Hits simply means popularity among your target.
Radio plays hit songs, magazines covers show hit topics and newspaper headlines (usually) focus on hit topics and networks and streaming services prioritise popular shows. It stands to reason that news organisations should follow suit.
Like them or not, Fox News (owned by Australia’s Rupert Murdoch) knows it’s audience and plays their hits. I’m not sure other news sources are as keenly targeted and guessing at what their target will find interesting. One of many reasons Fox is so dominant. They know their target and deliver what they want. And they, like many national services are more political talk than information.
Focus on airing hit stories. This isn’t just about technology, AI, or audience behavior—hits resonate with audiences.
I remember some unsettling moments in newspaper editorial meetings where ideas were tossed around without any research into what topics were actually trending. It was a haphazard approach. We need to combine intuition with data-driven insights specific to your target
It’s certainly possible to create hits through investigative journalism and uncovering hot topics—those are valuable scoops. However, I’m talking about the everyday storytelling, the regular flow of content.
Like hit songs, stories need to be strategically targeted. Competitively, having a clear perspective is essential—it’s the truth and authenticity within that perspective that truly matters.
News/Talk stations must consider TOPIC TESTING. Employ modern survey techniques to adjust the visibility of stories based on their relevance, monitoring them throughout different segments of the news cycle.
Reasons for story testing include:
>Unlike typical editorial meetings where ideas are casually tossed about, testing provides a powerful tool to identify the most relevant stories for your audience, ensuring that the right stories are produced at the right time.
> The fast pace of news today demands that we have access to ongoing, specific data about stories.
> It helps mitigate “news ego,” which may not always align with your mission.
> It guarantees that you maintain topic superiority minute by minute.
> It pinpoints stories that are direct hits with YOUR target audience.
Ultimately, it’s about combining journalistic intuition with structured insights from your target, resulting in a straightforward yet effective strategy: Airing the stories that are hits with your target = hit stories
Dave Charles (left) is the President of Media RESULTS Inc. With more than six decades spent working in radio here and overseas he was inducted into the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2024. Lee Abrams (right) has worked as a consultant to over 1,000 radio stations, 12 major print publications, tv stations and cable networks and is the designer of XM satellite.