Three frameworks to serve younger audiences

One theme that emerged from the summit was that experiments and targeted efforts to reach younger generations can be helpful as proof-of-concept, but making systemic changes — while necessary to be sustainable — can feel overwhelming.

That’s what publisher and CEO Vandana Kumar encountered when she took stock of India Currents, a publication founded almost 40 years ago to serve first-generation Indian audiences in the U.S. The children of those early readers — the so-called “1.5 generation” and second-gen Indian Americans — aren’t flipping through print magazines or even browsing static websites. They’re forming their identities through fast, visual and deeply personal media.

Their challenge was clear: India Currents could not thrive unless it bridged a 30-plus year-old magazine to 30-plus year-old next-gens in the diaspora. They began a transformation that wasn’t just about digital transition; it was about fostering a vibrant, cross-generational community that speaks in many voices, formats and languages — literal and cultural.

Kumar wrote for API about the concrete steps India Currents took to make the transformation that would prioritize generational solidarity. Below are some of the frameworks she used, which she learned about in the Media Transformation Challenge at the Poynter Institute. You can find her full essay here.

Three frameworks to serve younger audiences

To design meaningful intergenerational collaboration, we had to evolve across three major domains.

1. Mindset shift

We let go of being platform-first and recommitted to being people-first. This meant understanding not just where next-gen readers consume content, but why they do it. We asked: What kinds of stories do they seek out? What language, tone, and format resonates with them? What are their values and fears — and how can we be of service?

2. Tools and experiments

Using a framework we call RAOOI (Resources → Activities → Outputs → Outcomes → Impact), we tested:

• AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Notebook LM and Claude for content generation
• Social-first storytelling formats like carousels, reels and cultural explainers
• Automation tools for content calendars and metrics tracking

These experiments allowed us to design and do — to move quickly from theory to practice without waiting for a perfect strategy.

3. Action

To guide content creation, we held two listening sessions and also gathered data through a survey. We then developed new audience personas using AI — such as The Cultural Synthesizer and The Identity Seeker.

For example, Identity Seekers want quick, trend-reactive posts that help them understand their roots in a digestible format. Cultural Synthesizers thrive on curated deep dives and thoughtful carousels.

These personas helped us better align content with user needs while avoiding the trap of one-size-fits-all storytelling.

What’s possible: A scalable model for solidarity

We’ve seen early wins: Our next-gen audience (ages 18–44) grew from 3,900 to 32,500 – a 733% growth in six months.

If a small BIPOC-led newsroom like ours can reimagine itself as a dynamic cross-generational platform, others can too.

We think this model is highly replicable across community and diaspora media:

• Focus on people, not platforms
• Start with one content property, tailored to a well-researched audience persona
• Use low-cost AI tools to test, iterate and refine content
• Track metrics that align with community-building — not just vanity stats
• Partner with universities and youth organizations to co-create programming

Lessons and actionable takeaways

1. Don’t wait for perfect. Start small, start now. We launched Rooted with just one part-time social media lead and a basic AI-assisted content calendar. The key wasn’t scale — it was starting.

2. Use AI, but stay human. AI helped us with repetitive tasks like summarizing interviews or generating post drafts. But the voice, values and cultural nuance? That still comes from people who care deeply about the community.

3. Don’t assume new means new content. Next-gen engagement didn’t always require new reporting. Repurposing legacy stories through new formats (e.g., archival photos + Gen Z commentary) can drive high engagement with minimal resource lift.

4. Track what matters. Instead of focusing only on impressions and likes, we also tracked who is engaging repeatedly and what content generates comments or shares.

5. Collaborate offline. Nothing builds trust across generations like face-to-face engagement. Our events with SJSU and AAJA have the potential to create lasting connections and give young creators a platform.

6. Rethink your measures of success. Legacy newsrooms often chase traditional KPIs. We shifted our internal focus:

From operational excellence → to product innovation

From static web traffic → to engaged next-gen audiences

From longform excellence → to shortform experimentation

Publish a series of youth-driven pieces on cultural bridging

Vandana Kumar is the publisher and CEO of India Currents, the leading digital platform for Indian Americans, which she co-founded in 1987. She has received multiple honors for her leadership in ethnic media, including the Asian American Hero Award and the AAJA Community Impact Award. Vandana also serves on the Board of the California News Publishers Association and is a Knight Fellow focused on innovation in journalism.