Consumers as Editors: NGN2 Points Toward Audience-Defined News

EVANSTON, ILL. -- The news habits of young news consumers must be a guiding force as news publishers forecast audience demand. News organizations need to anticipate the needs and desires of audience members, and the Next Gen News 2 (NGN2) study shows a path for journalism and product leaders to navigate a fragmented information ecosystem.

Building on the original Next Gen News study, NGN2 used large-scale surveys, media diaries and interviews with emerging news producers to highlight opportunities for news publishers to reach audiences looking for a more ideal news experience, one that prioritizes trust, personal significance and digitally native storytelling.

The report was researched and produced by the Knight Lab at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, with FT Strategies, and supported by the Google News Initiative. It included more than 5,000 survey respondents, 84 media diarists, and 19 emerging news producers, primarily in Brazil, India, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These locations were selected based on demographic considerations and their importance in shaping global news consumption through 2030.

NGN2 dug even more deeply than the previous study into how news consumers, especially 18- to 24-year-olds, identify, select, engage and share news. The Modes of Engagement showcase how news consumers sift through information to determine what to invest their time in and how deeply to invest it. 

“Studying how young news consumers discover and engage with news is a critical predictor of how the broader news audience is likely to follow,” said Jeremy Gilbert, Medill Professor and Knight Chair in Digital Media Strategy. “Our goal is to offer news leaders actionable research that helps them shape near-term news strategy and tactics rooted in real audience needs that will serve present audiences and also attract the next generation."

There are three primary ‘sift’ modes of information discovery:

• Scroll - incidentally stumbling on news

• Seek - intentionally looking for news 

• Subscribe - receiving news via sign-ups

Once news consumers engage more deeply, they move into consumption modes, choosing how to more deeply understand news topics:

• Substantiate - verifying facts and credibility 

• Study - developing deeper knowledge

• Sensemake - understanding other perspectives on complex topics

And socialization plays a bridging role, sometimes helping identify desirable stories and other times interpreting chosen material.

NGN2 also explores how emerging news producers employ tactics that connect with news consumers in a variety of different modes. News leaders need to rethink the journalism process and focus on distribution from the beginning. This approach leverages key traits of affinity and desirability that help bond news producers and consumers, building trust and increasing loyalty.

“The most effective news producers are rethinking how news is made and delivered in response to changing audience behaviors,” said Lisa MacLeod, Director of News at FT Strategies. “Next Gen News 2 shows newsroom and product leaders how these producers are successfully attracting and engaging next-generation audiences — and how established news producers can apply those lessons to remain relevant through 2030.”

For more information and to access the full report, please visit Next-Gen-News.com.

Contacts - For questions/interviews

• Jeremy Gilbert, Knight Professor in Digital Media Strategy, the Knight Lab at Medill | Northwestern University, jeremy.gilbert@northwestern.edu

• Lamberto Lambertini, Insights Manager at FT Strategies, lamberto.lambertini@ft.com 

Methodology

The study utilized a 21-question survey of 5,000 respondents aged 18-101 (1,000 per country) and a 10-day diary study with 84 participants aged 18-28. Researchers also conducted in-depth interviews with 19 emerging news producers operating across nine countries and various digital formats.

About the Partners

The Knight Lab is Northwestern University’s community of designers, developers, students, and educators. A core part of Medill, the Lab conducts audience- and technology-related experiments to push journalism into new spaces. FT Strategies is the specialist consultancy from the Financial Times, helping organizations solve their most important challenges and unlock new growth opportunities.

About the Study’s Authors

NGN2’s research and writing were produced by the Knight Lab’s Joe Germuska and Jeremy Gilbert and FT Strategies’ Fraser Harding, Lamberto Lambertini and George Montagu. Additional research was provided by the Knight Lab’s Kelly Ann Coney and Karen Eisenhauer.