The news industry is withering away. You know that. I know that. We worry, talk and write about it a lot. Between 2014 and 2024 global newspaper revenues declined by 29 per cent and although some studies indicate modest growth over the next five years, the future of news is being called into question.

Cocooned in info-bubbles, audiences, especially younger ones, are deserting news media and traditional platforms in their droves, disappearing into a black hole of proliferating disinformation-saturated social media and chatbot nets. We forensically analyse the reasons and unmet needs that drive audiences’ avoidance of news and seek remedies that include more positive news angles, anchored in offering solutions, more explainers and more audience-relevant news on as many platforms as resources allow.

All these lenses logically assessing audience (dis)engagement are important, but they fail to include arguably the most important element that lies at........

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