January 2016 Luncheon

Join the Greater Fort Worth PRSA Chapter on Wednesday, January 13, as Jake Batsell, assistant professor at Southern Methodist University, discusses the changing relationship between journalists and their audiences in a program tilted, “Engaged Journalism: Connecting with Digitally Empowered News Audiences.” [Registration Now Open]

Batsell spent two years visiting innovative news organizations that were experimenting with new methods to connect with – and yes, monetize – their readers, viewers and digital users. Batsell conducted interviews with more than 100 journalists across the United States and United Kingdom for his recent book, Engaged Journalism: Connecting With Digitally Empowered News Audiences (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015).

Batsell ultimately concludes that, for news providers to survive, they must constantly listen to, interact with and fulfill the specific needs of their audiences, whose attention can no longer be taken for granted. Toward that end, Batsell proposes a set of best practices based on effective, sustainable journalistic engagement.