The Traffic Factories: Metrics at Chartbeat, Gawker Media, and The New York Times

This project featured an ethnographic study of the role of metrics in contemporary news via three case studies (Chartbeat, Gawker Media, The New York Times) to evaluate the assumptions and values that underlie audience measures, the effects of metrics on journalists, how metrics interact with organizations’ culture, and how metrics are utilized by companies. The report found that traffic-based rankings can drown out other forms of evaluation and can exert a powerful influence over journalists’ emotions and morale. Additionally, the report outlines how news organizations can benefit from big-picture, strategic thinking about analytics and selecting analytics services.

Project lead: Caitlin Petre

May 07, 2015