{"id":5672,"date":"2025-05-17T09:12:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T07:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/?post_type=hbi-news&#038;p=5672"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:33:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T13:33:16","slug":"how-close-are-media-to-their-audience","status":"publish","type":"hbi-news","link":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"How Close Are Media to Their Audience?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/employee\/wiebke-loosen\/\">Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen<\/a> is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk&#8217;s media podcast \u201c<span lang=\"de\">Nach Redaktionsschluss<\/span>\u201d (After Editorial Deadline). What makes this format unique is that listeners determine the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience. Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deutschlandfunk.de\/zwischen-anspruch-und-angebot-wie-nah-sind-medien-an-ihrem-publikum-100.html\">here<\/a> to listen to the podcast episode.<\/p>\n<p>Listener Benedikt Herudek feels that journalistic offerings often fail to meet the needs of their audience. Topics that are relevant to readers, listeners, and viewers are not given enough attention. Instead, he often finds that reporting reproduces the opinions and worldviews of journalists. Where does this impression come from, and how can it be changed? And is there really such a thing as journalists and the general public? Holger Stark (ZEIT) discusses these questions in the podcast with Benedikt Herudek and media researcher Wiebke Loosen.<\/p>\n<p>Loosen works at the HBI, where she focuses on the transformation of journalism in a changing media landscape and researches how audience expectations and journalistic practices relate to each other. In the podcast, she emphasizes that journalists in Germany fundamentally represent the same values as their audience \u2014 such as objectivity, neutrality, and diversity of perspectives. Conflicts often arise not from different basic attitudes, but from differences in how these values are implemented in practice.<\/p>\n<h2>Must or Should Journalists Align Themselves with Audience Expectations?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI believe [&#8230;] that good journalism also involves occasionally failing to meet audience expectations,\u201d says Wiebke Loosen. In political journalism in particular, she argues, it is important to address issues that are central to democratic opinion-forming. According to Loosen, this can be understood as a \u201cduty to keep informed\u201d \u2013 a responsibility that can also be observed on the part of the audience.<\/p>\n<h2>Who Is the Audience?<\/h2>\n<p>Loosen points out that the view of the audience has changed significantly in recent years: editorial offices are increasingly thinking in terms of target groups and developing user-centric products. She thus emphasizes the clear shift in focus toward the audience. \u201cThere is no such thing as \u2018the reader,\u2019\u201d she says, adding: \u201cAnd when you talk to journalists, hardly anyone talks about \u2018the audience\u2019 anymore [&#8230;]; instead, there are all kinds of different terms.\u201d At the same time, according to Loosen, we have expectations of journalism and journalists to create a public sphere themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Loosen emphasizes that it is important to address the contradictions and tensions associated with target orientation and user centricity in journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":1196,"template":"","categories":[145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5672","hbi-news","type-hbi-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Close Are Media to Their Audience? - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk&#039;s media podcast \u201cNach Redaktionsschluss\u201d. What makes this format unique is that listeners choose the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Close Are Media to Their Audience?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk&#039;s media podcast \u201cNach Redaktionsschluss\u201d. What makes this format unique is that listeners choose the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-30T13:33:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Close Are Media to Their Audience? - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-17T07:12:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-30T13:33:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk's media podcast \u201cNach Redaktionsschluss\u201d. What makes this format unique is that listeners choose the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/04\\\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg\",\"width\":1380,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Portrait Wiebke Loosen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/hbi-news\\\/news\\\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Homepage\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Close Are Media to Their Audience?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Leibniz HBI\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Leibniz HBI\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png\",\"width\":462,\"height\":123,\"caption\":\"Leibniz HBI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leibniz-hbi.de\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Close Are Media to Their Audience? - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research","description":"Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk's media podcast \u201cNach Redaktionsschluss\u201d. What makes this format unique is that listeners choose the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Close Are Media to Their Audience?","og_description":"Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk's media podcast \u201cNach Redaktionsschluss\u201d. What makes this format unique is that listeners choose the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience.","og_url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/","og_site_name":"Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research","article_modified_time":"2025-05-30T13:33:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1380,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/","url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/","name":"How Close Are Media to Their Audience? - Leibniz Institut f\u00fcr Medienforschung | Leibniz Institute for Media Research","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-17T07:12:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-30T13:33:16+00:00","description":"Prof. Dr. Wiebke Loosen is a media expert and guest on Deutschlandfunk's media podcast \u201cNach Redaktionsschluss\u201d. What makes this format unique is that listeners choose the topics. This episode focuses on the relationship between journalists and their audience.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Wiebke-Loosen-Header.jpg","width":1380,"height":400,"caption":"Portrait Wiebke Loosen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/hbi-news\/news\/how-close-are-media-to-their-audience\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Homepage","item":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Close Are Media to Their Audience?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/","name":"Leibniz HBI","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#organization","name":"Leibniz HBI","url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/HBI_Logo-Kopie-2.png","width":462,"height":123,"caption":"Leibniz HBI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hbi-news\/5672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hbi-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hbi-news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leibniz-hbi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}