How ABC Turned Live Blogs into an Audience Retention Engine

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Today’s keyword is “audience engagement strategy”. A recent survey conducted by The Rebooting found that media organizations are making decisive shifts towards audience engagement, making this a top priority in 2025 – even outpacing AI integrationa by more than 2x. The message is clear: publishers are responding to the transformation in how audiences find and interact with news content as traditional traffic referral channels like search and social media are on a continuous decline.

And while news organizations everywhere are racing to hold onto readers’ attention, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has found an unlikely hero in its newsroom arsenal: the live blog. We’re not highlighting this just because we happen to power ABC’s live-blogging platform—we’re celebrating the strategic, thoughtful way their team uses the format. From editorial to product, their alignment and execution showcase how to turn a simple tool into a powerful audience engine.

Far from being a relic of early digital news days, ABC’s live-blogging strategy has become a core part of its editorial and product output—one that drives significant audience retention, fosters community engagement, and even boosts traffic metrics.

During a recent Online News Association (ONA) webinar session, Peter Marsh of ABC and Emily Olson of the Associated Press offered a deep dive into how live blogs have evolved from rapid-fire news updates into dynamic, audience-centered storytelling platforms. Their insights showed how something as simple as a timestamped post can transform into a trusted touchpoint for readers—if done right.

Live Blogs: From Utility to Strategy

ABC’s embrace of live blogs started with a simple truth: they consistently outperform expectations.

“Live blogs are no longer just about speed. They’re about retention,” Marsh said. “They keep readers on-platform. They invite them back. They build habits.”

That shift in focus—from acquisition to retention—has transformed how ABC commissions and structures its live coverage.

For example, the ABC’s daily business blog has become a habit-forming destination for economically engaged readers. Open every weekday morning, it covers the local stock market and global financial movements in real time. It’s not flashy, but it’s repeat traffic gold—and has even become ABC’s most-read content on Sundays during major economic news cycles.

Comparing that to the fleeting spike of a viral social post, it is understandable why ABC is heavily investing in this format.

Five Key Elements of ABC’s Live Blog Success

1. Tone: Conversational and Human

ABC reporters are trained to ditch the inverted pyramid voice when they blog. Instead, they’re encouraged to write like they’re talking to a neighbor over a backyard BBQ. This conversational tone isn’t just a stylistic quirk—it’s core to why audiences stick around.

“A Peter Marsh blog post shouldn’t sound like an Emily Olson blog post,” Olson said. “That individuality helps build a relationship between journalist and reader.”

This is especially effective with younger audiences, who prioritize authenticity over authority. In an age of Substacks and TikToks, personality matters—and live blogs allow it to shine within the editorial brand.

ABC also empowers journalists to show their process in real time: acknowledging what they don’t yet know, teasing what they’re investigating, and even inviting the audience to weigh in. It mirrors the best of Twitter threads—without giving that value to a third party.

2. Audience Interaction: Low-Friction and Real-Time

One of the most compelling audience engagement innovations at ABC has been the introduction of reactions—emoji-style responses that allow readers to quickly interact with a live blog post without writing a full comment.

As Peter Marsh explained, this feature was born out of a practical insight: while comment sections can be rich with engagement, not everyone wants to—or feels comfortable—posting publicly. Reactions, by contrast, are low-effort, emotionally intuitive, and draw from behaviors audiences already know from social platforms like Instagram, Slack, or Facebook.

“Our data showed that readers who commented on live blogs stayed significantly longer than those who didn’t,” Marsh said. “But comments require effort—and sometimes a login. So we asked, how do we bring more people into the fold?”

The answer was simple but effective: give audiences an easy, one-tap way to express how a post made them feel—whether surprised, informed, concerned, or amused. ABC launched the feature with a carefully curated set of neutral yet expressive icons, such as “Wow,” “Interesting,” “Helpful,” and “Tell Me More.”

But reactions weren’t just about warm fuzzies—they were also about editorial responsibility.

Live blogs at ABC are designed with built-in feedback loops:

• Audience comments are actively solicited and moderated.
• Emoji-style reactions allow shy readers to interact with a single tap.
• Polls and Q&As with third-party embeds allow the newsroom to source reader questions and steer coverage accordingly.

Marsh shared how a silly debate between Australian readers and American journalists over what constitutes a “biscuit” led to weeks of recurring engagement—and comments outpacing hard news updates during an election.

Built-In Guardrails: ABC’s Policy on Reactions

As a public broadcaster, ABC operates under strict impartiality guidelines. That meant not all reactions were fair game. The editorial team worked closely with their product and standards teams to ensure the feature would enhance audience engagement without signaling bias or turning coverage into a popularity contest.

“We didn’t want reactions that felt like ‘likes’ or endorsements, especially on sensitive stories,” Marsh noted. “So we developed a set that was expressive, but not politicized.”

Additionally, ABC introduced a default-on policy for reactions, encouraging reporters and editors to use them by default—but with the option to disable them on particularly sensitive stories (e.g. coverage of tragedies, legal proceedings, or political debates). The choice sits directly in the CMS via a simple checkbox, making it easy for journalists to adjust on the fly.

The result? A feature that adds energy and interactivity to the live blog experience—without compromising editorial integrity.

“The reactions light up during big moments—especially in sports coverage,” Marsh said. “It’s like giving people a way to cheer along, silently.”

One standout example came during the Women’s World Cup, where the live blog lit up with thousands of reactions as fans followed Australia’s Matildas through their historic run. In moments of celebration, tension, or heartbreak, the reactions created a shared sense of presence, even among readers sitting alone at home.

The takeaway: small moments matter. Letting the audience “take the wheel,” even briefly, builds loyalty and a sense of ownership.

