How many times have you clicked on an article only to realise the headline has nothing to do with the story? The unfortunate truth is; more often than we’d all like to admit.
Today’s journalists have to compete with more than just the 24-hour news cycle, they also have to grab the audiences’ attention instantly.
As Felix Salmon says “people get their news from headlines now in a way they never did in the past.”
This has changed the way journalism is created and consumed. Informing your audience is now a balancing act of grabbing their attention and being factual.
Why are people only reading the headlines? The unfortunate truth is that our attention span is dwindling.
Smart phones have become so prevalent in our daily lives. We have access to anything on the internet, at our fingertips, and yet so many just engage with social media.
Audiences today want their information delivered as succinctly and spectacularly as possible.
Anita Zielina explains “the second click is when it starts to become interesting: A user that we attracted wants to get more of our content, our service.” In today’s tech-savvy world this is true. We now have the option to instantly disengage from content with the click of a button.
Reading news is a time commitment. Podcasts, TV broadcasts and radio are easier to engage with as the audience can do something else at the same time.
Writers have to work harder at making their content more engaging. This has also allowed online multimedia platforms to really take off.
Publications are putting the time and resources into creating beautiful, multi-faceted stories. Unlike transmedia, multimedia stories use audio and image with the written word to tell a more detailed story. By adding the element of diegetic noise, the reader can engage with the story on a deeper level. It allows you to feel as if you are there and experiencing the story.
What will it take to make you do the second click?
