Supported by the Knight Foundation
Helping news publishers stay relevant, trusted, and future-ready with the next generation of news consumers
How can news media click with Gen Z and Millennials? Through visual-first thinking, radical honesty, and co-creation, INMA believes publishers must meet young people where they are — with formats they love, voices they trust, and space to take part. This initiative in 2026-2027 aims to give publishers a practical playbook to connect with emerging audiences.
Scope of the Initiative
Audience strategy
How Gen Z and Millennials discover, trust, and choose news
Platform dynamics
What works (and what doesn’t) on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, newsletters, and beyond
Trust & transparency
What makes younger audiences tune in — and what makes them tune out
Format innovation
Visual stories, mobile design, creator-inspired formats
Engagement models
Community-driven news, participation, interactivity
Revenue models
Subscriptions, memberships, creator-style monetisation
Product development
How to build products young people actually use
Cultural relevance
Tone, representation, identity — and why it all matters
Deliverables
Newsletters
Quick reads, big takeaways — delivered every two weeks. Stay updated on what young audiences care about, the latest platform shifts, publisher experiments worth watching, and practical tips your team can apply right away.
Blogs
Fresh thinking, straight to the point. Explore what’s working around the world, how audience behaviors are evolving, the bold experiments shaping the future, and reflections from rising media talent.
Reports
In-depth, no-fluff reports that matter. Get clear data on how Gen Z and Millennials engage, see what’s shifting across platforms, and explore smart frameworks for growth — all paired with concrete next steps for your team. Click here to view.
Webinars
Live virtual conversations that stay real and useful. We share wins — and lessons from what didn’t work — hear from creators, editors, and researchers, exchange ideas with peers from around the world, and keep the discussion grounded in what actually helps. Webinars.
Conferences
Join us for the World Congress of News Media Young Audiences Seminar in Berlin. The Kerstin Hasse-led seminar will explore how news media can engage Gen Z and millennials through vertical-video, community-first storytelling, creator-style formats, youth-centred bundles, newsletters, and interactive formats — aiming to build trust and long-term engagement with younger audiences.
Ask me anything
Q&As with initiative lead Kerstin Hasse. Drop into sessions for candid conversations on youth media strategy, creator-economy trends, and how to rethink your engagement game.
Mission of the Young Audiences Initiative
To help publishers develop sustainable, forward-thinking strategies for reaching and retaining younger audiences — by combining global research, real-life experiments, and best-in-class examples into tools they can actually use.
Young Audiences Initiative Lead
Kerstin Hasse is a digital media leader specialising in newsroom innovation and user-centered storytelling. She is passionate about bringing diverse teams together to create journalism that informs and inspires. Most recently a managing editor at Tages-Anzeiger in Switzerland, she led cross-functional teams in audio, video, and social media while co-hosting the podcast “TagesAnzeigerin.” Since then, Kerstin has launched her own podcast and newsletter, “Hasse mit Liebe,” where she analyses zeitgeist and pop culture topics, combining conviction with accessibility — always with a personal touch. She represents a new generation of journalists who approach their work as a brand and maintain close dialogue with their community. The growing creator economy is a focus area she explores intensively in her work as a digital strategist.