“Call it clickbait” Sensible metrics for digital newsrooms

–Trinity Mirror job description

“Your performance will be assessed regularly, taking into account audience traffic to your stories and therefore encompassing page

views, unique users, local audience and other metrics.  You will be expected to grow your

page views and uniques in line with the growth we require as a business”

–Roy Greenslade

“Individual targets will be set for journalists in terms of attracting readers online. Call them

clickbait payments!”

–David Higgerson

“Journalism has changed. It can’t just be about shouting for attention. Readers expect to be

listened to, and their views taken into account. The right use of audience data enables that to

happen every day.”

Hits

How idiots track success

So…

–Kevin Anderson

“Just this week, I pointed out to one of my staff that her story wasn’t just getting a lot of views or

clicks, but that it also was having higher than average engagement. People were spending

time with her story.”

Attention?

–Mary Hamilton

“Time does not require attention: I can have several browser tabs open and also be making

a cup of tea elsewhere.”

–Wolfgang Blau

“Beyond that lack of data literacy, though, where do you take this certainty from that

journalists should be kept in the dark regarding their readers’ behaviour, interest in and

interaction with their journalistic work? Why would you keep belittling journalists like that?”

Measure

Measure or Inform?

Inform

Test/learn cyclesIdea

TestLearn

– Me

“Analytics are the beginning of wisdom, not the end of it.”

–Caitlin Petre

“For writers, a metrics-driven culture can be simultaneously a source of stress and

reassurance. It is also surprisingly compatible with a perception of editorial freedom.”

Adam Tinworth@adders

http://www.onemanandhisblog.com

adam@onemanandhisblog.com