About This Report moot Eooma?sm 69 I ems With Earlier this year. a group atThe Waii Street Journai looked at our What?s News newsletter. offered to new audiences and members. It isfree and avaiiable to nonsobscribers, and It is regulariy promoted to new readers who mm on our site. 532:. it only has 266,000 subsorihers.-Why? We posited that somming fresher, more personable and driven more by gmerai audience interests of the moment? ratherman prim from-page or web site olaoememmight resonate. Some editors worried we wouid ailenme the {Mating readership. We did some aster research. And what we aeamed is sowing: More than one-third of the newsletters recipients are aiready WSJ subscribers. and 43% of the people who replied to our survey are over 1115: age of 70. We heid back on tearing up What?s News. forms: time heing?. because-of those madam in a nutshe?, that exchange, capwes the imperative wo'faoo En fuily charting a digital strategy and future. fearfur of giving up ground on existing Success and thus risk-Worse in seeking more. But mats a false tradeoff. a time of great change in our mushy and in society, our contra hesto be nimbie. closely fonowirzg aodienm and to use data to point us In the direction of greater product improvments and engagement. We know the Mamie: audience for what we do is much grater than our adsting audimoe. To gmw, we: need to pay close attention to ail our audienmpeciaily prospects and readers who are warmly lesa engaged with Paying attention to our eSpeciaUy future audiences, is eosenziai for our digita! success and growth. mm?mw the ?mm Aboot This Report The Wall Shoo? . ol most become an 000100004000000 oowsroom, Aorl we most mio??zo our or man cote: S0 mom to om? moor 020001 grows. Stepping bad; the new industry has. long found place in ore-world deciding what people needed to know that do): and than providing that. Most readers had few other regular sources at their ?ngertips They read the newspapen and then threw it away. 0 deeper on something required a trip to the library: But over rheoast 20 years?tho world has wed from an era of information ooar-o?rty into an era of lnfomotioo ovo'load That has fondamemallyohanged the way people consume news and infoma?om It has also fundamentally changed the way many cement companion operate. Wally. it has opened the doors totomnology oomoanioo becoming a main memo for people to getthe newso Despite good mentions. an early oaywa'll model and progress in rocent years. The Wall Street Journal has oot done enough to adjust to changing audience hobo}; ?The Journal remainstoo orlnt-orlentod?in some sections, our focus and worldlow remains orim~?rst JULYEOZO despite the lonotem trajectory for print: ii should be dlghalm?rm, where the growing ls, And, we are too lim?rtod to the tastes of editors. We don?t de?ne every bit of the news-lt is what it is. Becoming a digiral organization moons. by de?nition, llsrening to your readers. That?s one of the main differences bemoan Mn" and digital in digital. you gotfeeobaok on ?the tastes of your audiences. There is no real clonal-product company that someods without listening to its audiences. At the Journal, when readers? tastes have been token into account. it's boon primarily focused on traditional, loyal On its its a laudable Merino: to care about loyal readers; Burr our extensive- research yielded a Surprising and important {might Pagoviows of our ontoloo are so dominated by ?heavy' waders that they overlook the mos of our ?Iig'm? readers, who are-also paying Whos?ho heavy readers- thoso who visit us more than 10 days per month-ore primarily our oodftlonol who. in general. amo?t Irma-booming. AboutThis Report This means that when we look at subecriberpageviews as a metric-of success, we- ouerlrweet in a group the: loot. powering our growth Worsewe?ve token the wrong lesson from data that told us an area of coverage was read byjuot our heavy readers. ?r central reoommen?datloo we will make ln this report is met we have to look around the corner and focus more on the groups of people who read us. but who aren?t our readers. Remarkably; this shift will 1:1:er beneath heavy renders, as well. It turns out heavy readers also read the pieces that light users and noneubsor?aers dowarrd that heavy readers spend juotae much time, often more. with those pieces. You?ll we once you have dlgeeted all ofthis ism this report lays out an all?audience strategy. And, It's a strategy that can help us gmw. We know ifs early In the report for a ?ne chart, but the one to the right i3 essential. one of our favorites? It shows the oegeva?ewe we get from our readers. and we the top green line for our ?heavy? readers. The ?heevy? readers domlnare our pageviews. even though there aren?t all that menyof them. Pause if you?re trunking: 'l?low do we get the rest of our readers to be like moor: heavy readers?? We can?t: We can: make peoole change their interests or get them ?to do things trey don't want to do. Editors don't orange consumer behavior. What we need to do. Instead. is adapt our own bemvior and our oorItentw better fit broader audimoe interests. We won?t leave lo-ngr?meWSJ moors behindwe have found omelet suggeete a strong pathway forward for all readers. Andreport. we won't leave reporters? and eoltors? judgment behlod?tne ability to look around the corner in a news story remains important-but we?ll more regularly learn from audience data to CWT REVIEW JULY 2028 Heavy Users Account for the Meiority of WSJ Traf?c mil-loamy run-119m "college marmosets neurone HO Waive by month (tram) 0 meme memo Jul 2319 M2019 mm ?with help us in our journalism. As Clarence W. Barron. an early owner of our company, said. ?Everyming can be Improved.? Barron grew The Wall Street Journal?s audienoe from 7,009 to 50903 subscribers. We aren?t starting from somrch-wve have already made moves in this direction, reeouroestowaros it and there is widespread excitement to grow. We: will build on all this and evolve toga-men Aboet This Report 1. 01? Our primary focus is on serving digital audiences. Digital growth and detivery shouid be at the forefromor news decisions. Print considerations should be left to the print desk. which is and at the end of the mMow. Audience data must be centre! to our-decision mking. and we shouldn't let our department fragment our coverage in ways that don't serve our readers. and not our department structure. We should eievatethe needs of lam-reading users as well as those of prospects. That includes a wider variety of topics and storyteil?mg formats [minding more evergreen eendoeoriemed cement and news explainers. An ?important ?nding in our data analysis is that readers of all types? nor-subscribers, Eight-readmg subscribers and heavy-reading subscribers?ere interested in our corporate coverage This ?nding recon?ms ouridentity as a business?wommoney fowsed publication. We must remain a must?read on business for business readers and eiso consistently prioritize accessioie business stories for general readers. com WEN $132021} About This Report We Wm make we?i?c mm um?a??m at Mame geme?t 1. HuwWe Ustentomdiances 2. WWeCover 3. HowWerer??ngs 4.. How we wark Before we get to these recommendations. we will establish some baseline Wedge. And we will end with next'steps. JULY 2021:) (laments introduc?om About This Report Newsroom Contributors Section 1: Baseline Knowl?edga Remind us of our agreedupon states}: vision and-99313 2. Estab?sh a common lexicon about what maioes greatjaumaiism in 2020 3. Estabiish a common understanding or! what got uszo this point and ?our growm A Poms on what our aud?emcw dz: on our pia?tforms 5. Describe our audience Serum: 2: Recommenda?ms 6. How We Ustm to Newsietta?a Sociai Media. SEO and Data 7. Whax We Coverlndudes two minim: A Focus in D?wexsity and How Print Affects our Content 8. How We CoverTf-?ngs 9. How We Work Manx-MW 1-0. Organizing Our Content We woukd never show our org to our madam 1 1. Discuss cmemge 90355. next steps and recommendations 130 138 About This Report The review ie- meme =3 oie?ogeemm? not merely be eoe~o? maiysie. 