The Audience: What it Needs vs. What it Wants

That weighing process – Important versus Interesting – is all about trying to serve an audience…should a news organization only give the people what they want – photos of Katy Perry's and Orlando Bloom's new baby, or should it tell them that they should be paying more attention to their local governments?

This is where some of the characteristics that we discussed earlier in this lesson come together: News Drivers, Editorial Judgement, and Presentation of a story.

It is, as one headline writer said, the kind of story you wait for your whole career. It was a legitimate story, but the Post’s headline writers whittled it down to the most livid essentials.

When we talk about editorial judgment including not just story selection, but also presentation, this gives clues as to the audience sought by the Post on that day.

What type of audiences are served by these two different magazines?

Is this pandering ,or public service, or is it good business?

Editors and producers add value to information and news by how much space or time they give to a story, and by its prominence. Beware of a simplistic dismissal of publications that are audience-driven.

Often a magazine like People can bring many more people to a serious health story, for instance, because as people browse the celebrity news, they may stop and read an important story.