Trailblazing on TikTok

Developing a successful strategy for storytelling on the social media platform TikTok can help tackle the challenge of news avoidance, particularly among younger audiences. That’s the view of a senior news leader at the Canadian Public Broadcaster, CBC, which has recently passed the milestone of one million subscribers on the video sharing platform.

In the new episode of the Making the Media Podcast, Irene Thomaidis, who is the acting managing editor of digital publishing for CBC News, talks about how they have grown on the platform since launching in 2022. She says that being authentic on the platform has been critical to their success.

In the episode, Irene says, “We know that there's news avoidance in all age groups. We hear about this all the time, and it's been growing over the years. And we want to bring people back in, but in a way that is accessible to them and in a way that is welcoming to them. And so, I don't think it's welcoming to be this voice of authority sort of talking down. But again, going on this learning journey with them and saying, ‘Hey, yeah, we're also interested in that. Did you know this and how about that?’ And, you know, things that make you think, but in a way that's not dumbed down—it's just more accessible.”

Irene also says that the platform has helped CBC overall develop new storytelling methods featuring vertical video, which has also been useful on other platforms. She highlights the value of using the digital space as a forum for a conversation with audiences, and that giving a behind-the-scenes view of how they gather news and construct stories is helping build trust at a time where faith in the media is under pressure.

She tells host Craig Wilson, “We really want to develop our audience's critical thinking skills and, you know, gain an appreciation for the work that we do. We've done stories where we talk about how, at the CBC, our rules include first-hand identification of sources or double sourcing and the value that that brings to a story. And it's fed in, not as a lecture, but in a way, again, it's more transparent, like ‘This is how we got the story, and this is the stuff we do to get the story,’ and we see it in the comments automatically. There's a definite appreciation for seeing the behind-the-scenes and seeing what makes a true story versus what does not.”

Find out more in the new episode of the Making the Media Podcast, available on all major podcast platforms on Friday, January 24.