Sustainable journalism through service - A one-sheet guide

Here is a one-sheet guide to serving and connecting with a journalism audience. Use this as a quick reference. Links will be added regularly through 2026!

Audience Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to connect with your audience, earn their trust, empower your revenue models, and super-charge the genuine journalism that your community needs.

We serve our community (Read more)

Emotional connection / Know your audience (Read more, and yet more)

Think from the reader’s perspective

Avoid obligatory news (Read more)

Personal time out

Content they can’t get anywhere else (Local, local, local!) (Read more)

Multiple entry points (Read more)

Audience Motivators

These eight triggers motivate an audience to engage with and trust journalism. Make story and angle choices that are, yes, good journalism, but that also make strong use of these motivators.

Surprise me (responsibly)

Something to talk about

Makes me feel smarter

Ordinary people I know or could know (Names and faces, not just “important” people) (Read more)

Things I can go and do (Not what I missed) (Read more)

Be a user guide to the community

Makes me smile

Community cheerleader (Read more)