No. 56 — Playing Along
It’s May 11, 2023, and you’re reading the newsletter from Médianes.
Today, we're pulling out all the stops
Hello, everyone,
What better way to break the ice and win over new audiences than with games? Today, we’re sharing three examples of media outlets that make consuming news more fun and, in doing so, foster audience engagement.
We also have an article on the opportunities that solutions journalism offers newsrooms, as well as a little goldmine of tips on how to grow your newsletter’s audience, based on an article by Inbox Collective. And in our roundup: job listings, chats, and a plethora of tools.
Finally, we’d like to welcome Caroline Fauvel, who is joining the team asMédianes a web project manager, as well as Owen Huchon, a bilingual journalist who will be interning for six months in the resource center—you’ll get to read his work very soon!
Enjoy the read,
— Marine Slavitch and Baptiste Thevelein
Why not?
Ideas for Your Media
By applying the same fun and interactive principles found in games to your content, you’ll inspire your audience to get involved and return regularly to make progress and grow. It’s also an excellent way to make complex topics more accessible and engaging.
To build audience loyalty
Franceinfo now has its own gaming platform, which is updated daily. “We don’t have a hard time attracting new readers, but building loyalty is more difficult—that’s why we’re launching these new projects,” explains Aude Rimbault-Joffard, head of editorial marketing, in an article in The Audiencers. A similar approach is taken by Le Parisien, where “low-cost” news quizzes are interspersed throughout articles to convert anonymous readers into subscribers.
To Share Values
Gamification works just as well in print. At *Libération*, a “pension reform law game” even made the front page on May 1. For the daily newspaper, which has historically been considered left-leaning, the game adds a touch of humor to the struggle—“we must all work together to push Macron back while avoiding the Brav-M and the 49-3”—and offers a breather amid often anxiety-inducing news.
To promote content
Personality tests that lead to articles? That’s the brilliant idea behind Goodtype, a resource center for designers. “Are you the type to fall asleep at your computer? Or to turn the brightness all the way up so it feels like you’re in the sun?” It’s an effective way to convince your audience to join a community that reflects who they are and to engage them by inviting them to share their answers.
From the studio's perspective
Spotlight on a Project
The magazine *Pays*, which Médianeshe co-founded, is showcasing its upcoming issue focusing on the Ardennes. The pre-order campaign has just begun, and it’s all happening at pays-revue.com!
Visit the magazine's website to explore this new issue and see the poster for a region about which there is so much to say.
Funding, marketing, strategy, creative work: Do you have a project? Leave us a message.
CHRISTELLE PERRIN — COUNTRIES — MEDIANS
On Our Radar
Our market monitoring to support your projects
JENNA SPINELLE AND BEN DEJARNETTE / LION PUBLISHERS
WORLD'S BEST BOSS
Whether you’ve been promoted to department head at a major media organization or you’re at the helm of a young, independent publication, LION Publishers will be sharing valuable advice on media management throughout the month.
DAN OSHINSKY / INBOX COLLECTIVE ON MEDIANES.ORG
NEWSLETTERS: THE ULTIMATE TO-DO LIST
Let’s talk about tactics and techniques. Here are 52 ideas compiled by Inbox Collective and translated by us to help grow your newsletter audience. A goldmine of best practices illustrated with real-world examples to ensure your emails reach your target audience. If all this doesn’t help you gain subscribers… (Translation: Owen Huchon).
On medianes.org
It's homemade
MATHILDE CARLIER / MEDIANES.ORG
A CLOSER LOOK AT SOLUTIONS-BASED JOURNALISM
In recent years, a form of journalism known as “solutions journalism” has been gaining ground in newsrooms, promising to offer new perspectives in the media and to shape a more ethical form of journalism. Some journalists are embracing it to report on society while reconnecting with their audiences.
In Brief
That way, you'll know
→ Booska-P, POLITICO Europe, Mediapart: These media outlets are hiring. Check out their job openings.
→ Last chance to pre-order the third issue of Akki, the local, independent magazine on ecological art. Don’t wait any longer!
→ This tool lets you verify the validity of email addresses directly from Google Sheets.
→ Did you know? Nicolas Stoufflet, from the game show “Les 1,000 €” on France Inter, also hosts a podcast about cats.
→ Our Pick: Médor, a 100% independent and participatory Belgian investigative media outlet that uses only open-source tools and licenses.
See you on May 25!
We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome the teams at *Le Parisien*, *1 hebdo*, and *Heidi.news*, as well as everyone who has recently subscribed to this newsletter.
Thank you for your messages and ideas, which helped shape this issue of the newsletter. Please feel free to share your feedback with us and let us know what topics you’d like to see covered in future issues!
See you on May 25 for the next edition. Until then, take care of yourselves and your social media.
— THIS NEWSLETTER WAS PREPARED BY MARINE SLAVITCH AND BAPTISTE THEVELEIN WITH THE MÉDIANES TEAM.
MEDIANES.ORG — MEDIANES.STUDIO
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