Practicing Engagement

What’s New about Whatsapp for News? A Mixed-Method Study on News Outlets’ Strategies for Using WhatsApp

“…Just 8% of WhatsApp messages sent by outlets contain a dimension of audience engagement (RQ 2.1). This finding is in line with studies elaborating on the limited experiences of journalists with audience engagement and the challenges associated with it (Lawrence, Radcliffe, and Schmidt 2018;Meier, Kraus, and Michaeler 2018;Loosen 2016). In our survey only 59% of journalists stated that their newsrooms would actively ask users to send input via WhatsApp (RQ 2.2).…”

“…Recent studies on audience engagement have underlined the challenges for journalists wanting to engage. Lawrence, Radcliffe, and Schmidt (2018) identify that technology, economics, and organizational culture shape audience engagement. Meier, Kraus, and Michaeler emphasize that embracing all perspectives of audience engagement constitutes it a "paradigm change" (2018,9) for journalism.…”

“…Thus, audience engagement is an interesting perspective for research on WhatsApp for news. The term is used in varying ways and connected to concepts of participation and citizen journalism as well as more datadriven approaches such as audience metrics (Meier, Kraus, and Michaeler 2018;Lawrence, Radcliffe, and Schmidt 2018;Ferrer-Conill and Tandoc 2018;Cherubini and Nielsen 2016). Loosen (2016) differentiates between three different ways of how journalists integrate the audience in the editorial process: as an economically motivated strategy to build audience loyalty (editorial analytics), as a chance to enrich diversity in public discourse (participation) andbecoming apparent more recentlyas a challenge originating from hate speech, propaganda, and other unwanted content posted online.…”

“…When integrating social media into the editorial process, although different variables significantly influence how journalists use it (Gulyas 2013), overall, traditional routines hinder the transformation of the relationship with the audience. Emerging after a phase of optimism, the research identifying reluctance in audience engagement has been described as "participatory disillusionment" (Lawrence, Radcliffe, and Schmidt 2018). Recent studies on audience engagement have underlined the challenges for journalists wanting to engage.…”

“Engaged” Journalism: Studying the News Industry’s Changing Relationship with the Public

“…As journalists across the globe continue to face distrustful audiences and uncertain economics, many have begun experimenting with novel forms of news production and community engagement with the hope of solving the news industry's ails. These efforts tend to focus specifically on improving the relationship between journalists and the communities they cover, often by attempting to provide those communities with more agency in the process by which their stories are told (Ferrer-Conill and Tandoc 2018; Lawrence, Radcliffe, and Schmidt 2018;Nelson 2018;Wenzel 2017). For example, many newsrooms now use tools provided by audience engagement companies like Hearken and Ground-Source to solicit questions from community members or provide them with interactive information.…”