In the midst of a rapidly changing pandemic and upended workplaces, publishers created unprecedented ways to engage their communities. Innovating daily, news media companies around the world delivered what readers were looking for and shifted each time those needs shifted.

“What a Pandemic Taught Media About Community Engagement” shines a spotlight on the ground-level efforts by news publishers to navigate the COVID crisis. The ways in which they proved and exploited content's versatility are demonstrated in case studies from 33 news media companies in 14 countries.

INMA has compiled the case studies to honour the work done, to give context to where the industry sits now, and to inspire news media companies on what they must do to be successful in the next phases of the crisis.

Companies featured in the report

The Big Issue, BILD, Chattanooga Times, CNN, Daily Star, Dainik Bhaskar, De Standaard, Ekstra Bladet, Gannett, Globe and Mail, Hanza Media, The Hindu Group, Hindustan, HLN, IGC, IMS Property360, Jagran New Media LNP | LancasterOnline, Mediahuis, Mediafin, Newsday, NWZ Mediengruppe, Press Democrat, Russmedia, Singapore Press Holdings, Sydney Morning Herald, The Telegraph, ThePrint, Times of India, Upsala Nya Tidning, Vocento, Winnipeg Free Press, and Yahoo.

Who should read the report?

Editorial leaders, journalists, marketing and branding teams, and advertising teams.

Author

Paula Felps is INMA’s Ideas Blog editor and is based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. She is also a freelance writer, editor, and podcast host.

Detailed overview

In the midst of a rapidly changing pandemic and upended workplaces, publishers created unprecedented ways to engage their communities. Innovating daily, news media companies around the world delivered what readers were looking for and shifted each time those needs shifted.

“What a Pandemic Taught Media About Community Engagement” shines a spotlight on the ground-level efforts by news publishers to navigate the COVID crisis. The ways in which they proved and exploited content's versatility are demonstrated in case studies from 33 news media companies in 14 countries.

INMA has compiled the case studies to honour the work done, to give context to where the industry sits now, and to inspire news media companies on what they must do to be successful in the next phases of the crisis.

The report looks at detailed examples of how these publishers engaged their communities through:

• Engaging content
• Educational content
• Outreach for and to advertisers
• Virtual events
• Philanthropy
• Positive news

“What a Pandemic Taught Media About Community Engagement” is based on entries to INMA’s Global Media Awards competition’s bonus category, “Best Initiative In Response to COVID-19.” These case studies give a glimpse to the worldwide response from news media companies to the greatest audience need of our lifetime. These case studies give a glimpse into the worldwide response from news media companies to the audience needs sparked by the pandemic and lockdowns.