Reader Engagement
A Better Way to Tell Protest Stories
October 28, 2021
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....
How Local Newsrooms Can Better Connect with Conser...
August 16, 2021
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....
Want to Inform People About Registering to Vote? K...
October 1, 2020
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....
Coronavirus Coverage: The Effects of Headlines and...
August 13, 2020
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....
Testing Behind the Story Cards
January 30, 2020
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....
Images That Generate Clicks Among Both Liberals an...
December 17, 2019
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…...
The Keys to Powerful Solutions Journalism
August 22, 2019
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…...
Clickbait Content May Not Be Click-worthy
May 16, 2019
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....
Journalism Through Theater: How An Art Form Can In...
March 26, 2019
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....
Using Links to Keep Readers on News Sites
September 26, 2018
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...
Subscription Messages
September 5, 2018
With funding from the American Press Institute, CME researchers tested different engagement methods aimed at prompting new subscribers in three different newsrooms....
Political Coverage on Facebook
June 28, 2018
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....
Online Quizzes and Interest in Political News
April 4, 2018
Our researchers found that online political quizzes increase people’s interest in political news and make them feel more knowledgeable about politics....
Chicago News Landscape
January 10, 2018
The Center for Media Engagement partnered with a local news organization, City Bureau, to explore attitudes towards, and preferences for, Chicago news media....
Trust in Online News
December 12, 2017
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....
General Election News Coverage: What Engages Audie...
April 6, 2017
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....
Mobile News Notifications
October 27, 2016
People who receive mobile news notifications more frequently visit the corresponding news applications....
Primary Election Coverage: What Types of News Enga...
October 11, 2016
Do audiences engage more with news coverage of campaign strategy or issues?...
How One Community Responded to Solutions Journalis...
September 20, 2016
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....
Investigating the Influence of “Clickbait...
August 9, 2016
We tested whether headlines written using varying levels of uncertainty prompt different reactions....
A Digital News Snapshot: An Analysis of 25 of the ...
July 20, 2016
As news habits change, it's important to understand what is available for news audiences across various platforms....
Solutions Headlines
June 2, 2016
Solutions-oriented headlines yield a modest increase in clicks over non-solutions headlines, but other factors may also affect clicks....
Solutions Journalism & News Engagement
March 29, 2016
There are benefits to newsrooms using solutions-based journalism, but it is not a cure-all for audience engagement....
The Current State of News Headlines
December 1, 2015
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…...
Solutions Journalism
June 2, 2014
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....
Hyperlinks
September 18, 2013
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?...
How Online Quizzes Can Benefit Newsroom Websites
September 18, 2013
Although polls can be engaging for site visitors, there are downsides. Quizzes help news audiences learn more in a fun and engaging way....
How the Public Views Deletion of Offensive Comment...
June 16, 2021