3m I emotion shows We have created a framewotk and tools forsetting and evaluating coverage strategy that we are strategy editors can use to iterate with reporters and editors ammo the newsroom to drive toward digitai grow} and improved relevancy With this framework and the tools. we can at! drive toward faster digitai growth and greater relevancy As we move forward. we need the support and the wit! to he boid. We have to create an environment where oeoole are con?dent enough and secure enough to queenon and change whet-we do. We-need 10 have honest. ongoing self; assessment of what?s wood-no and what?s not, We can reach quality at soeie byworking together and ?stening IO oer audiences. memo Abomt This Report This mm? was crwte? by . i am Mm care $91k? m3 EB m? its mlb?c hemmg stewam it mm We are mmbers of the We Digital Experience and Strategy wait. The teammwn as DXS, ?is a cross-functional group that Spams ail areas of the WSJ and foIlows a datadriven, audience-focused approach. CONTENT REVIEW JULY ?3323 About This Report mm? wag prepared M: WSJ Strategy Edmors: ?851me WNW 33W Editor sank Samoa? Eatorxzorpomm sum Eatonvzwais JW 2029 meufee, ~3me M: Chanda? :1meme Editor WNW Schmidt Strategy S?ihor. Flmma TM 0mm: Abeut'l?his Remit Also critical to the ram mesa members of the W?s News insight team: 9mm Dam 81:3an JULY $5320 Tm Jamar: nanniem Scientist -anilw'aq2?rierm Wen Emmanrm And the User Experience team: And severaf otherawaders Era OX3: Head of Amara: VP 3 Dmign Dh?ectur Pram-ac: Imam Tmpoinm mam Devciogrmm wanes?gn?irem '12 Abwt?rhis Report With maul-cs to Omar 0X8 ooi'ieagues iortheir" A speciai thanks 1:0 feiks in our Design team 0X8 also thanks Maria Paw, Kerry :ead-thmughs and extra insights: for iaying omthe report: mum. wm?wand the other taientedfciks of'DWJones summer intelligence for their exceiimt research, and 3190 Jain: Why and Jun Baddest from Membership for their helpfui data and researm Mis?t}: chief 0mm 015w, WSJ Digitaiaiperiemcs mm? alm_m OXS?rst delivered the content reviewte 09919? ?mac, W: Emmet Edftw? in @138me on Juiy 4. in the My 4 reporn, there were some sample ?ndings and remma'idatims for each coverage area. We have rammed those from this wider distribution. so that we can discuss them with me reievam: newsroom partners? and have made updateg to the report based on feedback from newsroom "leaders. mm. mm mm mm mammalian Senior Product Emma Wat 13 Ahaut This Rap oft Newsmom Contributors Thefo?ow?ing people provided critical to our war-Rand we deepiy appreciatem?ir who reamed anonym?rzy?) Jami: Helm: Sarah Bat mm Doberarl 3331 Adam '51:de 331% Oak: amt}! Mme Wm: Phil [an FM Beckett Kmart Miguel-Bum?o Wmom; Ema Chaney mm Joanna Gums mum Jammi we Grainnc Tonia W811 9mm Moran may Maison Wm New: Evermn awn Park Garden Emery Reed omen ?50!th ma Remy Alex Frames 'Mmhew?cse Dov Fm Daniel Rm mums Galloway Lydia Strata WW macaw: Exm?ly Gram E?m Smith We: Mme: WW Pm?ck W4 Nbch? Loam WRTENF REVIEW JULY 2023 2W K933 mm; Rom Dam Theo Fram- Miriam David Ewan. Dean-2w wind Ken em NEW mm mm mama timid-own: Janniiw? Mnioncy Ame Dam migm Amt: Lam mm mm Wm Wm W?mwr Um .Wndra NWT: \?pa?monga heipfui Enformation for this report via interviews, Jame: Gm? M1502 Miller Rum Simon um Ell-d 803:- Bab Davis madam Hahn-retro?) Bow mid Jammy Wm Joana-mam Brim cm: Wan Mm TWM NW We Duns: 33% mm Stems Brian Richard Rubin Charm Gram Elam Marsala Nun-o Jacqula'Wm David Kim mm Rose Mr Mn Minn BMW Camry Pecan? Wade: Lambs: mm Lindsay mk?arfmm Hale-y Vcianco Perm Debates mom Exam Smack Hallway Omit: Jed Emiwuod Make Hm Amanda madam surveys or Omar me??nods. They were frank insight. (Note: There were additional newsroom commuters Jc? MW Walim? Hm Sender mm mm may Kama (Mega Moor: 2m: Peter wanders Ww?m am What: Laura Doom-r JR. mien Jason Beam mm Katie Hanan mm: Laud: Paul mm Burma .1ch Jam Satan Rabi! We? know newsman 31:31 Cohen Maw Jami: Dem Paul $4.1m Mammonx Jamar: dam Paw-.1: Minimum SW Tracy Wata?m Amber Samar: Ram A?vz?m Maxim Taylor Mam: E1501 Smiley am My Ghee: Juils mm} Jam Kama Maser 8m Elam Milka rm? Remit: Wall 3m Spirdln Dan Cabal imam-Rube: mm Bah Woo 4mm Chm; 40% cal: 1(3me was!? Mere. Sm Wm ?Hr ocQ. Iii! rib! atul 41) Ill nvoar {11?s 3? zoo Emu/ma EH. an?) 82533,? L543 .. To be the the de?nitive source of news and insight for dedsion? makers around the world. Chapter 1: Winn, VISi?ll. Strategy and Goals Missien We believe that trusted, facmal journalism is right for the world and good far business. To undemand the things that d?rsrtinguish auricumalism and to pair that news missrion with a thorough understanding of the value we provide our membersh- current and fume. i 1 ?Sign ?To be known for our clam-the middle journalism w?i as a: 2- opemess; aooes?b?rrm $330113th experiences and awesame innovation. Chapter 1: Missian, Vision. Strategy and Goals The newsroom Is always on dead?ne and doesn't often'stop and talk abomour missim, smategy and vision. But it?s important to re?ect on what we?ve setfomard as we go about our wow A vision remesems the piaoe we want to gowit?s an adamwledgment that we are??t were yet, but ifs a dream we can see 311%(1 Asyou read this report, we urge you to consider how the ?ndings can help us achieve Vision. The-work we?ve carried out in mics report :5 the essence of our M. We have examined the our audience data and discussed with colieagues what distinguishes our journalism, AS 86?th in Chief Matt Murray describe: our approach to news We are the defmiu?ve 3mm of news and Information through the lens ofbuafnass. ?nance, economics and money 9:01:51 farms ?rm-sham the won?t! and-are keyto understanding it. Gwendfence is anyone who wants orhas ajob, a careeroran ambition; who seeks money; makes money, spends moneyand saves money, who desires an edge asan investor. an employee. a manager oran emprmeunarwho in better :mdes'smnd haw me wo?d works. We prowde facta data and mfonna?on, :10th or opa?mans. We heh?eve In {an separation between News and Opinion. We pursue exclusive stories. with the ?103! of breaking scoops in our core areas; deep-31mm and ana?rslsand actionable the ?rstmad and?re lash-ward. We have a unique, respmsibd?y as a watchdog CWT REVIEW and custodian. Across coverage, we seek-a gamma)! diverse serof voices and experiences with mmsawfng to speak to as Mde an audience as possibfe. As journalism. we are humhfe, curious, empa?ze?c, :nformw and open- mfnded. Our Is .piain, direct, oandse and accessxbie. but I?m? simmis?: Tms?tin our news, infoma?on and sutha?gris the CW weseek to em with we produce We havean important social purpom Society bene?is from a common set of ve??abie facts and a broad set of voices matre?act our work; even in times ofstress and" Wynn?indeed, especiai?r in such times. Pram/aiding those facts infoms debate and communes to the Wgood.? Here. you will see that approach paired with evidence of what monaws with our audiences. We?ll focus throughout on both current and'mre members, and we?ii highiigh: where there are mdm?fm And the mission. as stated here, is forthe entirety of ?neWall Street Joumal? it's the same mission for our wileagues in Membershing mission gives us all a oommomauchpoint on what we don?t want to iose sight of, even as we reinvem. And as we gursue goals center an reach and engagemmt?we keep our miss?eon in mind. 13 EQ 8pc Chapter 2: Great Journalism Connects with Audiences {n the eeriiest days of the Journal, therewas a dose connection to its audience and forms on umiw. Originaliyjhe company rend-demoed short news briefs throughout the day to oedere on the ?oor of the New York Stock Exchange. From those briefs. the Journal began in 1389- 33 afternoon oepen It was, in Matt Money?swords, ?otemieo to ?ll a growing need for objective business and ?nanciai news in an emerging market where mom was growing but was hammered hy-opeooe and in?ammation" The need for reiiabie infometlon has remained ever since, and one Joomet has expanded ?rmo marry areas beyond business and markets. lndeedmodaythe newsroom has eight main ooverage areas: Wood, 11.3.. Corporate, 'Flnanoe. 0.13? Life Arts, Heoith Salome and Investigations and many separate feature sections. Each month, the WSJ produces more than 3.500 mitten stories, 90 videos plus an additionei 168 for Twitter; 1% soores of livejoumoliom event's. 15.800 social media pools and about 47?s editions of newsietters. We create news experiences for around a dozen technotooies and off-site platfoms. And six days a Mame-pot out-a newspaper. Amid 311m oomeot production it can be lose sight of Meat truiy distinguishes us in the ewe of oureudienoee, what's working and resonating. what?s bringing and keeping oeopke with us. Too much attemion goesto the ?ow of information paroeied out each day and then forgotten, like a print ecfr?on that lends In the recycling "on. Not enough attention goes to the living news product that we are adding onto every day. We can be more than a deny edition We can be a library of mortise. NH mo Consider how Norm-net approeches its desktop homepage: with a cEeer'Why ereyou here? question that emphasizes reader value ?While we wouidn't suggest replacing an of the latest news on; WSJ?s-homepage, imagine how choices like thoevoerheps even as an alternate point of Mmouid welcome new and seem! users, helo'mg them mine ourweeith of expertise and knowledge. Theres a host of guided journeys and useful adveooxes we could build using our exis?ng oonIem. attractmg search rm; audiences to the Journal. (It?s worm noting that value 13 also oaseivery exchanged in NerdWelIe?c?e interact-?zoo Readers volunteer a need or wrios?oy. and publishers can leveragemat ?rst- oeny data totallor recommend more reievom oomem etc.) Make eke ri?e money moves Need moan-a: moor advice. hefpfuimo?ts-and tailored insights zoom mom Tum tome Nerds. mu: - mam km We Wanna Ghapw: 2.: Great journalism Gamects with A?dimcm We also fan to suf?ciently understand whether we are having impala by connecting and resonating with broader audiences: A news swoop is a great wing, as is a beautifuily written narrative or ground?breaidng Investigation, but we need to do rmre than just get ?me 3000me need to get thoae great 30009310 audiences. 11?s central to both the Daw Jones mission statements to provide. wide-scam med information. Indeed, how can wehave wide-spread and mikmwn mm w?rthout Wing and engaging mad audiencea? Achieving impact takes focus on distribution but ahso-on the-very my we ten stories, thempiCs we cover. the voices we feature and the messages- we send the world about who we are As we con?nue in ourjob as stewards of this great news organization, we The doumai for me new mm. In order 10:10 than it?s essen?ai that our newsroom recognizes that (smart journaiism mustache: with awiences. What does this mean? Finding Wm informat?mn and e?amlvely cammunieat?ing JULYQUQQ 0mm]? Great inmalism (lawsuits with And iences Sm? at i8 GEWE Finding out new infomm?on and communicating kt. What sort of Breaks news, explains a commie-x world and hoids pcwerto account Drives action, helps you make decisions introduces new and edmes What does it mean to We]? commute it? - Resonates with its audience .. Runs in correct farmat, storyte?ing that worm for the audience .. Distribution and delivery help ston?es reach their largestimerested audience CONTENT REVIEW mum enema E29 E200 .E?ummg 639% .55 3 m??gmm Chapter 3: 0m- Grmv?l Too oftm we still think of _a WSJ reader as a decadeslong subscriber deeply imbued with our traditions ami legacies. The problem Is. there are only so many of these hardcore-WW readers. And We are only 90 many lengterm WSJ readers. Unlike print. where people s?ck around. digital readers are more ?ckle. They come: and go. And they don?t religiously read everything we day-far from it The New-?sworn and Membership teams have agreed new em'c?f'xs goals that are driven by the desive for our journalism 10 have impact and relevance, as weli as ?nancial realities. A key goal is to increase the unique vlsitors to ?our platforms each monm This metric-often referred to as ?our reach? is important both jcumalistlcally in terms of the impact of our wo?c and oommemiaily in terms of introducing what we do to pot?m?al new subscribers. We will be talking about these gaals around the newsroom. Mee?ng them requires work mm all parts of the company. lt will be hard but necessary work. Here are acme numbers and concepts we would all keep 111 mind: CWREWBN WM 24? 1. The 50 We have never smined traf?c of more than 50 mii?on mommy unique visitors for more than a few months; in fact, we. hovezod just under 39 mitlion forthwe years Moraine Como-19 pandemic. What does this mean? Our biggest?txaf?o gains have bear: tied to large news stc?oo. {other than an create looting {warty with a news report of interest to me btooda owbiio We often talk about pageviews on our sharia. out we wi? bash-?ring to focusing on unique visitors because. ultimately, our and growth depends on hav?mg more'people enjoy ourjoumolfsm. From a membership poopec?ve. more visitors to our site means that we have the opportunityto irrmress and welcome more people as subscribers. ?my Ur?qne's?sm Since July 201 wwtmaaozhocm 2. H?s Not Easy Converting Rome Our average conversion rate? gauges batman ean?yZGW. - and hasn't mowed much Mat does #155 mom? Even when we've had huge spikes intmf?c, as we do during oorono?ms, we haven?t mommy improved our Lasmg. mgoing ability to convert visitors'to beoomo manner: To move the neet?e signi?can?y In out-total digitai subscriber hose over time* we win need to sustain a far moi-w number of mime visitors. And? s?rnoe our conversion rate is largely fiat we can?t bank on news spikes'ro grow and sustain our subscriber base We have tooreate comm and pmduct experiences that can ammo: and retain larger audiences. Cmomnaarebyh?omh Chapter 3: Our Growth . mt 3. Quartedy and warms: new subscriber gromh are too oftentoo mosaic each owes: What O?oes this mam? Even as we celebrate conversions each day in the news meeting, we are iosing peopiwften. almost as marry peeple as we are gair?ng. in fact. s?nse the summer of 201 5. our avemge ind?widuxed1 mite digital subscriber growth rate {exoiudmg student and corporate membersi?psj has been per quarter. but our avenge chum rate And up?ckwesaw during theini?al coronavlms stomour growth ratewoum averageto overmat pariod. We are hopefu: that are improved chum rate in ?scal'yvear 2020 M51 continue to imprma and we can 31! do our part in that byfowsing on immaiism that wants with our audiences. 1n 31.1mm who wili be satis?ed ifwejust keep doing whatwe?mdulng. an a Wtiz?w?hmmdimwmw subscribem. Quanerlar Chum Rate and New Subscriptions Ram - Omiychm?rm -- 26 (magnet 3: (3mm Subscrimm Have MW Active Days Centrai to ear challenge is that many of our markers. do 't come to us very often. What does this man? No: surprisingly, our less active subscribers are more iikely to unsubscn'be. We?re fowsing fa: too much on keeping our 31195 users when they're the least Iikely Io chum. As you?u hear in this report. our clearest Opportunity 13 to focus more on these oocasionat and light readers to keep mam aromd. Days 6 mm mm) 5 .an mag warm mus-u mm' mag; mm may} Dan from June was 5. Not in me memafmn our overall audience reach-and its rate of gmszag behind our traditionai competitors. who made jumps in traf?c about four years ago that we did not. Mia? does mismean? Mos: growth in media today is tied to Subscriber grown. R?s hand for us to pursue subscriber W'th we have genera?y been reachmg ?ns: ?1 6% of the admit news consuming population. We need 10 grow the top of ow audienw funnel, even as we improve conversion rates Gmma?mrm Compared with'?omgzemm u- me mm: mm? 123321 ?3 nun-mm mt.? warm 3 WW Chapter 3; Gina? ii 1mm ?mere they am whym? .. awe;- 22 1W3 com me Hess $011118 M163 the ?919mm subacmbem, 31m Chapter 4: Focus an what our audiences do on our platforms Whereas the newspaper ?is a daity and often expiring ?ow of news. our digitai piatfonns Wbsc?ber Views 33 50mg are more akin to a commutiy expanding library. The new reieases are up at the front. but - - the Staci-cs are ?ned with far more materiai that bu?ds upon itself every day. it?s organized in many ways with many different access minus. And'mere are nooks whare om visitors have {aft comments. and piaces they might even meet for conversation. m: were buiiding our digital platforms from scratch, warm the camera or hindsight. we?d probably We them more Iike Widpedla: Gaming our Wise and knowledge In always-evolving pages that im ?onally ?nk to each other. More on We in Chapter 0. Since we are focusing on growth Wougmm a lot of this reporz. let?s look at?the pofms sf entry for our nonsubsc?bw. They come to us main?y on mob?e web and desktop web. with very Kittie app usage. and they reach us Eargely via Search; social media and other external sources. When they came to us from places ?ke search and social". they land on ourar?cie pages, notour home page. Uz?ques In the graphic below, we Show where nonsubac?bertra?sc coma: from and how it enters our site. The darker the shade of. green, the biggerthe numben We win "how info Mons to waik the newsman through this in greater detail. COW 2023 Data May ?$245 2320 Waugh mm Chapters: Focus on what our ?o on our olatfoms COW REESE-1W JULY 2620 As we are driving toward goai of reaching many more peopie, oxs has created a framewomw More we have she largest opooromitios to grow, and to enoure that our product and content priorities a?gn with those areas We call it the Goa! Grid. For nonsubsaibers, it focuses on mobiiewob and dosktoo woo, sirm that is where 95% of our oonsubsorioer unique visitors come each moon We wili room to the Goal Eric! attire: and ofthis report os-wo provide more dent! on coverage areas. For now. as a mains, notice the entry points of nonouboc?bers are different from whore our nemam focuses. For instance: The homage. where many people inside our osmium: spend ions of attention. gets 2- million unique per month whiie our armies get far more visitors miilion di?erem nonsubsoribers per month (And notice how much iorgor the portion is going to mobiie woo rather than desktop; yet few in our newsroom focus on mobile web.) E3 Chapter 4: Facus an what am audiences do on our platforms 0 a mm- Wm?sMe @011, We Ra? the gal-den mat fmm. Sum; "l - Rik-urn" Tu.? Dmidop Homepagezfar fewer mon??y nonsubscn'ber visitors .11.va 806.53 Emma Eco Chapter 5: Who Axe 0m: audiences? We used to . i about ?om: mdimcoi? Now we about ?our m?imoos.? We don't just We one homogenous, ioyol group that reads mo and to gmw, we need to ?nd ways to meet different needs of differant audiences. Tome right isthe momma! image of *the WSJ reader? that we're told my readers associate with no Indeed. among our subsc?bers. more than a majority are male and the avaage age is 49 {down from 5531mm: years ago). We also have information about many of our members? oocupationa The largest concem?on of our members work in a ?nance roie, meoecond largest-conoeriuat?non are retired and ?nancial advisom-come in mini. We are happy those readers are among our subscriberswindeed, we are committed to ramming a mustwead on ?nance, for instanom this is a ?nite set of people and we are interested providing new to a broad set of decision makers. CONTENT FEWEW JULY 231120 Chapter 5: Wilt) Are Our midiemes? Head-room Funnel f0? in USA Tatai US. news mama 3. new audience iees W35 suns Aware wax mmemm of Consider reading? WSJ Camide: subscribing to WSJ Wmummww ?If 6? 1.3.2193 Mamet research by the WSJ offers as important lessons? about the mening public, and peepie who are interested in Spending timewim ourooverage. There are mmion people now who are Eikely or very l?42. 33x33 Chapter 10: Grgonizing our Content Organize with Readers in Mind Wood 1 US. Politics i Eoonormr I Business ETech 1 Mariam 5 Opinion I Life 8: Arts 1 Real Estatei WSJ. Magazine Qur website and mobile app navigation re?ect our newsrooms organMonoi structure and our print oaditioo The result 13 a contort architecture that?s men oomismg go newer readers. Peopie wont to know what's behind a link before ofiokkng it 'Our oortorrt Eabels often add friction. working against our efforts to persuade nmre readers to exotoro the depth and breadm of :11erth reporting. In a room usabi?ry study, 97% of users famed 1:0 oonectiy categorize Mogazina" They don?: J-mow the brand, and thus don?t know who: to expect from that Iabei. New readers also" often struggle to understood what we consider Booneos mos Economy versus Markets? More than a third of respondents iumpeo those sections together in one homogeneous pife. when aokeo to sort the 1 iabeis in our current navigation. {If you're curious, that section sorting assignment took an average of 12 minutes, revealing a Pot of cognitive overhead} We mm ask ourseives: whodo those sec?ons servo? You might slamme- it?s advertising. but our clients ask to target speci?c aud?renoes and speci?c coverage topics: notourooditiorol seo?ons. WSJ Barron's Grow Chief Revenue Df?cer Josh S?nohoomb worm so far as: to say that?seorions are meaninglegsf His biggest comm REVW moron ask of the newsroom is more volume: poori?zing audience growth to expand our availaoie invermry. With that in, mind, the OX3 Use: Mom Research team soweyed more than SE30 WSJoom visitors to bet-re: understand how meymink about ooroomem and its loo-eta Rasoondonts wore momentum. heavy news-comm who most often use their smartohono They skewed fomlo and younger (62% between ages 25 and 39). This re?ects 1m type of reader we mood to honor engage and convert to achieve 903$. Not surpr?singim mesa readers struggled to oiassify franchises like ?Far Away' and Wa?uington Wm? Theoe clever brand mamas ais'o hamper seamngino optimization literal labeis Iike ?politics podoast' better align with usermfodoets and for outperform phrases like ?Potomac Watoh? in terms of audience demand and reach. Vocabulary like A?heds, Ieoers. also get Sin the way. These featureo are appreciated and deopry vafoed by longtime Journal fans. but need to be reimagined and repackaged to be more invi?ng for digital audiences. We moo; embrace openness and access?bil?rty over a ?mombers-onty? montai-?rty that?s reminiscent of more: fraternity handshakes. 123 Chapter 10: Organizing our Content: {meme "it/riddle Seat? rebooted as 'Bueiness Trevor: or coat even more broadiy to inciode advice for planning famiiyvac-ations in worldohanged by the pandemic. There's plenty of room for us to compete in the oi-r-trevei category. The Points Guvoerves ?million miiers" who swap advaooed booking codes and are opening theirthiro amine credit card. But who's roo?ng out for the middle-manager road warrior who troveis the Midweettwo weeks a to col: on clients and is curious when the new Chlcioii?ri?A will open in Des Moineo? One more example: A reoem would have moved Travei underdte Persona: Journal brand; as part of a dairy series of wormed pages in the-A section of our print edition However, fewer than 40% of the readers we surveyed told usthey wouid exoeotto ?nd'topics iike Trevei, Emertainment Career and Fashion under the heading of Persona! Journal. They most often associated Lifestyle Famiiv and Reiationehtps with the Personal Journal brand, when prompted with topioa Given an open-ended question. readers most often volunteered and Relationships as the topics they would moot to see. Udiity (described as ?getting opdated?nformed?} was the primary driver for WSJ new consump?on in our recent research. WSJ under indexed on ?to here me understand? ?to be contested and ?to he em?teioedf That perception {Emits our potential reach and the value proposition of WSJ Membership. These reader bene?ts are rordjy out of reach: To help me understand? We have every right to be ago-to destination when the average American seeks to meeoingfuiiy understand a voiatile market or stimuius package. CONTENT WEN .MLY 2020 To be connected: We oouid expand our Neovorks into broader virtue: and offer a safe place for to come together and compare their approaches to toient acquisition and retention. - To be entertained: Our rich iibrery of moods offers plenty of diversion for a rainy weekend or a moose brook wh?e an airpiane amends: to'omieing altitude. We know our reporting can; meet theoe needs. but we?re inconsistent and also not exp?oit enough about the ways in which we Iheip our audiences. (Think of loco: new proof-of- oromotiong on Your Side has saved wewers ST 6,0003") Air that said. we over index on readers coming to us ?to get an edge? 0% versus 6% for at: news providers). We should do even more to make good on that brand promise Consider the power of 3 ?Take Acoon" box on some stories: ?Now here's what you shouio do with the infomation we test shared.? Maybe that's uniooked onoeyou register and share yooremail address were the Journal, moving more unknown users to known ieads for membership sates, 11% Chapter 10: Organizing our Content Dismal-y: Showing off our breadth Publishers? standard approach to nanation assumes one size ?ts ail, much Bike our pom oditiono. 1n digitat, we have the opportur?ty-to understand and adapt to how differom audiences expeotto use our websites and mobile apps? Forsomo. our menus are a path to semnoip'rtyc surprise and delight For omers, navigation presents a wason onii deepe: and find more answers to a speci?c question orcu?osity For heavy, loyal users, signposts can be comforting anchorsmeo Io thick ropes which roilabiy lead them to features like our oroosword puzzPe. Through technology and thougmful user Memes. we can meet ail of ?tness: needa We're not firm had to one mono?micindex ortabio ofoontamts. Competitive Analysis To inform our strategy and clarion exploration, we did a analysis of estab?s?md migazion paradigms amass direct and imam competitors. We aiso exptoreo media-adjaomr consumer piatforms such as ?uridoo streaming. digita? product and ?nancial services. Through this analysis, we noticed soverai key themes. COW Emmwm ?eoktop Hambwgermnus Sioomberg, The Atlantic and The Wash-moron Post exposejust a few oore Iinks (og. ?nancial data for Bloomborg) and over?ow; 1319913 hidden in hamburger mm; The New York Times, NSC News and USA Today have more oompiex or longer horizontai navigation supplemented by a hamburger menu. Dmpdavm Memo Among major-national news sites. only WSJ has drapdown menus from its horizontal navigation. Our Enteracoon methods vary: some dropoowns appear-on click others or: hover. Contextual Navigation Comma navigation schema present differom options for members (Signed in) versus nonmembers {signed our). Nonmember navigation often frames on subso?mion acquisition orthe disooverabilityof product and service offerings, whereas member navigation often inciudes account mnagemem and simiiar functionality 125 Chapter Organizing 9111' Can-tent Mamie Not surprisingly. most sites tempt for streaming providers) relydn a hamburger menu. but the design and immczion vary. We noticed the fo?owing themes far an expanded menu in mobi?e. Swoliahle List Among news pubiishers. scrollabfe lists are pewter on mob?e piarforms. Depending on the Length of a menu this can fead ?03 a very tong ?st'faloomberg, The. Washington Post, The New York ?rms) or a short {Est Atian?ci The New Yorker). Mid?-?ered Navigation Where naviga?on indudes subcategories, some sites choose to Show oniythe parent-level category ?rst. $ub~categories can either be expanded Win the same window or found on a secondary page, which snows users to navigata back and form Fail PageOva?ayvs. Naviga?m meer Most sites rety on a fuli page expans?on (w'rrh a close button or m) for a hamburger menu, but a navigation drawer that takes up about two-thirds of the screen space {wimout a close button or Iceman he spotted on sites that incorporate Materia} Design. You wen ?nd our 1% Chapter 20: Organizing our (3011mm Making Connections: Showing off our depth Our. Invigation and content architecture challenge is oniy ampii?ed or: mobiie d-evioes, where we have iess reai estate aveilabie. Most readers come to us seeking a speci?c piece of infotmetion and are drawn to the back button. Few mobile app were cogoge with our is: of WSJ sections. Even fewer' mobiie web useis engage with our hamburger navigation menu. We might as welt not even have it'thore. We muggie to ?nk rotated content to Tet readers expioreour pest reporting on an issue (what got us here') Breadcrumbs are insuf?cient-signposts to help users expiore beats or freoohlses to get a dear sense of the Journal?s expertise and aumority on a topic. We need to heip radars coming in through ?side doots? further scratch the itch that brought them to us. it?s a clear missed opportunity to drive deeper engagement and more pageviews per semion. particularly if we're ebie to create virtuai ?rehbit hoies' for oomexmai exploration on our mobile moses. Case Shady: Perfect Market (since acquired by Taboola) op?mized the digital archives of the Los Angeiee Times in 2009, redeSIgning article pages to emphasize related links and [somewhat search eds. The hypothesis, which proved comet, to the tune of severe! million advertising donors. was that if a matter oeme in on a Thanksgiving stuf?ng recipe, more Thankogmng redpes were the best possioie thing we ooufd recommends it comes back mil-circle to sewing users needs; Can we oomiooe you to avoid the back button if we understand whet you're researching ot trying to accomplish? WW JULY 2623 Providing Context ?ii-trough Tags One of'the core capabii?rties we must improve to achieve our goals is better oiassi?cation and tagging of our automated manna! or some combination of both Among other bene?ts, more robust tags wii i hate us better leverage evergreen oorttem. not omy-hy editors but alsoby algorithms. (For exampie, our 'Wnat to Read Next? module atthe bottom of articles can leverage tags in its recommendations, but our data ion?: sof?oieotto support. that.) The strategy editors conversations .reveaied tint the newsroom is generaliy unclear what tags are used for. outer man ad targeting and special sweets-There's no of?cial process or guidance ?fw- how to consistently apply fogs. Retagging existing assets is dif?cult in Methods, and something we?ll consciously address in our newAmhoI-ing tools Case Study: "?nance Editor Charies Foreile offered an exempts of how better tags could heip power more engaging reader experiences. He recalled a stowabout one company acquiring another, when the acquiring oompaoy?s name was so low in theartiole. Foctiva?s content scraper didn't anomaticeiiy attract it. Imagine if our contest management system couid automatically surface a prompt ?it iooks iike you?re writing about a merger .. and invite the reoorterto sod explicit metadsta iike the names ofthe companies involved, the deer size. the expected cross date. etc: The article ternpiote could then inoorpoete related stories; abomthe oompanies or simiisr deeis in the some industry. We coo-id send on alert to peopie who have the companies in their wetchiists We oouid highlight the .3101): differentiy in search resorts Chapter 10: Organizing our Content Tag~ and topics?based navigation had clear bene?ts for the casual readers we swveyed. Enthom?astic responses included: ?The: mid help me sort out what I might be interested in reading.? could easily ?nd the stories l" mot.? Waving oi! the refevanr stories in one 913m maid make discovery oasien?As we explore those possibilities. precise language is- koy. Even Cars. Energy aod Health stumped one in four of oursurvey respondents; (Are we talking about Auto Manufacturing? Hartman: Policy or Wellness?) As additional food for thought, consider the language TED uses to hammer home the investment you're making in yourself by spending time and engaging with their content: - Broaden yourhorizons - Find your potential Loam something new Shi? your perspeorive Explore what?s possible Spoof): takes a similar approach to discovery with its cornex?nosed ?Genros 3. Moods.? including Workout. Focus, Sleep. Cooking, Comrtme. etc. imagine the opportunities for serm-dipiWo of the mom~ioveo aun?bm?oc of print editions-with tags like times; Tags can also help us reduce friction and promote roaders' safety, particularly when They come across our content offola?om in social news feeds. Just over a your ago, The Guardian WW when readers shared them Wocan be better and more consistent about labeling Opinion content, CONTENT JULYQOZO reviews. stories from guest contributors and even oxelus?wes and enterprise rooming. By better-setting maria: orpecmtions up from. attire ?rst point of interac?on, we can build satisfaction, propensity tosoosoribe and aware-clay habits. Finally a more robust aoproaoh tomoglnvas dammed bythe'otratogy editors in preparing this monwwill let us sort and agonize our reporting; in powerful new ways. We could ?lter Iong reads separately from short briefs. Not only how they?re arranged on a section from or in search results, out aloo what we recommend readers *save for later or what we might surface in a weekend email with ?storm you missed.? it would also add new dimoosions to Membership?s predictive models for identifying which readers are mos: likely to subscribe. 123 Chapter 2o: Orgm?zing om- Contene Navigation as Pmotion We'd be remiss rf we didn?t mention how heaviiy oub?sherv reiy on navigation to promote things we want readers to ?nd Whether it?s Joumoi Reports, Future of Everything WSJ Pro. Video or Podcosts, everyone seems to oovetthe placement another team enjoys In a mean or on the desktop home page. But if you oak that team owey?re also dissatis?ed if over- don?t have enough placesto out things? Is a common refrain. as is have a ?xed soot oothe homepage but 'rt?s too low to get noticed.? The bigger opportunity is surfacing reievom ooment to the right readeze. in the righ: places, at the right time. That have an {moi wen beyond the traf?c generated by the most prominent menu items too Business. Tech. Markets) in globe! website navigation. How do we make mat change? lterorts Walking to our readers {Eke peopio. Lets not think of them on?y as members, audiences, users and consumers. They're oer friends, neighbors, aod relatives. Comiderthese plaimoioe, natural language prompts used by Quartz Here are ?ve things on Quartz we especially aiked Five things from elsewhere that made us smarter Quartz comes right om and deocrihes he 5mm section as "some of our moo: amh'rtious editorial (USA TODAY similo?y created on section to showcase in- depth enterprise reporting.) WWJJUM As we change our content mix to serve user needs like Give Me an Edge and Heip Me Understand let's change our navigation content architecture and pro-alum to follow audience research and test our way towards more .noturai, human experiences that resonate better and undemoore the vaiue the Jouma! reporting can bring to peeple?s lives, a! 8 var.aur3nfuqs .: a. .9 gig ?Eggnog Chapter 11: Dismiss Coverage Goals Next Shops and Recommendations Our Reeommemia?one These appeared throughout the report and are better digested cont-ext. But here is a 113': of our recommendations with the page numbers where you can go back and ?nd more detail on them. How We Listen to Audiences: Mindset Shift: We need to go ail In on practicing Mowayjoumelism Heron-Lino to our audienws and growing those communities, on on different types of audienoe groups Including professionaf ones. We need to take action when receiving-oedema feedback, from assigning a story base-don M131 we've heard or learned to asking a reporter to include spec?c audience questions in their reporting and incorporating the responses into the slow. Tacoma}: We need to actively monitoe Google Trends and GoogIe Suggestions to ond-erstano what our audiences are searching for sod assign, moonwage and pitch stories in response - When the audience doesn?t come to us with insights; we need to go to them and consider having reporters go into wmmuni?es we want ?to reach media. Once more, we should Marten, learn who the top m?uenoers are and team the language and cukure of the-community. CONTENTREVIEW What We Cover: Moose-t Shift: We shouio move sway from fovm'fng existing coverage reed to a large degree by heavy readers {those who come to cur platforms N- or' more days per month) and Instead prioritize engaging with lights?reading and new audiences. Tactical: . We need to adopt and errforoe our Coverage Strategy Mapper and Framework We need to dive into identifying more opportunities for change using the Mapper in partnership with ooverago chIefs We should keep our ?nger on the pulse of what's ?ooding and mkssin a few different ribbons of oontextua! stories that add to 3 readers understanding of mafor news stories or speci?c zoom We should assess stow-y pitches and commission stories by whomer they wm feature dhrerse peopie or be of interest to diverse audiences We should consider how different audiences, whether by gender. race, same: orientation or age, see Wives in our cameos. - We should create or expand beats around topiosmatme?tter-to diverse audiences These topics include the environment, ooreen consumer products. drug addiction. racism. affordability of heeiow care, Income inequality and viofem some. 131 Chapter 11: Memes (leverage (30313. Next: Steps and Reedmmenda?dns How We aovet Things: Minded: Preferences and tastes of digital readere?in particular our ?ghweading members and We members?need to drive how we cover things hie inciudea formal; pubtishing timing, medium. content organization, type of story and Mere of '31er (such as focus on feattm'ng real people in our stories}. Tacticaf: We need more Heap Me Understand stories t0 help our audience estab?sh a strong baseline of Wedge and amend their imetest in moretdpies. Our hymmee?e is that this-wit] anew our audience to engage longer with our content. Moss sections, we make recommendations about covedng topics from the tens of an underrepresented voice orhow someone views the impede of a current event from a younger audience's parapec?ve We need to divers?rfy our approach to covering amen: events. We recommend an increase in the ?returns: of semioumimntm that will improve people?s livee Therapies range from {new to manage your padded: ?nances to how to ptan a great vacation Que?dg reai peopLe shouid notjuet be about checidng a box er a nicetdheve eiement of a atory Find om rs-zmportant - We need to crmte more evergreen stories versus creating ?eeting news stories and why modes with a {anger tan m1! heap us our audiences and madmize the life weer-comm CONTENT REWEW JULY 2320 . We need to imprwe engegemem for video by optimizing our SEQ strategy and picking effective predew Medea We need to sharpen our graphics and visuals work and the process for coming up with ?n-osetdead Haw do we produce more evezgreen graphics and ensure may are sums-sew? How do we spend our resources on charts that are more memombie instead of-creedng a largevmume of it ma? We need to focus more on growing unique visitorsto our platforms thmugh newsletters, When it comes to smial media, we need to maxlmizeme potentiai of each platfomz and eustem?izeour coma-mm take piatfomzs. if we want to continue forming on audio, we need to add Staff to the podcaetteam producing seven of our eight shows to guard against burnout and mm and to attow for innovation and expedmenta?onWe have disc identi?ed some areas of Opportunity for does-Wane} teamsto de?aboratem content. THIS ales Includes training our reporters on cefiaboradons with the visual. vmeo and audio teame 'E?he Ways We Watt: Mindset am: We must shift to aud?enoe?dnven deeisicn making that is firm): guided by our company reach and engagement goats. All parts ofthe newsroom must foilow the same strategy and drive to the same topv?ne goals The .mes?tead editors mustjoln DXS leadership in communicating those goals and Our Strategy~more dearly and more often~ and aiso require consistent use of technology to streamilne work and communications. 132 Chapter 11: {Discuss Goverage Goals, Next Steps andRecommendalioIzs Tacticai: Recomecdatfors for establishing has: practice for packagingstorim as a digitai- ?rst. mobiiofriendly experience. There has been a sack of dairy around who in. our organization is rcsportsE-bio and empowered to makethe coils on news presentation for given?storles, publishing soheduteo and on what mediums given comics should ho Given The ctmteoy mono grasp of the dam, position as neutral brokers who advocate cm)! for the auotcnoe ra?tho' than a particular mcoium and also ?thefr ties to each other for cross-newcmom comparative Wedge, they should be empowered to guide chose decisions and make those catic where there is disagreement They win bring in Leslie and Sheila as accessory and work with them on gutoe?nes. Through expioriog ourdata. we have identi?ed where our taxonomy and :11de mending tagging, fall short in enabling the strategy editors to dig even deeper into our user behaviors when Mteraotmo wim our text, videos, graphics and imeracthres. The strategy editors wi? Icy our particular guidance on tagging In each of their areas-and strict adherence totheir guidance must be required We ciao need a newsroom?wide point person who dedicates sobmantial time to bee purtagging ?bm?an. One ofme important ways of reaching audiences is through SEO. We make on how to help our sections understand the importance and impact that SEQ can have on their stories We mod smog support for SEOauheto-p and a backing for as approach as audience-imeroswmau programming. We also need devoted SEOspecJalists in the newsroom beyond our oxisring team of two editorsr portiwlarly Hong Kong and Lo?doo CONTENT REVIEW mum Provide rho nomsroom with actionable data that empowers them It) woke impactfol editorial dedsioos but aEso reinforce the role of ?re-strategy editors. Lesiic and Show Comer in herding coverage areas acoountahie to following our cocoa: strategies and framorvorks Consc?da?ng this into 3 single source of truth across at! our contemtypea. We shoui?d oentrai?rze data oo?oction, management and insights across ali mediums, including video, audio. crucial media, and newsletters. w?rth the News Insights team. This is imporcantto maintain standards and oua?ty. Wag one source on how ?the newsroom is po'?oming, They wiil need a minimum of mo additionaf data comm ?to handlemr?s. Video strategy needsro oejoioedcomecemaf strategy oftheWSJ? We need to be more intentional about what gets protracted across our cocio? channels and when. We need To consider not only oorma?m sooia1 feeds but also how we can leverage the different suborand accounts-we have. To make this strategy oven monger. we need to cor-raider breaking our social team into two: one for creating marrow specf?ctc each social and ancmerfordigita! memo-ammo. We need to have a (Procussicc about how we empower me strategy editors to meaningfully drive change. We need fun participation with Nowagrid? Siack and an overhaul of meeting structure (that Sheila Courier and Loc?o Yazel wiIE .Ieao?)? 133 003% N93 I. to c! ants}. it: tholoc 10? nv 1 it, Appen?ix Compomom' Coorom Pivots Plenty of oompemors have adjusted their cornea: focus and adapted tho-Er digital promo: experiences to meet aodleooe needs and amend the reach of their stories Here are some theyve hart Pub?sitors who use: audience insights to drive content oura?on Tho Globe and Mali It?s how eight years since the Glooeand Moll newsroom started quota-owing which consumer damsers to rely on for edizo?al decision making. erdly popular content was different from what satisfied longtime subscribers. One brought in new consumers. The other, more revenuo Which was more valuable to the news consumer and the business when and where? So editors turned to ?le data scientists. This kicked off a collaboration that leo'to Sophig the Globe and Mail?s arti?cial lniemgence system. ?The data scientists would ask journalists which QuestiOl'ls they needed. data To answer." present the answers in an analytics tool ooliod Sophl, and ask if meloumalists were satis?ed with them: Wm .13 staff reporter turned product mnagor atthe Globe. ?The newsroom would then provlde feedback which would shape the next iteration of Soohi, and soon? REWEW JULYEOZG The process resulted in an Al tool that blends consumer insights withjoumalisrio best practice. Now 309115 continuously wratos moot ofthe contort for the Globe and Moira homepage and primary section fronts, while editor?s select the too over: storites on Home and Businm Homepage rates wen: up W96. subscriber acquwon was up 10% and the Globe?s website was almost 108% automated. ?Foe-nemroom of the We is one wherejoomallsto can focus on ?nding and telling great stories-something that machines can?t do." said Editor in Chief David Walmsloy. ?Th'rs is why we asked our data scientiszs to automte the web pages, slowly and oare?lily tes'ong the results before gradually unplememlng It across entire site. And I'm very happy who we regulto.? The Globe was so happy with Sophi's intelligence. that ?she? was behind the papers mint redesign in 2317. which gave me momma-roe to ma?'comm Sophi now handles print layclown, which flood up two more positions for reporters: Soon Sophi determine what to push to 30681 and newsletters. [Souroosz Globe and Mail, mag, WW3 Agapendix Publishers who use data~drhren and qualitative consumer insights to devalop hypo?resos about whom to shift news coverage, moi; test whether it works Dallas Mommy News In an effort to afign ?at: andEowe needs, the Daiias Morning News Soaked at their audience data for areas where there more ?expansion ooportur?tios.? 3an Nicole Stookda?le, rho director of Digital Wag; They used the-analytics'to craft a hypomesis that they could ohm some resources to encourage return vislts and more subscriptions. Two opportunities came to the fore. mating-a weather niche and expanding real estate coveraga A voiunteer fair the corny desk and shifted to weather full ?rm for 99 days. The pian was more voiume, ioss artem?se. in part to feed the digital beast. Reporter Jesus JImenez-produoed ?1 0 armies a week the start, he knocked out of the park," said Stockade. "His stories were in the top ?1 a on return visitors and conversions-every month: The paper launched with a goa} for four conversions a month and 15.000 return vis'oors a week At?the end of the mimem, weather averaged four conversions a month and 25,000 return visitors. ?That success has only grown? Stodcdaie said. gust sheared Jesus?s memcsfor 2020 so far He's four-thin the-newsroom on oomerslona averaging 20 a menu?s. And he?s seventh on return visitors, at over 150,030.? CONTENT mm The res! estate move was ham: on a hypothesis that the DMN could expand coverage and audfenoe. may devoted a business intern to the took and gave him a 903110 bring in hat? of what the real some writer brought In. By the end of the ?rst month he continuowsiy beat goals; Stockdaie notes this proved what they had teased out Er: the data. Wt: had more audience: demand than we were ?ning? Since then the paper has deveboed more boats this way. [Sources Interview with Nicola Boomer} hazyokiesto'DaIlao- Fthox-th u. arm on? :4 My; mum-imam w'km m: w?ar?ww a: no: tub? unassumin- 3?35 Appendix Wm Norway's iargest newspaper is mom for aggressive changes it hos-made to its content strategy in recent years. A key driver is the gamedng and wIde dissemination of audience data ?in the newsroom. as we]: as training and tools. ?We enoousogethem to take posmns informed by data; ob: we encourage mom 3:30 to acmbloo it with editorial experience andjoumaiisric gm feeong: Karolina Fossiano, Aftenposten?s acting deveiooment editor?mmFehmary this ongoing review of consumer data reguiariy leads to new content such as a parenting vertical the company created wow-3b: person: of?'ieir digital audience had chitdren, bu: only 5% Subsc?bed to the paper. The new boat was designed to entice these parents into becoming members. Source: Ham Comm Mme Hartford Courant iast winter. direznorof?udionoe Engagement Megan Merrigan wanted to see how consumer data ooqu Enform better coverage. 80 the news organizaoon armed itself with the American Press Ins?toto?s Metrics for News sofovare solution to took for actionable audience Ensighm Data showed that on the spam ?ask. one columnist had a Sunday column but no traction. At the sometime, Metrics for News provEded auo?enoeomen information aoom JULXW whEch stories were ?most interesting: a metric-mat the APE devoiopeo beam on several data {mum The team formed a hypothesis that ifthe columnist scaled back the number of columns arid instead ref-romeo his Samoa they could do homo: let?s just focus on oua?ty over quantity and chaoe those down.? Memgan said. WT Mammy rm W9 W1: mum umurm r'v amaw Maw em a a 59 $0 Mamm MAN: Wuha- mama-:1 ??wWom mm hum A wvm- ?Mia-o on ?uid-INK? wmawa Io- mtmn; m4 IWIWW mb?ra unmrM??l mar-ru- 4 no". Mus MW mum-m: mum? who 9mm: mom {To :kr- poiizscs Gaels theream notEced stories mat missed the mark focused on poii?ticai players instead of the issues, it got Ihem thinking how audience members m#gm see such stories. "The hypo-thesis was a headiine-on social about a represeomanwo that i don?t recogmzeml migm not give that story the time of day.? Merrigan said. ?But if you see the: issue as happening in your ?50er then it?s a whole different stow.? So the desk made sure to head stories mm the issue, not the poison. when it made sense. Overang this hypothesiooriven memodoiogy, starting with inoights from consumers and their behav?ora! data, followed by sma?, tracked content Experiments led ?to ?a Lot of Booms: Mem?gansaid. Overthe four months that the project ran, 36% more suosabers came tome Couraotmomhover?mon?ch than in the previous time frame. {Source Mme. ma 133' ?ppendhi Publishors using data from Google Search to identify audience interests that dovetail with the organimtion?s mortise, than waiting content to capture ti'zoee somehow 'Caiied ovemhing from service, mm mm a, a: SEQ explanatory, donor-.3312: exergreen content, this genre is a means to an end for consumers. Searchers use those stories to get something done. But they're looking for authoritative, expert counsei, as weii as tight writing, to quickly and . . mew . coo?dentfy ge?otheir non-mop. .. m? This has fueled stamps. acquisitions and new micais dedicated to advice, reviews and recommendations, imiuding NW3 The Mrewttez USA Today's Reviewed. Underscored. NYMagfs The Strategigt. and Hearst's Best Products; The Points Guy covers travel and oomts, NerdWaiEet offers expert milienniai ?nance advice. Now more news organizations have recognized that this desire for mortise, authority and trust is exactiy wfmt'they aireaoy do today. CONTENT REVIEW Aftenpoetan (again) The aforementioned Norweigien innovator told an intriguing story about how it mined search data to ?nd poi-iticoi queotione ?that reedere might be searching for answereto in advance of the 2018 elections. Here is how the One of the most-searched terms from The previous election was. ?What do the ooiivticai parties stand for? {development editor Karoiine} Foosiaod said. With Therknowiedge in hand. Aftenposten created an interactive guide to the differem'oariiee Readers wouici answer Questions about their beliefs on different ooiicies, and then the guide wouid'teli mom - which party most aiigned with their vim am Aftenposten published me guide Wee months before the election and then bought search advertisements for the reievanx keywords. The-guide resuited in about 3,1 00 new subso?bors, with one-third of those coming from Googie. lot: of competitors had the same service for free. but it was a matter of having memorthy content and putting it in front of users when they had the user need,? Fossiano said. What made us get our conversion goal for ole-mien ooveragef ??38 Appendix Renhomem The hail: of traf?c going to News Corp?s Reeliomom aireedy came via Boogie several years ago, mosey searches for addresses and iocations where homes were on sale. So the not-men News a insights team imew peoole with an active Interest in Meir area of editoria? expertise were already on search in big oumbere So Editor in Chief Jim Kaminsky kicked off an effort to capture more of than at differ?em Stagee of Mr Bore journey. even wen oefore they had a location in mind, or afterthey had ourohased. 'For kerance,? he said, 'if we're not No. Pm Search results] for ?How do i ?nd a Realtor.? then we?re dong something._very wrong. because 'rr?s in our name. motto mention our expertise? we Theth SEO group What {so Bedroom? W'Sam mined Wigwam ?55" I -- for me common questions consumers weife 33an a no looked at 10013 mat heiped them deteminejust how many other pub?ehers were vying to rank at the top with content to answermem. Armed WM: a ?st of hundreds of oue?es where more was a nexus of traf?c and madame oompetition, .Kaminsky shifted his team's? editorial focus. and began commissioning ?1 stories-a week. W: ?We saw good reeuhe veer quiche: Kaminsky oaio? (In the SEO worsmhaz o?m takes at 12 weeks.) ?We started heating Ziliow by a factor the ?rst year-we were few-times bigger? Part of their secret sauce. Kminsky said, isn?t reeiiya secret tojoumelists at an. ?These aren?t Wikipedia entries. These may Seem tee; but we do it with omen sources, we do i: with joumliemmo do it with craft and style.? Take MW qoeozloo where Reekomom ranks at the top on Google's results page ?21?s 3mm legal de?nition of a bedroom: seio. ?Yoo'd be Surp?seo how many people wanno Wow this. Our mission is to deliver news but 3130 ?advice that gives mom the ability to navigate a-compiicated process.? Kit This kind of jomism doesn?t haveto betext A podcaez and on?ine reeouroe can rank too. It is especla?y relevant to Miliennieisood Gen 2, who prefer To do much of me; own research online before contacting someone eise. So into the frayjumped NPR with Life Kit. in em 9, with audio wehpege and a newsletter endow: had a younger moxephio in mind, mm mm; GM, at the time. 'IThoee are] shows designed 10 be expiicitiy useful for the audience, de?ve?oo tangible and ao?oname iisteneze'cen immedia'aeiy take into their fives. ?That's different from merer informing them. orjust them a good stow, Comm sold 'Usef?uf' is the keyword." ?13? Appendix Data wasn?t immediately amiable on how wen this franchise has done in Boogie Wish Search According to LifeKit doesn?t-rank particulany an Apple, but it The food publisher Salish. a Hearst pram made 'rts bonee byeating rm Fecebm consisten?y cracks the top 50 podcasrs on Snow audienoe alive. They-pm abarabiasnadcable, celebritwnfused videos on ?z??aoebocrk and garnered tens 0f m?lions of viewers a mom at Mrme But when Zuckerberg shut down. the partyfor media companies. they had ro'?nd distribu?tm :3 MN way. Belieh- muse-search. ?Our strategy over the last two years was d-n?liing down Ema what maple we searching for? editorial director: Joanna 33112 mid Dig'rday. We diam move away from pos?ng to Facebook, butwebaianm otst?hespectacle withkey'informa?mrf The realms have been good. 121914133; reports: ?Delfsh has neariy dammed its audPence over me past two years, hitting a record 41 unique visitors In September, according t0 Heam? Gaga: mwwumummuwwm ?Mn! 0..- nwa .W mo.? uuw.? mmuus v- Mn: 4? ?it-1W mama-um . ova-mama momma . man-ow; M: mm ?swam .W Wk Mm Wham-u. . Tm mmamm .mymo oppendix Publishers deveioping a competitive advantagr-di?oron?ar?ng to atand (:qu fowsing resources on it One of the comma! iegacies of ampopers? cosh-och. near~monopoEL3tio heyday in the Fate 213131 century was Mr freedom to wand coveraoe with reJative eaoe. In today's twironment obviomlgmat's no {ranger the case But the: comma: practice to broadhr serve the public is dif?cult to oars back, especially since it dovetaiis with goumalisto? ?ssion-driven imtincor. So most news organizations are'taking a hard look at an important facet of any Strategy: whatnot to do The mommy to washer this Is amo-aided approach: While discovering what consumers don?t want from you, also ?nd cat which pain points they have, and double down. This is your competitive advantage. Times of London like many papers did as the interne: took of?The Tamers of London. a News Corp progeny, used ifs digital presencoto compete farthe breaking news audieme. But the data showed readers looked oisewhere for urgent Updmea Their competitive advantage was not Speed, it was: depth and quoiity. So in 201 smear decided to give up Speed. and update the website onEy at set times, amok in the most urgent circumstanoeg. Tnese opdaias became, in affect, fresh digitai COW REVIEW: Jim/202$ editions of the paperthree times a day. Editors only broke iron that scheduie about times in the ?rst year. WW WE Stands down as .. i lgasmw ?our ratios? with now UK?stop civil servant and mum aw a MMuMMna-ramugam swymagamw. MIR 1 . INK mm, m?bwm Ram-wanna? Mm?, W. - ?Readers don?t come to us for breanng news; they can go to the BBC and Twitter for thanwhich are free: Nan Hunter,'The ?mes?s head of'oigitai, tow ?They oome to us for the authority of. our reporting, opinion and anaIysis. Breaking news has become a commoduy, and It?s hard to charge people for 51:. We be?eve in the power of digits: editions? They generally escheweci live-biogging even when big news warranted a between-edition update; such as the terror attack at Weminsrer in 201 7. ?fThaI update was] the best 11:1 appendix knowfedoe we have at'the time from our reporters? Nick Petrie. The Times's deputy of digital told ?ower}, ?Then we looked at that Maugham the day if appropriate, but we were pretty much back to a 5 pm editlon moanda-hakf hours later. This content strategy also tested answer hypothesie That some readers {0056119 to be kept uo-todate might prefer an editor-wrated. mmgeabie set of cement from a mated source, ?a?Mrtheo a neverendino feed. About a year iater. the paper reported back on its experiment to Nfemarr The Times said the" number of subscribers that pay for app and website access increased 20%, usage of itasmartphooe app grew 30%, mobile website usage increased about 30%, and articies read per visit was up ?110% The'USAhdayNatvm-k The papers that make up Gaonett?s 20 iargaet metros as we? as the ?agship USA Today were facing staff cuts. an aEHoo regular exam for locai news prox?dere Some network?s senior director of News Strategy Josh Away tumeo to audience engagement data to see if they conic! narrow and focus the beats on oower who a reduoed team We Wm Er turned outthat 80% of the oapers? audience was coming for 20% of-the stories. REVIEW. JULY 2920 So, they took a gem ole-ethey out 50% of their content The outcome was That they lost oniy 36% of So, they decided that going fomraro. ?they could afford to do Ieae. out- they had to make one: that the cement they one create was women For a Local Media Assoda?on innovation Mission event eight menu-e later, Amm- ?mlaim? met that mean; ?Foe work we?re genera?y doubling dorm-r on are dot~ oonneming, more Empaotfui pieces. We?re trying to help reoonere off of me ?oontem hamster wheel? to focus on moriea impaozwyee, in audience numbera, out also in time spam and loyatcy Quality ?otters: Moreover; Awtry added the numbers went up. "By fowsiog on what matters to readers: he said, 'we?re writing almosr half the stories?and our audience hasn?t fallen. ifs not even ?at, growing?? Notevery audience insight from the exercise was foiiowec?, timer. Making choices: take that after in?amed. coroumere?rst discovery, is oxao?y the right way to take a-risk. with humii?rry and knowledge. Take advantage of the capabi?ties mar: ubiquitous data offers us today?. Measure results. Learn more abom your commas. Make hypotheses about how you can improve your product Buitd and measure again. it is what the sharpest competitors in our profession are doing right now: