Reader Engagement

Protest coverage often casts protesters and their causes in a negative light, particularly when covering underrepresented groups. To help journalists frame stories in ways that do not harm these groups, the Center for Media Engagement examined two story areas of particular concern. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Trusting News and 27 local newsrooms to investigate how news organizations can help bridge the divide between the media and American conservative and right-leaning audiences. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement teamed up with researchers in three countries to examine how the public perceives comment deletion and the moderators who do it. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement teamed up with the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life to examine how news organizations can best communicate information about how to register to vote. Read More

Coronavirus news can be overwhelming. To determine if newsrooms can help counteract the fatigue, the Center for Media Engagement tested the effects of three types of headlines and two types of images on news Facebook posts. Read More

We explored whether the placement of the Behind the Story card on a news organization’s website affects readers’ recall of the card and trust in news. Read More

  The Center for Media Engagement partnered with ProPublica to determine if news story headlines and images can be crafted in ways that appeal to both liberals and conservatives. We found that Facebook ads using straightforward photographs, instead of illustrated graphics, performed better among both liberals and conservatives. However, changing… Read More

  Solutions journalism offers comprehensive coverage of an issue by proposing solutions rather than just focusing on the problem. The Center for Media Engagement set out to determine how certain components of solutions journalism affect the way readers evaluate both the reporting and the issue. We found that stories covering… Read More

In today’s highly competitive digital environment, it can be tempting to turn to clickbait news. But covering news that emphasizes outrageous behavior by political leaders might actually backfire. Read More

In our latest research, the Center for Media Engagement (CME) partnered with The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) and StoryWorks to examine how theater and journalism can be combined to create a powerful message. Read More

Our research finds that audiences are more likely to click on links that use images in their layout, appear at the end of a page and reflect related content Read More

With funding from the American Press Institute, CME researchers tested different engagement methods aimed at prompting new subscribers in three different newsrooms. Read More

With the help of a national newsroom, we conducted 118 experiments on Facebook to test the success of different headlines, images, and status updates on Facebook. Read More

Our researchers found that online political quizzes increase people’s interest in political news and make them feel more knowledgeable about politics. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with a local news organization, City Bureau, to explore attitudes towards, and preferences for, Chicago news media. Read More

The inclusion of Trust Indicators can result in higher opinions about the news organizations and journalists that use them, according to the Center for Media Engagement's research with the Trust Project. Read More

In the run-up to the 2016 general election, local news outlets focused less and less on coverage of issues, with coverage of corruption and scandal receiving more page views and social referrals. Read More

People who receive mobile news notifications more frequently visit the corresponding news applications. Read More

Do audiences engage more with news coverage of campaign strategy or issues? Read More

In response to a newspaper series on the issue of poverty, the public tweeted more about poverty. The discussion, however, lasted only a short period. Read More

We tested whether headlines written using varying levels of uncertainty prompt different reactions. Read More

As news habits change, it's important to understand what is available for news audiences across various platforms. Read More

Solutions-oriented headlines yield a modest increase in clicks over non-solutions headlines, but other factors may also affect clicks. Read More

There are benefits to newsrooms using solutions-based journalism, but it is not a cure-all for audience engagement. Read More

Headlines are the marquees of news stories. These short statements located at the beginning of an article frame the information that is to follow. They encapsulate a portion of the story, presenting a snapshot of reality. The New York Times headlines an article as “Climate Change Will Disrupt Half of… Read More

We found that solutions-based reporting may be an effective journalistic tool that serves the needs of both audiences and news organizations, and that it has the potential to increase reader engagement. Read More

Can hyperlinks be presented on a page in a way that prompts additional news use, as opposed to entertainment stories? And can hyperlinks be presented on a page in ways that encourage visitors to view editorial content from different political perspectives? Read More

Although polls can be engaging for site visitors, there are downsides. Quizzes help news audiences learn more in a fun and engaging way. Read More