Media’s million-dollar question: How to engage a young audience?

Youtube. Telegram. TikTok. Snapchat. Instagram. WhatsApp. There are no shortages in channels and platforms used by and aimed at a young demographic, but media outlets around the globe struggle to engage a young audience with their solid journalism and trustworthy information.

This is a shared challenge across geography, media formats and political circumstances and in response, IMS will convene all interested partners for a three-day workshop on how to take on the challenge of informing and engaging young people – a group also in need of well-developed media literacy skills, bombarded with content and highly likely to come across fake news and disinformation online as they are.

Workshops on what works

To delve into this cross-cutting challenge facing media today, IMS has created an opportunity for partners around the globe to learn from each others’ best practises and seek inspiration across continents.

The Belarusian online magazine CityDog.by have had some success attracting young online readers, even though they are working under extremely difficult conditions in a country with frequent internet blockages and a repressive attitude towards independent media. Their main audience is between 25 to 35 years old. Co-founder and CEO Iryna Vidanava will share with others how CityDog.by transforms website material to engaging content on TikTok and Telegram.

In Zimbabwe, creative organisation Magamba uses satire, humour and user-produced content to attract and grow a young audience. In Zimbabwe, reaching the youth is extremely crucial, since 62 percent of the population is below the age of 25. Operating in a country with a very young demographic is an interesting and challenging circumstance that media – especially in Africa and the Middle East. Political satirist Farai Monro from Magamba will be sharing his experiences .

New database showcasing SoMe productions for youth

In an effort to help media outlets reach young people with compelling and relevant public interest journalism, IMS has compiled a new database that showcases innovative social media productions, all aimed at a predominantly young audience (younger than 25 years). This is done in partnership with Seen, a collective of journalists, editors and tech-savvy experts that helps communities tell their stories and share it with an audience of 13 – 24-year-olds, reaching around two million people.

All workshops are fully booked.