Audience Community as a Strategic Resource in Media Work

Abstract

This article discusses the role of the online audience community as a strategic resource for media work. It opens up a current perspective on the audience community, which has received scarce attention in research both conceptually and empirically. The article provides an empirical analysis of the various ways in which the audience community can serve as a resource in the work of journalists. The conclusion is that the audience community can have wide-ranging strategic significance and implications for media work and media brands. In particular, observing and connecting with the audience community can help journalists acquire deeper knowledge and understanding of the audience, as well as strengthen commitment and engagement among the audience with the media brand. As a consequence of collaborating with the audience community, new journalistic roles and tasks are emerging.

KEYWORDS:

• audience community
• journalism
• media brand
• media work
• strategic resource

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research was funded by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation. The authors would also like to thank A-lehdet and the editorial teams of Demi and Lily for collaboration.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.