“Focus on the “flabby middle” of the audience funnel” and “Is the news industry truly representative of the communities it serves?” 
This week on Redefining Engagement, Francesca Dumas sits down with Yunus Emre Oruc to dive deep into audience engagement strategies. Yunus, with his extensive experience at Al Jazeera Turk, TRT World, and Middle East Eye, shared some powerful insights. 
Firstly, he touched on Sarah Marshall’s 2025 prediction Niemen Lab, highlighting the shift from the traditional funnel to a trapezoid model, emphasizing audience retention and engagement more than ever! Sarah Marshall reframes your understanding of the audience engagement funnel. If you haven’t come across it yet, it’s a must read. 
This question is also so relevant when we discuss moving our industry forward:
Is there enough diversity in your newsroom?
Yunus emphasises that news organisations need a diverse range of perspectives to truly connect with and understand their audiences. This means prioritising fair salaries to attract talent from all backgrounds, not just those who can afford to work for less! 
”Without that young blood, without that enthusiasm, without the diversity of the younger population that you need in your ranks… you will not bring the innovations that we want, because their experience with the real world will be very very different…”
Listen to the full episode to learn more about building audience journeys for acquisition and retention.
And if you don’t have the time? Simply browse the episode chapters below and choose the segments you’re most eager to hear.
00:00 Introduction
05:54 Defining Audience Engagement
09:37 Building Trust and Visibility with Audiences
14:07 Community Engagement and Understanding Audience Needs
20:07 The Role of Community Managers in Engagement
22:31 Measuring Engagement: Challenges and Strategies
25:47 Effective Strategies for Audience Engagement
27:27 The Rise of Short Form Content
33:21 Navigating Audience Engagement in the Digital Age
41:03 The Future of Audience Engagement
43:25 Practical Engagement Hacks for Beginners
47:18 The Importance of Diversity in News Media