8. The New News Audiences: A Pulsar x Vuelio Webinar Event

8. The New News Audiences: A Pulsar x Vuelio Webinar Event

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4th July 2025

The role of journalism is being reshaped by digital platforms, creator culture, and shifting public trust. In an era defined by TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, and algorithm-driven discovery, traditional media institutions no longer control the flow of news. Audiences are not only choosing where and how they consume news—they’re influencing what counts as journalism in the first place.

To watch the full recording, click here.

This webinar, hosted by Pulsar, was created to walk you through some of the most compelling insights we uncovered around modern journalism, audience trust, and how stories spread across platforms. The panel featured Davide Berretta (VP of Brand, Pulsar), Alex Bryson (Head of Content Marketing, Pulsar), and Phoebe-Jane Boyd (Content and Comms Manager, Vuelio). 

In this recording, the panel draws on hundreds of thousands of media and social data points to answer a pressing question: how do modern audiences perceive journalism, and how can brands, publishers, and communicators adapt?

 

What we explored

The panel explored how journalism is shifting from a broadcast model to something far more participatory and unpredictable. Audiences don’t just consume news anymore—they shape how it spreads, whether it’s shared, and how it’s framed. TikTok-native journalists and local Substacks were highlighted as examples of formats that rebuild trust and relevance in a noisy media landscape.

We also looked at why many people—especially in the UK and US—are avoiding the news altogether, citing fatigue, mental health, and a lack of trust. While podcasts are filling the gap with longer-form analysis, TikTok is offering shorter, faster, more personality-driven storytelling — and both formats are reshaping how journalism is understood.

The webinar also broke down how stories rise or disappear depending on who shares them and where. The AP’s prison labour investigation was a key example: despite its quality, it didn’t travel far due to limited community uptake. The takeaway? A story’s cultural impact is shaped less by who writes it and more by how it’s picked up, reinterpreted, and recirculated.

In this audience-first media analysis, we examined:

  • How citizen journalism and independent creators are influencing the news agenda across TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, and other creator-led ecosystems
  • How audience perception of journalism differs between legacy media brands (BBC, CNN, The New York Times) and local or niche reporters
  • How story formats — from political scandals to pop culture investigations — spread based on community amplification, influencer endorsement, and platform-native behaviours

For journalists, PR professionals, marketers and media strategists, these insights are essential. Success is no longer guaranteed by legacy status—it’s won through resonance, relevance, and platform fluency.

Meet the speakers

This conversation features:

  • Davide Berretta, VP of Strategy at Pulsar Group, offering a strategic lens on how journalism fits into today’s broader cultural and media systems
  • Alex Bryson, Head of Content at Pulsar Group, breaking down trends in brand perception, audience engagement, and the new formats shaping news
  • Phoebe-Jane Boyd, Senior Communications Manager at Vuelio, with deep insights into media trust, comms strategy, and the evolving relationship between PR and journalism

Watch the webinar replay

Catch up on the full session to explore key taketaways for:

  • Brand reputation and crisis management in a real-time news environment
  • How public trust in journalism is built (or lost) across digital channels
  • What the shift from publisher-first to audience-first means for editorial strategy

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