Tackling news avoidance – advice for media managers

Editor’s note: we are republishing a version of the note that previously appeared as a special edition of The Fix Media’s flagship newsletter. Subscribe to get everything you need to know about the European media market every Monday, along with monthly special reports.

Three years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic boosted global interest in news. Since then, though, news avoidance has been on the rise.

The latest Digital News Report (DNR) from the Reuters Institute shows that 36% of respondents sometimes or often actively try to avoid the news. Avoidance is especially prominent on difficult topics like Russia’s war on Ukraine and climate change.

What could get news avoiders to tune in? DNR authors asked them; 55% say they would be interested in positive news, followed by solutions (46%) and explainers (39%).

As the authors themselves caution, we should treat this finding with a grain of salt – people might say they want to read in-depth explainers, but that doesn’t mean that in reality those wouldn’t lose a battle to cat memes.

Therefore, as David Tvrdon writes for The Fix, “the answer [to news avoidance for publishers] might be a more methodical approach to reader needs that is being observed mostly by quality news publishers, and that is building non-news verticals that make sense for your content strategy and audiences at the same time”.

Still, innovative approaches like solutions journalism and explanatory reporting might be quite helpful for your organisation. Previously, The Fix’s Emma Löfgren wrote about how to introduce solutions journalism to your newsroom and where to start with explanatory journalism.

And, The Fix has reported on promising approaches to cover difficult topics people avoid most. Amélie Reichmuth wrote about the Bonn Institute’s case for constructive journalism amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Alberto Puliafito dived into a report from the European Broadcasting Union on climate journalism that works.