ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the concept of audience sensitivity for news media and journalism scholars who want to keep up with people’s changing news use and unchanged news experiences. First, audience sensitivity involves the professional skill to facilitate the infrastructure of news use. The 24 user practices that have been distinguished call for a different infrastructure. Second, audience sensitivity refers to a professional alertness: being wary of and attentive to the underlying logics of metrics. Becoming audience attentive means realizing clicks and time spent are informative, but not always in a straightforward manner. Not having to click on news to get the gist of the story is much appreciated, and the amount of time people spend on news also depends on their technology skills and news literacy. Third, audience sensitivity is about becoming knowledgeable about the affective and sensory dimensions of news use. People’s affective states matter for the type and tone of news they seek out or avoid. To ensure satisfactory experiences, news organizations may also help news users master their devices and interfaces. Becoming more audience sensitive is a must for news organizations and journalists who depend on audiences for their legitimation (public service media) or business model.
