Headlines are the most important starting point of a story. A good one both informs and piques a readers’ interest, encouraging them to read on. But in an era of search engine optimization and short attention spans, writing a good one is harder to do — especially when it comes to political stories. 

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute and Resolve Philly’s Modifier for a free webinar examining the craft of writing and framing a headline for a political story; the different types of headlines to use depending upon the story; and the pitfalls of using sensationalized or misleading language. Participants will practice writing and rewriting a few headlines to get practical experience in producing responsible headlines for your 2024 election coverage.

Registration is open for this free, one-hour webinar, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, June 21.

How one newspaper engagement producer helps inform her community

Many news organizations have shed jobs this year, but certain industry segments are hiring, including audience engagement. 

The Institute reached out to Kelsey Harrell, engagement producer for the Tampa Bay Times, to learn more about her role, the skills involved, and what it takes to be successful. Here is an edited version of our conversation.

What do you do as a newsroom engagement producer or an audience manager? 

Harrell: It varies, depending on what publication you work with. But at the Tampa Bay Times, our audience team focuses on managing our homepage, sending out push alerts via our app, and then managing all branded social media accounts. Then we have a team of producers within the engagement team who focus on newsletters as well. So, have our hands in three different parts of the newsroom. … I also run our food Instagram account. 

Can you give a specific example of how you engage with the Tampa Bay community?

Harrell: Hurricanes are huge news events for us, and that’s a time when we’re making sure our audience has all the information they need and can make informed decisions that help them stay safe. We’re sending out push alerts and putting together Instagram stories as we get updates about closures and evacuation orders, among other things. As storms move in, we ask our audience to let us know what they’re seeing around Tampa Bay; we ask the same thing after a hurricane. 

What are some of the misconceptions about what you do in the newsroom?

Harrell: I think a misconception can be what falls under [the definition of] audience and what falls under [the definition of] digital and whether or not they’re combined. That’s because there isn’t an industry standard right now. For example, some places call the job an audience growth producer, some call it engagement producer, or others call it social media producer. They’re all the same thing, but the role might have different responsibilities depending on what publication you’re at.

How can a reporter think like an engagement producer?

Harrell: Reporters can be thinking of ways to share their stories on social media that are tailored to the specific platform. The audience on Instagram consumes content differently than Reddit users or Facebook users. If there’s a story a reporter worked closely with a photojournalist on and there’s good art, they could suggest that story be posted on Instagram. Maybe there’s an opportunity to make a video for a story. Coming up with suggestions and thinking of audience engagement early on makes it easier to loop your newsroom’s team in. Also, thinking about if there’s a compelling way to write a summary of your story for the newsletter and thinking about search engine optimization as you’re experimenting with headlines is important. 

Read on for more advice from Harrell.

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