ABSTRACT
Media organizations currently experiment with different forms of audience engagement and this chapter discusses how the lack of systemic approaches with a predictable learning curve contributes to the success or failure of such endeavours. Based on empirical data from three Norwegian media organizations, Moss Avis, Nationen and Sunnmørsposten, we explore various attempts at tapping into and strengthening people’s engagement through journalism. In each case we provide a description of the process through which the initiative was conducted, followed by a short analysis of what factors may be said to have influenced how the initiative played out. In particular, we look into the motivations, knowledge and perspectives put to use in these audience engagement initiatives, as well as how the presence of certain notions, practices and competences (or lack thereof) influences the way that they unfold. To conclude, we argue that media organizations and managers, in particular, need a more systemic approach to audience engagement, for which we propose the conceptual metaphor of ‘glowline’, as a co-creation model integrated into the flowline regime.
