We journalists love talking about our trade, and most of the conversation has been negative lately. But while we’re bemoaning newsroom shutdowns, we may be missing a story happening right under our noses. It’s a slow shift back to maintaining readership without clickbait. It’s called rebuilding readership loyalty.
The industry may finally be waking up to the reality that readers are tired of being bombarded by content they don’t care about. We all know the formula: Pump out enough headlines and maybe, just maybe, one headline will entice us into clicking. Instead, tired viewers are seeking relief. More and more, we (yours truly included) skip the relentless headline huckstering to hover over feel-good videos. (My favorites are those of cuddly cartoon animals in cozy dens, while a snowstorm rages outside.) Advertisers bankrolling the headline craze are becoming more selective. And platforms that used to be eager for just about any content are now asking for money to host posts or articles.
Readers will always be interested in big events happening elsewhere, and news platforms will continue to provide them. What is interesting are developments on another level. Even some of the bigger news outlets are starting to return to community‑centered reporting. I don’t mean the performative “we care about our readers” nonsense, but actually sending reporters to talk to people and hosting events that mean something to them. The Boston Globe has launched entire teams dedicated to Rhode Island and New Hampshire, sending reporters into neighborhoods and hosting real‑world events. The Philadelphia Inquirer built a Community News desk that embeds journalists directly in local neighborhoods. These aren’t nostalgia projects — they’re working models of how large newsrooms can rebuild trust by getting close to the people they serve.
It’s a lesson that has kept some of the tiny independents thriving, while the big players in the news business flounder — a return to the idea that the only way to stay afloat in the sea of clickbait is to offer readers and viewers something that they can relate to because it affects them directly. So after skimming the world headlines, they can dwell on and perhaps interact with news they can use.
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