Innovation in Digital Media beyond Technology: The Audience-Centered Approach and Pending Challenges

In the digital scenario, where news media organizations face technological disruption, innovation has been identified as key to the survival of journalism. While legacy media, rooted in a traditional mindset, have reacted more slowly to the changes that have occurred, digital native media have been better able to engage with audiences and adapt to new distribution platforms. Given this scenario, this article examined the perception of experts in the field of communication and journalism—both journalists and scholars—regarding the approach to journalistic innovation in digital media (N = 11). Specifically, this research sought to identify areas where the need for innovation is perceived to be greater and to determine the pending challenges in this process of digital innovation. To address these purposes, a descriptive qualitative methodology was applied, using the focus group technique. The findings revealed that an audience-centered approach to innovation is proposed to escape technological determinism and respond effectively to the needs and demands of audiences. This perspective requires embracing diversity in content, advocating for new formats and narratives, and adapting to consumption patterns on new platforms. There is a perception of incremental innovation in digital media, focusing on the introduction of small improvements and calling for a slowdown in processes for greater effectiveness. However, the experts noted a lack of pedagogy within organizations, of collaboration with key sectors of the industry, of investment in human capital, of qualitative audience measurement methods, and even of innovation in business models.