When your niche goes mainstream

Science reporters suddenly found their corner of journalism was front page news. Every. Single Day.

2020 was an extraordinary year, especially so for health and science reporters. Suddenly, stories that might have found niche audience – vaccine development, public health policy, statistical modelling – were appearing on front pages, in the mainstream press, and finding huge readerships. What was that like for those reporters? How did niche publications have to adjust to compete, or really drill down and target their core audiences? Are there any lessons for other specialist outlets?

Suggested Speaker(s)

  • Celeste Biever
    Chief News & Features Editor, Nature
  • Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell)
    Senior writer, infectious diseases, STAT News