Month: November 2025

Despite being a relatively rare event, crises present a unique opportunity for news organisations to challenge assumptions and test the limits of their journalism. As such, they are a key point of contact between authorities and the public – with authorities wanting to convey directives, reassure citizens, and mitigate panic, while the media need a means to verify information, navigate censorship, avoid sensationalism and meet tight deadlines.

Existing crisis journalism research suggests that journalists tend to report crises using templates that reproduce expected myths and authority skewing, and that news audiences are positioned as observers of abstracted crisis events. The analysis of the UK energy crisis in TV journalism, however, challenges these findings by showing that crisis reporting can also be dynamic and elicit different responses from audiences.

Specifically, in the UK, the analysis of crisis coverage shows that the unfolding nature of this particular crisis allows victims to express experiential reactions to the emergence and impacts of the crisis which they can then amplify as a form of social rationality (Blondheim & Liebes 2002). Additionally, despite a general lack of relevant included expertise on the origins of the crisis, there are frequent discussions about the need for and evidence of, support during the crisis.

In addition, the observed discussion about impacts orients reporting away from any potential mythologising of crisis impact stories and creates space for more informed discussions about what is being done to address these impacts. This is a space that is populated by the voices of ordinary people and business owners as well as charities.

Trending topics are subjects that experience a sudden surge of popularity on social media for a limited time. For ecommerce businesses, they’re an opportunity to join ongoing conversations and boost engagement with their audiences by creating timely content that stays relevant.

But navigating the tricky world of writing about trending topics requires a thoughtful approach to ensure your content is timely, relevant and engaging. In this article, we’ll explore the best practices for writing about trending topics to help you build a thriving audience.

A common way to use trending topics is to focus on news stories and current events. This gives your business credibility and inspires trust in your customers. It’s also a great way to drive traffic and grow your audience through search engines.

You can find a variety of trends using tools like BuzzSumo and Spark Toro, which highlight hot topics in digital marketing and SEO. Or, you can subscribe to news sites such as SmartBrief that curate trending news and information.

Other popular ways to engage with trending topics is by interviewing subject-matter experts and taking a unique angle on the topic. For example, if a competitor publishes a piece about the latest trends in natural health, you can create a video that interviews a health expert with a unique perspective.

Finally, you can also use a tool such as Exploding Topics to find the latest trends in your industry and target market. This user-friendly tool quickly identifies the most popular discussions in real time so you can jump in and participate before it’s too late.

As humanitarian settings become increasingly complex and conflicts more protracted, there is growing demand for clear, well-researched and thoroughly contextualized journalism on humanitarian issues. However, little empirical research is focused on the production of humanitarian news and there are very few studies exploring how such content influences audiences and international policymakers.

Humanitarian news is broadly defined as factual reporting about crises and issues that impact human welfare. It encompasses both traditional journalistic reporting and advocacy journalism that aims to improve humanitarian outcomes. While there is considerable overlap between these two approaches, much of the existing research on humanitarian news focuses on the content of international reporting about humanitarian crises and a lack of understanding about how such reporting impacts audience and donor decision-making.

This article explores the complexities of humanitarian journalism and the role of new technologies in this rapidly developing field. It also discusses the need for a more holistic, rights-based approach to media-making and the implications of the growing commercialization of humanitarian news.

The conflict in Sudan continues to deteriorate as civilians continue to be attacked and the country’s health system collapses. Millions in need are at heightened risk of life-threatening food insecurity, and the humanitarian community is struggling to reach them despite increased funding.

In 2023, Sudan topped the IRC’s Emergency Watchlist for a second consecutive year as the crisis in the country worsened. With access severely restricted by violence, millions of people are struggling to survive. The health system is overwhelmed and hospitals in conflict zones are non-functional, unable to meet critical needs including maternal, neonatal, mental and reproductive health care.

News podcasts are at the centre of the audio revolution, with dozens of publishers around the world launching them in recent years. Following the success of The Daily from New York Times and DR’s Genstart on the Coronavirus lockdowns, they are attracting significant audience attention, but remain difficult to monetise.

In most countries, news podcasts are focused on politics. Extended chat formats are popular, but in some cases – especially those with more intense production requirements like The Daily, or the deep-dive weekly La Story from Les Echos – the investment is high and returns slow.

The result is that, in most countries, news podcasts are a small part of the overall market. For many, the most effective approach is to focus on one-off narrative series aimed at exploring a single news story. For example, Vox’s The Takeaway picks the top three breaking news stories each day, and its episodes are short enough to be digested during a commute or while walking the dog.

In other markets, public broadcasters are leading the way with native podcasts or reworking radio output. In Denmark, public broadcaster TV2 is competing with commercial players Berlingske and Politiken for upmarket news listeners, while tabloid Ekstra Bladet attracts younger audiences with true crime and entertainment podcasts. Meanwhile, renowned conservative commentator Ben Shapiro hosts a detailed and often provocative analysis of culture and politics from a right-wing perspective in the US. As the political landscape becomes increasingly polarised, news podcasts offer a unique platform for civil discourse in an era of echo chambers.

Local news is delivered on a variety of platforms including television, mobile devices and streaming services. Its journalists live and work in the community they are covering and are impacted by the same things as viewers. According to a recent survey by Poynter Institute, 76% of Americans say they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in local news. That’s more than they have for national papers and networks.

Local journalism is unique in that it can be hyper-focused on schools, neighborhoods, city and town government, and culture — often providing context that national news organizations cannot. By prioritizing issues that resonate with their audiences, local news outlets can help shape public perception and motivate citizens to take action.

Unlike broadcast TV stations, which operate within geographic boundaries defined by media market areas, local newspapers aren’t bound by these restrictions. They can publish in as many towns and cities within a market area as they wish, serving distinct audiences with different interests. Typically, local newspapers cover civic information like local government and crime, economic news such as job growth or business developments, and cultural news about the arts and sports.

But the rise of digital advertising has meant that local newspaper revenue is dwindling. In some cases, this has meant that the newsrooms that serve them are being reduced to half their size. This is particularly true of small and medium-sized markets where the newsrooms that remain are struggling to keep up with the demands of a shrinking audience.