SELECTED WORK / 001 — AUDIENCE STRATEGY
The audience was telling us something. We just had to listen.
How an unexpected spike in audience interest became a proactive content strategy.
01 / THE OPPORTUNITY
The opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Sometimes the most interesting opportunities begin with a question: Why is this happening now?
At CNN, I noticed an unexpected increase in traffic to older true crime stories. The catalyst wasn't something we'd published. It was the release of a documentary about a case we'd covered years earlier.
People were watching the documentary, becoming curious about the case, and searching for more information.
That raised a bigger question: If we could identify these moments before they happened, could we create more relevant content, serve those audiences better, and keep them engaged longer?
I saw an opportunity to move from reacting to audience interest to anticipating it.
02 / THE APPROACH
From observation to strategy.
I approached the challenge from two directions: understanding what was driving the audience's behavior and figuring out how to act on that information earlier.
First, anticipate the moment.
I developed a proactive research process using AI-assisted tools to identify upcoming true crime documentaries and film releases, along with cold cases that could present future editorial opportunities.
Rather than waiting for a traffic spike, we could anticipate when an audience might be looking for information and plan relevant coverage in advance.
Then, make the most of their interest.
Recognizing that someone interested in one true crime story might want to explore others, I initiated an idea to improve content recommendations and partnered with Product and SEO colleagues to bring it to life.
Together, we developed a tagging and recommendation approach that made it easier for readers to discover additional stories aligned with their interests.
As part of the same broader initiative, I also collaborated with Product on audience focus groups to better understand what true crime readers valued and how we could serve them more effectively.
The goal wasn't simply to attract more traffic. It was to build a better experience around a demonstrated audience interest.
03 / THE IMPACT
Turning insight into impact.
- A substantial increase in audience recirculation through improved content discovery.
- A more forward-looking editorial workflow that helped anticipate opportunities rather than react to them.
- Deeper audience understanding through qualitative focus-group research with Product.
What began as an observation about a single documentary became a more systematic way to identify opportunities, develop content, and connect readers with stories they wanted to explore.
04 / THE TAKEAWAY
Curiosity is only the beginning.
The most useful audience insights aren't always found in a formal report. Sometimes they appear as an unexpected pattern that makes you stop and ask why.
This project reinforced something I believe strongly: good strategy starts with curiosity, but it only creates value when you connect the insight to action.
By combining audience behavior, emerging trends, editorial judgment, and cross-functional collaboration, we turned a reactive moment into a repeatable approach.
And that, to me, is where storytelling and strategy become most powerful: not simply understanding what people care about, but recognizing what they might care about next.