Three trends from the World Editors Forum's recent Study Tour visits to top newsrooms in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City.
1) Niches prove successful: New products and verticals for the audience
Targeted websites, newsletters and podcasts designed for specific audience segments are both popular and profitable for US publishers. During the 5 days we spent in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City – there were several discussions surrounding the new 2017 content verticals and product launches catered to specific group of users.
Politico currently has a very diverse offering of podcasts, including their “Women Rule” series. This bi-weekly podcast programme features influential female leaders discussing their involvement in politics, policy-making and more. As these issues have reached a fever pitch in the US, this podcast provides a necessary platform where women can listen and learn from prominent women sharing experiences of leading companies across all industries. Due to its extremely topical and relevant themes, this podcast has been able to captivate a powerful audience – enabling them to get specific partners on board. They have support from both Google and The Tory Burch Foundation as its founding partners.
WAN-IFRA is leading its own initiative to bring more women into leadership roles in the news media industry. For more information about WAN-IFRA’s Women in News programme, visit our site.
Another great example of audience-driven products includes Quartz’s buzz- worthy newsletters, new video series and book. In September, a month before our Study Tour group visit, they launched a new daily newsletter, “Obsession” which comprehensively covers a single topic of the global economy each day. Quartz admittedly focuses less on the breaking news story and instead concentrates on detailed, deep dive reporting, otherwise known as Quartz Obsession.
www.wan-ifra.org