3. Feature-Rich Experience

ABC has invested in multimedia-first blogging that replicates the “second screen” experience of following a sports game or TV finale on social media. That includes:

• Embedded video clips
• Auto-refreshing tickers
• Maps, interactives, and infographics
• Screenshots and social embeds for visual context

“We’re not just telling the story. We’re showing how it’s unfolding in real time,” explains Marsh.

For example, during a cyclone near Brisbane, ABC’s blog had up to 9 journalists contributing simultaneously: one filing live updates, one verifying information, another handling visuals, and one answering audience comments. The scale matched the moment—and so did the traffic.

Another way ABC and other forward-thinking newsrooms are enhancing the live blog experience is by embedding interactive tools that go beyond text and reaction. These features—like the Associated Press’s wildfire tracker or The New York Times’s live hurricane forecasts—aren’t just bells and whistles. They provide real-time, decision-making context for readers navigating complex, high-stakes events.

By surfacing tools like maps, timelines, live data feeds, or explainers within the live blog, newsrooms can turn a stream of updates into an interactive hub—a one-stop shop for ongoing coverage. If embedding isn’t possible, Marsh recommended thinking ahead: what companion tools or resources should be linked or promoted in key posts so that readers coming in from search or social (who might not see the homepage) still find everything they need?

“A big portion of your blog readers are coming in sideways,” Marsh noted. “They’re not starting from your front door—they’re walking in through the side window. It’s your job to make sure they don’t miss the best parts of the house.”

In other words, don’t assume readers are seeing everything you publish. Smart use of interactives not only delivers more value in the moment—it also reinforces your outlet as a trusted, resource-rich guide when the news is moving fast.

4. Consistency: Building Returning Reader Habits

Live blogs aren’t just for breaking news. ABC and NPR have both used them to establish routine publishing rhythms, building up to media retention

• ABC’s daily business blog hits the same time every morning.
• NPR ran a live Q&A around student loan forgiveness, knowing readers needed actionable help more than headlines.
• The Guardian’s Andrew Sparrow has hosted a UK politics blog every weekday since 2010—a move that now delivers 10,000+ comments daily and drives deep loyalty.

“You wouldn’t run a show without a regular airtime,” Olson said. “The same logic applies to live blogs.”

This consistency helps turn blogs into destination products, not just content vehicles. And because they’re branded experiences, outlets like The Guardian now optimize their live blog headlines and metadata for SEO—including the host’s name.

5. Business Value: Metrics That Matter

For all their editorial flexibility and creative energy, live blogs also deliver hard results. At ABC and AP, they’re not just experiments—they’re high-performing products that rival, and often outperform, traditional article coverage on key engagement metrics.

• Higher Frequency of Visits

ABC has seen audiences return to a single live blog 4 to 6 times per session, especially during major cultural, political, or weather events.

• Longer Time on Page

Live blogs with real-time elements—such as Q&As, conversational tone, and reader reactions—consistently drive longer dwell times. Marsh pointed out that blogs with integrated emoji-style reactions keep users reading, scrolling, and returning. In some cases, blogs with this functionality outperform standard article formats by a wide margin in terms of time spent.

• Search Traffic & Shelf-Life

At the Associated Press, Olson shared how their topic-driven Q&A blogs—especially around consumer issues like student loans—delivered massive search traffic. In one case, the blog performed so well in SEO rankings that AP had to de-index it months later to prevent outdated information from resurfacing via Google. That long tail of engagement means one well-timed live blog can generate value far beyond its initial publishing window.

• Big Moments, Big Numbers

Live blogs also scale to meet the moment. ABC’s live coverage of Australia’s “Hottest 100” music countdown brought in nearly 1 million pageviews, showing the format’s strength not just for hard news, but for cultural moments as well. In other words, live blogs work whether your audience is there to grieve, vote, or vibe.

• Repeat Use Builds Loyalty

Recurring live blogs have become go-to products at ABC. Their daily business blog—covering Australian markets in real time—has become one of the most-read pieces of content across the site. Another example can be found at The Guardian, where political reporter Andrew Sparrow’s weekday live blog on UK politics routinely draws 10,000+ reader comments per day, cultivating a deeply invested audience. And crucially, they keep the audience on your site—not bouncing off to Reddit or Twitter for follow-up or discussion.

How to Get Editorial Buy-In For A Live Blog Strategy

Olson, who built the AP’s live blog strategy from scratch, shared a few practical takeaways for getting colleagues and editors onboard:

Start Small: Don’t launch with a full-blown hosted Q&A. Try adding a reaction tool. Or use a simple audience question form and insert those responses into a breaking news blog.

“My first win at AP was a question box in the daily politics blog,” Olson shared. “It worked—and then we had something to build from.”

Speak Their Language: When pitching, answer these four questions up front.

1. How does this align with our mission?
2. What audience are we targeting?
3. What resources are needed—and what’s optional?
4. How will we measure success?

Build a Coalition of the Willing. Not every reporter is ready to blog. That’s okay. Identify your “audience-first” colleagues—the ones active on social, confident with voice, and collaborative—and start there.

“It’s journalism as a team sport,” Olson said.

Final Thought: Live Blogs as the New Town Square

As social media becomes less reliable for news distribution and more audiences look for direct, meaningful connections with journalists, live blogs are uniquely positioned to fill the gap and contribute to media subscriber retention’s efforts. ABC’s success proves that live blogs aren’t just for breaking news anymore. Rather, they’re a newsroom-wide strategy for engagement, community-building, and resilience.

“Live blogs replicate the energy of social media—but you own the platform,” said Olson.

It’s a shift from being just fast to being trusted, useful, and habit-forming.

And in 2025, that’s a format worth investing in.

Find out more about our live-blogging platform, Live Center.