Abstract:

Media has always been about reaching an audience; however, in today’s attention economy media is taking it one step further. This paper will focus on the television news genre that rose to fruition in the 1950s, became increasingly popular by the late 1900s and has seen significant decrease in ratings since the turn of the millennium. More specifically, the paper will discuss the importance of audience engagement with Television news. Over the last few decades’, digital media technologies have seriously impacted television news as citizen venture towards online resources to stay informed; consequently, the attention on television news has dramatically decreased. Using the sources below this paper will attempt to explain how television news can use social media and the internet to increase their audience engagement. As a result, television news ratings increase by allowing citizen to be a part of the news. Furthermore, this essay will argue how this rare fandom can be expanded in order to recreate participation in civic and political news. Another topics this essay will discuss is the use of social media to increase the genre audience size, more specifically targeting a younger demographic that rarely engages with news. The preliminary research suggests that younger audience would be more willing to engage with news media if stories they connect with were told more frequently. However, beyond more connected stories, audience engagement with television news should be considered at all stages from production, distribution and consumption. The essay will develop further on how this constant engagement brings liveliness to the content allowing it to stay fresh in the audiences’ eyes as they play a crucial role in the contents life cycle. In summary, the paper will primarily focus audience engagement in the Television news genre, the strategies television news can implement to foster this engagement and the mutual benefits extracted from an increasingly engaged audience.