Media companies turn to live blogs for breaking news, fostering real-time conversations

By Alexandra Lehner

Marketing Manager

Norkon

Oslo, Norway

Connect

Connecting with the right audience has become one of the top challenges for news publishers today.

This year has been particularly disruptive for news brands. Familiar social acquisition channels and search strategies have been quite disruptive for news publishers due to new algorithms, new regulations, and social media platforms scaling back their redirection towards news content.

These changes have led to a dramatic decline in traffic referrals from platforms like Facebook, which is down by 48%, and a 27% decline from X.

As a result, many media companies are now pivoting to direct audience engagement through alternative channels like newsletters, podcasts, and WhatsApp. These developments underscore the growing difficulty of reaching new audiences via traditional platforms and reinforce the need for innovative solutions to maintain visibility and engagement.

In this rapidly changing technology and consumer landscape, attracting and engaging both new and existing audiences requires news publishers and broadcasters to stay agile and responsive to evolving reader behaviours.

In this article, we're looking at how two broadcasters from opposite sides of the world have leveraged live blogs to break the news rapidly, foster real-time conversations, and encourage deeper audience engagement through app downloads and active participation in Q&A sessions.

From the United Kingdom: addressing a top funnel challenge

One of Britain's leading talk radio stations - renowned for its engaging political debates, popular podcasts, and dynamic social media presence - implemented a live-blogging approach to introduce new audiences to its popular podcasts.

A broadcaster in the United Kingdom used live blogging to introduce people to its podcasts.

For this broadcaster, the main challenge was discovery: "Once users find our content - whether through radio, social media, or podcasts - they tend to stay. But the challenge is capturing their attention in the first place," said the head of search engine optimization (SEO) for the company.

The station introduced live blogging years ago to broadcast breaking news and ongoing discussions directly from the studio to a broader audience. Today, live blogs have proven to be an effective channel for:

• Increased app downloads. Acting as a top-of-the-funnel strategy, live blogs help introduce new visitors to the station's audio content. The station encourages app downloads to give users access to its full range of talk shows, podcasts, and news coverage.
• Strengthening direct audience relationships. By bypassing traditional social media acquisition channels while presenting a similar user experience, live blogs allow the broadcaster to cultivate a direct connection with its audience.
• Maximising the impact of video content. The broadcaster produces a steady stream of videos, which content producers can quickly edit and share in their live blogs, as such a platform enables immediate and dynamic updates.
• Gen Z's interest in expert content. While short-form content is popular, the broadcaster observed a continuous interest from Gen Z in long-form discussions and detailed analysis, reinforcing the value of expertise-driven content.

From New Zealand: keeping Kiwis updated and engaged

On the opposite side of the world, New Zealand's state-owned broadcaster, TVNZ, has similarly embraced a live-blog strategy to meet the evolving demands of its audience.

Reaching more than two million Kiwis daily through channels like TVNZ 1, TVNZ+, and the socially driven news platform Re:, TVNZ's challenge was to deliver breaking news and live updates in a seamless, real-time format on its news site, 1News.co.nz.

Before adopting live blogs, TVNZ relied on traditional article templates that required frequent updates and page refreshes, making it hard to engage audiences during fast-moving events.

"We couldn't direct our audience to a specific part of the live blog easily, and embedding large numbers of videos and social media posts made our articles very heavy to load. Our audience could sometimes miss an update if they hadn't refreshed the page," said Veronica Schmidt, general manager of digital news and content at TVNZ.

Examples of 1News live reports on flooding in Dunedin, advising local residents to stay home.

Switching to live blogs transformed how TVNZ delivers critical news, allowing readers to follow updates without needing to refresh the page. Embedding multi-media elements like videos and social media posts became more efficient, enhancing the overall reader experience and transmitting the feeling of live and local updates.

Increase in returning visitors

TVNZ found that its live blogs consistently ranked among the top-performing content on its news site, 1News.co.nz, significantly boosting Web site traffic. While individual reader sessions on live blogs are typically short, the format encourages repeated visits as audiences return for the latest updates. This has led to a higher rate of returning visitors compared to traditional news articles.

Boosting engagement with two-way communication

One of the most notable benefits of live-blogging platforms is their capacity to cultivate stronger audience engagement. By hosting live Q&A sessions, TVNZ allowed readers to interact directly with expert reporters, creating a more interactive and personal experience.

This approach not only enhances the connection between the broadcaster and its audience but also fosters a sense of community, as readers feel more involved in the conversation and connected to others who share similar interests.

In that regard, live blogs transform passive news consumption into a dynamic, communal, and educational experience, where the audience plays an active role in shaping discussions.

A 1News live Q&A session on water in New Zealand.

Engaging audiences in a fragmented media landscape

As the media landscape continues to shift, broadcasters face increasing challenges in maintaining visibility and engagement, particularly as traditional social media and search strategies become less effective.

The experiences of broadcasters like TVNZ and the UK talk radio station highlight the importance of adapting to new audience behaviours and exploring alternative channels for direct interaction.

Real-time updates, interactive features, and multi-media content not only help attract and retain readers but also encourage more meaningful engagement. By embracing innovative strategies that prioritise direct relationships with their audiences, broadcasters can navigate the evolving digital environment and remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.

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About Alexandra Lehner

Alexandra Lehner is a marketing manager at Norkon in Oslo, Norway. Alexandra can be reached at [email protected] or @2flying_penguin.

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