More community: the future depends on the relationship with the reader

Fewer clicks, more community: the future of journalism depends on the relationship with the reader.

Journalism is undergoing a paradigm shift: moving away from the mass pursuit of clicks to build deep and sustainable relationships with audiences. This was the focus of the panel “From Reach to Relationship: The New Stage of Growth in Media,” moderated by Mariana Belloso, project manager at the IAPA, and featuring Delano Massey, Managing Editor of Axios Local, and Armando Castilla, Director of Vanguardia.

Axios Local: “Reach is rented, relationships are owned”

Delano Massey began his remarks by presenting a fundamental premise for modern journalism: success does not lie in “winning the internet,” but in joining the conversations people are already having. After leaving CNN in 2022 to seek answers about the future of local journalism, Massey implemented at Axios Local a model based on “Smart Brevity” through five strategic pillars:

Build habits, not clicks: The main product is the newsletter, which enables a direct relationship without dependence on algorithms.
Respect the reader’s time: Brevity is not about writing less, but about providing clarity and structure (key points, bold text, context) for overwhelmed readers.
Cover conversations, not categories: Instead of traditional sections, Axios focuses on daily utility (housing, transportation, local culture) and what Massey calls the “LeBron Rule”: covering what the community is actually talking about.
AI to empower journalists: Axios uses artificial intelligence to refine texts, conduct research, and identify inefficiencies, but never to replace reporters.
Relationships as a growth strategy: The goal is not to reach more people, but to be relevant enough for readers to return.

Vanguardia and the birth of Vera

For his part, Armando Castilla presented Vera, Vanguardia’s new digital subscription initiative, born after years of learning and mistakes with traditional models. Castilla explained that although previous experiments showed that audiences were willing to pay, there were structural barriers that prevented the success of a generic paywall.

Castilla identified three key barriers: editorial (lack of a clear value proposition), technological (an unsustainable and costly chain of providers), and decision-making (constant rework due to the absence of a unified product vision).

To overcome these obstacles, Vanguardia created Vera, a product defined by three concepts: “It is read, it is listened to, it is asked.”

Curation: Instead of hundreds of articles, it offers only six intentional stories per day (morning, midday, and closing) to avoid visual noise.
Own technology: Using AI agents, the team built its own technological ecosystem, drastically reducing costs and eliminating dependence on third parties.
Interaction: It includes an “AI copilot” within each article to answer questions, summarize, or verify information in real time.

The future growth of media will not come from reaching more people, but from deepening the bond with those already present.