The Business of Live Journalism

Live journalism is not a new concept; it has been used for many years to report on events in real time. Today, however, purpose-built live story formats are also being used to cover breaking news on a broad range of major stories, from a war unfolding in Europe to a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The speed of today’s news cycle underscores the value of, and need for, verified, consistent and reliable content. To provide this value, media organizations need to develop a revenue strategy that supports covering breaking events comprehensively—and responsibly—by investing in the resources that will grow their audiences.

The realization that user data can be harnessed to convert large audiences arriving for breaking news into paying customers is a key driver of the move to live journalism. Live journalism plays out on digital channels, so it’s easier to identify “fanatic users”—those who return to a site most frequently and stay the longest. This approach is essential to the success of both subscription-based and advertising-supported media.