From Letters to Numbers: How Audience Quantification Affects News Construction

• In Event: The Datafication of Journalism

Abstract

The datafication of journalism is also increasing the influence of the audience on news construction. This is specifically facilitated by web analytics programs which have become embedded in online newsrooms around the world. Web analytics tracks, records, and analyzes audience behavior online, providing journalists with real-time data about their actual audiences. Such easy and immediate access to a wealth of audience data affects not only routine editorial decisions, such as story placement or subsequent coverage, but also journalists’ perceptions and beliefs. This paper brings together findings from three surveys in the United States that investigated the effect of audience metrics on journalists' role conceptions (2013; N = 114 news managers), their definitions of news quality (2013; N = 206 online editors), and their perceptions of their audiences (2015; N = 360 online journalists). These findings demonstrate that the impact of audience quantification goes beyond journalistic outputs and penetrates not just journalistic processes but also journalists’ norms and values, which can exert long-term effects in the field of journalism.

Author

• Edson Tandoc, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological U