Question…

• Is your newsroom struggling with an enormous workload?
• Is your organization doing as much as possible, but still not having the desired impact?
• Are your subscribers and viewership declining?
• Does your team have endless discussions, because the priorities and strategy are not clear?

We hear this mantra often: “It’s online first!” It sounds focused and visionary. But does it also tackle the tsunami of content in which stories don’t stand out anymore? Have you spent a lot of time making a digital story, but you only reached a handful people?

In this digital world there are a few challenges in journalism. We believe that with the right skills, knowledge, strategy and mindset it’s possible for every newsroom to lower the workload, offer more quality journalism, have more impact with your stories and become a future-proof news organization.

We are here to get you started with our Future-Proof Newsroom Program.

The results you achieve:

• A strategy that fits this digital world, your newsroom and your audience
• Your news organization is future proof and knows how to deal with an ever changing digital landscape
• You know the added value of your organization and you have a clear mission
• You know your audience, how to reach them better and have more impact with your stories
• A new workflow, with clear priorities, for more calmness for your journalists
• How to make innovative and interactive stories

Your program

We believe you need to focus on three building blocks to build a future-proof strategy:
I: Your audience 
II: Your mission and vision
III: Your newsroom strategy

“This was an eye opener for me. You can use ‘Audience First’ not only on a strategic level for your newsroom, but also for your stories. All of the sudden can you make very clear choices on format and distribution.” – Johan Boef – EenVandaag, Dutch national broadcaster

Part 1: Your audience

You struggle with answering a simple question: “Who is your audience?” Journalists regularly answer with: “Everyone”. This was the case when media still had a monopoly position. Now, with the diversified digital lifestyles we all have adopted, that’s not working anymore. Know and understand your audience to reach them better. Our motto: Put your Audience First: Four steps to match journalistic goals with a thorough understanding of your audience.

Part 2: Your mission & vision

Make sure everyone is on the same page with a clear mission. This makes setting priorities, making choices, seeing and creating impact more easy. We interviewed Robert Picard, senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute and University of Oxford and we agree with him: “These days, ‘being valuable’ is key to a sustainable news organization. So newsrooms who aren’t giving value to their readers, shouldn’t exist: those newsrooms deserve to die.”

“I’ve grown up doing traditional journalism. Now, I have my eyes open to all new possibilities and tools that you could use. Your hands-on approach is really useful, easy and it gives you the confidence to try something new. ”” – Lis Henderson – senior journalist BBC

Part 3: Your workflow strategy

You know your audience, you have a clear mission and know where your priorities lie. Now it’s important to implement this in your daily workflow with a clear strategy.

Do you want more information?

Let’s schedule a quick call so we can give you more detailed information on the program, set up and costs. Send us a mail at tothemoon@hackastory.com.

“The younger generation is our future audience. We need to find ways to reach them to thrive in the future. Hackastory gave me the tools and mindset to do it.” – Fleur Verwer – RTV Oost, regional news organization