WTTW News is the journalism arm of Chicago’s PBS member television station in Chicago. It includes a nightly news show, Chicago Tonight, and delivers additional online coverage of the arts, politics, crime, education, health, science and other topics for Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods and communities.
Its primary goal during the Accelerator was to develop an email newsletter that would attract a younger and more diverse audience and expand lessons learned to the entire WTTW News brand.
Through the Accelerator, WTTW discovered a need in the Chicagoland area that journalism could fulfill. The team built an email newsletter to meet this demand.
increase in newsletter subscribers in the first two months of the newsletter launch
increase in open rate over the same period
Our newsroom has changed. The revelations of what the audience wants has had an impact on all our reporting. We are more focused on the audience than ever before, more dedicated to developing new ways of telling stories and delivering the stories and information our audience wants and needs.
Jay Smith, WTTW News Director
The Accelerator empowered WTTW to better understand its audience, focus its product on meaningful goals and taught the team new approaches to research. The team vowed to keep applying what they learned for years to come.