former LA Times Audience Engagement Editor Adriana Lacy digs into the distinctions that separate the the two, and why they both matter.
While audiences are passive consumers, communities are actively engaged with content creation. Audiences are essential in generating demand, ad impressions and subscriptions, but community members actively participate in content creation and discourse. “They have a sense of belonging and ownership, feeling that they are not just spectators but part of the show,” writes Lacy.
Understanding the difference between audience and community is key to maximising revenue. Where audiences can deliver reach and immediate financial returns, communities offer sustainability, loyalty, and deeper engagement. Lacy says the trick is to balance the two, maximising reach and building long-term engagement.
Reach testing AI-curated website with group content
Reach is testing an AI-powered website that brings together stories from all of its national and regional newsbrands in one place for the first time. I’m honestly trying not to be cynical about this, but if ever there was an organisation in UK media that will see AI as an opportunity to cut costs, you know it will be Reach. I honestly hope I’m wrong, but this just doesn’t feel like it’s going to be good for local news coverage.
Tortoise launches week-long Journalism School initiative
In this week’s episode of the Journalism.co.uk podcast, Jacob Granger is speaking with Tortoise Media’s head of PR Andrew Butler about the slow news brand’s journalism internship alternative. The intensive week-long training experience sees students participate in discussions, presentations and assignments led by Tortoise journalists. They will also have the opportunity to pitch and write stories for Tortoise.
Survey says… 25% of Twitter users don’t expect to be using the platform in 12 months
A new Pew study shows that around a quarter of active Twitter users don’t expect to be using the app at all in 12 months time. Whether that means that people expect a Twitter alternative to pop up, or they just don’t see themselves staying active on the platform, it doesn’t bode well for Twitter’s potential to reignite advertiser interest and activity.
More from Media Voices
How AI could help publishers prove the value of their journalism
Chris argues that publishers should be looking for ways to demonstrate the provenance of their journalism, from inception through creation to publishing. He explores issues with the idea, but suggests it’s potentially a way publishers can turn the advent of AI into a way to demonstrate the value of their journalism amid all the pink slime.
How local media organisations can get started with AI
Deciding where to start, both with identifying use cases for AI in publishing and actual implementation, can feel overwhelming. From securing data sources to getting colleagues on board, here is some advice from those who have already taken the leap, in this extract from our Practical AI for Local Media report.
