Major events offer an opportunity where publishers can anticipate a surge in audience attention. Elections, severe weather, breaking news, and major sporting or cultural events send readers searching for timely information. But those events also intensify competition among national and regional news organizations, broadcasters, social platforms and creators.

In a crowded news environment, distinctive access, expertise, and editorial voice give audiences a reason to choose one publisher’s coverage over another. For media companies, the opportunity is to identify the stories where local access, subject expertise, or community knowledge creates a genuine advantage and then build an experience that audiences cannot get elsewhere.

The Baltimore Banner offers a compelling case study. Launched in 2022 as a nonprofit, digital-first newsroom, it reached 63,000 paid subscribers and earned a Pulitzer Prize within its first three years. Live coverage has become part of its strategy for drawing audiences deeper into its journalism.

In a recent conversation with leaders from The Baltimore Banner, Tickaroo and Arc XP, we explored how publishers can choose the moments where their strengths stand apart.

Start with the coverage you can own

For The Banner, the strongest opportunities are often events where its Maryland expertise gives it something distinctive to offer, rather than national stories where it would compete largely on speed.

The Preakness Stakes is one example. The Banner combined reporting, video, photography and commentary from journalists on site, including perspectives readers could not get from a basic feed of race results. As Nicole Orders, SVP of product at The Baltimore Banner, explained, the strategy is to identify “moments that are uniquely part of Maryland where we have the ability to sort of own that coverage.”

The same principle guided its coverage after Luigi Mangione was arrested in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. His Baltimore ties gave The Banner reporting opportunities many national outlets did not have, so it ran a live blog for three days alongside additional stories.

Not every locally connected story requires a live blog. The decision should begin with comparative advantage: Where can local sources, institutional knowledge or proximity add something meaningful? The format follows from that editorial judgment.

Prepare to make the advantage visible

Local expertise must translate into a coherent reader experience. Ahead of Maryland’s primary election, Breaking News Editor Eileen Holliday trained roughly 50 newsroom employees to contribute text, photos and video.

For the Preakness, Holliday loaded previously published reporting into the live blog so early readers had useful context and links to explore. Her rule is simple: “I don’t like to launch a live blog with no content in it.” Existing reporting makes the experience useful immediately while showcasing the newsroom’s depth.

Once an event begins, Holliday acts as the live blog “captain,” deciding what to pin, when to change headlines or images and when developments deserve separate stories. Someone needs to manage the overall reader experience, not simply coordinate contributions.

Extend the advantage across the audience journey

Distinctive coverage becomes more valuable when publishers connect it to the entire lifecycle of an event. During Maryland’s primary, The Banner paired its live blog with an earlier voter guide and a live results experience. The combination produced what Orders described as “record breaking conversions,” as well as record page views.

Publishers can map what readers will seek beforehand, what deserves real-time coverage and what questions will remain afterward. Editors also need to recognize when an update should become a standalone story or an event no longer justifies a live format. At that point, Holliday said, “the live blog has done its part,” but audience interest has not necessarily ended.

Use voice and transparency to stand apart

Audiences following major events move among news sites, social platforms, television, creators and group chats. A recognizable editorial voice can give them a reason to return. Orders said The Banner can be “a little edgier, a little more risk taking” than some legacy outlets. Holliday also pushes reporters to add context, voices, photos and video so the experience feels like reporting from the scene rather than a chronological list of updates.

Transparency matters too, particularly when facts are still emerging. Publishers can strengthen credibility by telling readers whether an update is confirmed, based on a social report or still developing. Giving reporters recognizable voices and areas of expertise can help turn an event-driven visit into an ongoing relationship with the newsroom.

Measure whether distinctiveness produces loyalty

Traffic shows how many readers arrived, but not whether the coverage gave them a reason to stay or return. Orders uses average engaged time to gauge whether readers remain with the live experience. Holliday monitors recirculation and adds links to related stories that are gaining traction. Along with repeat visits and subscription conversions, these signals reveal whether interest in an event is developing into a lasting relationship with the publisher.

These measures show whether a surge in attention became something more durable. Every publisher has particular strengths, whether they come from subject matter expertise, trusted journalists, distinctive formats and, above all, a deep understanding of its audience. The opportunity is to recognize the moments when those strengths matter most and build coverage around them. That gives readers a reason to stay, return and choose that publisher when the next major story develops.