A large part of Joanna Geary’s lecture on community at the Times was given to discussing the relationship between a publication and its readership.

Citing Rupert Murdoch’s American Society of Editors Speech in 2005, she said many newspapers have lost touch with their audience and are more concerned with what the story is than who actually wants it.

By asking us to look at our own reasons for wanting to be journalists she challenged us to think about the extent to which we serve an audience.

Journalism is not about satisfying our egos but about listening to what other people want; too often we look down on the audience and think we know better.

It is tempting to seek out things we think are exciting but people should tell us what the action is and we should find out about it for them.

Newspapers need to reflect this ideal with their online presence as much as in their print.

Rather than getting obsessed with analytics, websites should look at how they represent a community of people.

In the case of the times this is made easier for them because their Paywall allows them gain a greater understanding of their audience.

Because they have a greater understanding of their customers’ wants they are able to gear their content towards them specifically.

But the main challenge the Times now faces is to develop interaction with this audience and involve them in a conversation over the future of the brand.