Readers’ needs and engagement

: how Mensagem de Lisboa is connectiong with its readers

Abstract

This report is the result of an internship at Mensagem de Lisboa, and it aims to understand how the newspaper interacts with its readers and how the readers engage with the newspaper, focusing on readers’ needs. Mensagem de Lisboa is a new online local community newspaper about Lisbon with a new journalistic approach that has not been academically studied, at a time when local journalism appears to be losing relevance. Furthermore, in Portugal, there is a lack of research on local journalism, as well as studies on audience needs. This study aims to study online and offline strategies of engagement as well as understand Mensagem readers’ perspective. The data for this report was collected through a survey of readers that applied the User Needs Model, as well as through semi-structured interviews with the director, editor, and social media manager of the newspaper. Results indicate that the newspaper has a clear strategy to connects with its readers whether is online or offline. Readers see their needs fulfilled and although most Mensagem consumers share and discuss its content with someone, engagement in news production process and participation in events is minimal. Nevertheless, most readers have done something based on Mensagem stories, calling it a “good” publication for fostering community spirit in Lisbon, which shows that from this perspective the newspaper is engaging offline with its audience. These findings indicate that although the newspaper is meeting readers’ needs and perhaps having some impact on them, it should improve its online strategy as well as its presence in the community to have more engaged readers.

Date of Award	28 Nov 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jessica Roberts (Supervisor)