Weekly journalism news update: Virtual reality, WhatsApp audio briefings and TikTok

Every Friday, Journalism.co.uk brings you a round-up of our week’s top stories, giving you all the information you need to know, wherever you are.

Here is the latest journalism news from this week:

Business models: The Telegraph has introduced a twice-daily WhatsApp audio briefing to drive subscriptions amongst the commuter demographic.

By rounding up a combination of paid and free articles using little more than Voice Memos, the publisher has discovered that listeners are 12 times more likely to become paying subscribers as a result. Read more

Storytelling: Having found that traditional reporting on the climate emergency can make readers numb to the numbers, 'climate fiction' offers an alternative way of depicting the scale of the issue and forcing the agenda.

Non-profit magazine High Country News used 'speculative journalism' to paint a potential picture of what the world will look like in 2068, including bankrupt ski slopes and swarms of flies. Read more

Training: Four media organisations in Central and Eastern Europe will benefit from a six-month training programme provided by The Outriders in a bid to promote independence in the region.

Recipients of the Media Garage will gain all sorts of mentorship, from financial strategies to burnout prevention. Read more

Virtual reality: Al Jazeera uses 360 degree video to show the scale of destruction in the Yemeni civil war.

Through accounts of local residents, including three children, the broadcaster takes the viewer right into the heart of the conflict with the technology. Read more

Social media: The Washington Post is one of the few news organisations posting on what seems to be the next big social media force amongst pre-teens - TikTok.

Reporters use the platform to post comedic videos set to music and that has seen the publisher amass just shy of 80,000 followers on the platform. Read more

PR: Amongst the things that cause a journalist to ignore or delete a press release is fluff, cliché wording and bland quotes.

In this week's podcast, we sought the advice of a journalist-turned-publicist who described what journalists look for in a pitch, including a no-nonsense news hook and some topical human insight. Listen now

Digital strategy: The Times has the highest news subscription price in the UK at £26 a month, yet audiences are clearly put off by the price as digital subscriptions grew 19 per cent this year to 300,000. How?

Audiences can try the product for as little as £1 a week during introductory offers. During this time the publisher focuses on getting the reader their money's worth - and 70 per cent stay on for full-price subscription at six times the cost. Read more

Audience engagement: A US-based media group is using text messages to close the gap between reporters and readers - and even journalists from USA Today have given it a go.

Project Text allows the public to subscribe to a local journalist as to keep up with story beats and go behind the scenes of reporting. Doing this has seen an open rate of 90 per cent of stories posted there. Read more

Save the date: Newsrewired takes place on the 27 November at Reuters, London. Head to newsrewired.com for the full agenda and tickets

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