How To Get Your News To Millennials

Millennials love video, but they’re not interested in engaging with traditional linear content. They appreciate breaking news, but won’t turn into a local news broadcast. And they crave authenticity, yet don’t trust much of the media. What’s a traditional broadcaster to do?

In a panel discussion Monday in New York at TVNewsCheck’s annual NewsTECHForum, four panelists — two from legacy companies, two from new media organizations — discussed strategies for producing and delivering news to this social-first demographic.

“From a local news perspective, it’s really important to make sure you’re listening” said Emily Stone, digital content manager at Fox O&O WTTG Washington. Stone discussed how, after noticing an uptick in online bickering following the election, the station worked with on-air talent to create videos on the theme of unity, then posted the videos to their social pages, app and website. “The response was tremendous,” she said, “because the community locally knows them.”

While that initiative was largely successful, Stone conceded that the process of consistently creating engaging video content for social is something that many local broadcasters struggle with. “We, as a newsroom and as a station group, have tried to come up with ways in which we can make this part of the workflow,” she said, noting that WTTG relies heavily on two social media-savvy producers.

On the new media side, Verhsa Sharma, managing editor at NowThis News, offered an inside look at how the distributed content company has earned more than 17 million followers across multiple social media sites. “We broke our newsroom down by platform, so we have a Snapchat team, a Facebook team, a Twitter breaking news team,” Sharma said. “Actually building content with a platform’s specific use in mind really paid off for us in terms of growing our audiences.”

While clearly an effective strategy, most legacy companies don’t have the resources to devote staffers to specific social channels. But acknowledging those limitations is a key part of overcoming them, according to Dhiya Kuriakose, head of syndication at Conde Nast. For Conde Nast properties like Vanity Fair, sometimes the benefit of social is just familiarizing a younger demographic with the brand. “If some 17-year-old doesn’t know what Vanity Fair is, no advertisers is going to buy with us,” Kuriakose said. “If we’re using social pages to really build recognition for our brands, that’s good enough.”

“What works for one newsroom doesn’t necessarily work for another,” added Kuriakose. “I’ve realized that we’re not going to win the scale game, but what’s really standing out is quality content.”

On the subject of quality, all four panelists acknowledged that millennials have been largely misunderstood. “This is the most educated, informed generation that has ever lived,” said Blake Sabatinelli, general manager of Newsy. “To think that young people have no interest in quality news is the stupidest thing I hear on a daily basis.”

“I think an overarching theme of this panel is the fact that millennials are interested in hard news and breaking news,” agreed Emily Stone. “You just have to deliver it to where they are — social feeds.”

To listen to a recording of this panel session, click here.

Read all about the NewsTECHForum here.