Metrics at Work: Journalism and the Contested Meaning of Algorithms

by Angele Christin

Overview

The starkly different ways that American and French online news companies respond to audience analytics and what this means for the future of news

When the news moved online, journalists suddenly learned what their audiences actually liked, through algorithmic technologies that scrutinize web traffic and activity. Has this advent of audience metrics changed journalists’ work practices and professional identities? In Metrics at Work, Angèle Christin documents the ways that journalists grapple with audience data in the form of clicks, and analyzes how new forms of clickbait journalism travel across national borders.

Drawing on four years of fieldwork in web newsrooms in the United States and France, including more than one hundred interviews with journalists, Christin reveals many similarities among the media groups examined—their editorial goals, technological tools, and even office furniture. Yet she uncovers crucial and paradoxical differences in how American and French journalists understand audience analytics and how these affect the news produced in each country. American journalists routinely disregard traffic numbers and primarily rely on the opinion of their peers to define journalistic quality. Meanwhile, French journalists fixate on internet traffic and view these numbers as a sign of their resonance in the public sphere. Christin offers cultural and historical explanations for these disparities, arguing that distinct journalistic traditions structure how journalists make sense of digital measurements in the two countries.

Contrary to the popular belief that analytics and algorithms are globally homogenizing forces, Metrics at Work shows that computational technologies can have surprisingly divergent ramifications for work and organizations worldwide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691175232
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Angèle Christin is assistant professor of communication and, by courtesy, of sociology at Stanford University. Website www.angelechristin.com Twitter @AngeleChristin

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Prologue xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 From Circulation Numbers to Web Analytics: Journalists and Their Readers in the United States and France 15

Chapter 2 Utopian Beginnings: A Tale of Two Websites 36

Chapter 3 Entering the Chase for Clicks: Transatlantic Convergences 54

Chapter 4 The Multiple Meanings of Clicks: Journalists and Algorithmic Publics 75

Chapter 5 The Fast and the Slow: Producing Online News in Real Time 102

Chapter 6 Between Exposure and Unpaid Work: Compensation and Freelance Careers 125

Conclusion 152

Appendix: A Fly on the Screen? Behind the Scenes in the (Digital) Field 163

Notes 179

Bibliography 221

Index 247

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An illuminating journey into the making of digital news, Metrics at Work shows how the subtle nudges of clicks and page views can upend a century of journalistic practice. Christin provides nuance to the complexity underneath the transformation of the news ecosystem, helping readers appreciate the contradictory incentives and everyday practices that shape what information we read."—danah boyd, author of It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

"Metrics at Work offers unique and persuasive insights into the inner workings of online journalism in dramatically shifting technological times. The book vividly explains journalists’ struggles in creating clickable news while remaining committed to their profession. An extremely timely read in light of the spread of fake news and the tectonic changes journalists are dealing with."—Michel Anteby, author of Manufacturing Morals: The Values of Silence in Business School Education

"Comparing digital news websites in the United States and France, Metrics at Work shows that technological convergence (the adoption of similar audience algorithmic metrics) does not lead to uniform attitudes toward these technologies. Christin writes beautifully and her interviews and observations enliven the narrative and analysis. This strong book will generate lively debate."—Rodney Benson, author of Shaping Immigration News: A French-American Comparison

Editorial Reviews

Metrics at Work offers unique and persuasive insights into the inner workings of online journalism in dramatically shifting technological times. The book vividly explains journalists' struggles in creating clickable news while remaining committed to their profession. An extremely timely read in light of the spread of fake news and the tectonic changes journalists are dealing with.--Michel Anteby, author of Manufacturing Morals: The Values of Silence in Business School Education

An illuminating journey into the making of digital news, Metrics at Work shows how the subtle nudges of clicks and page views can upend a century of journalistic practice. Christin provides nuance to the complexity underneath the transformation of the news ecosystem, helping readers appreciate the contradictory incentives and everyday practices that shape what information we read.--danah boyd, author of It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

Comparing digital news websites in the United States and France, Metrics at Work shows that technological convergence (the adoption of similar audience algorithmic metrics) does not lead to uniform attitudes toward these technologies. Christin writes beautifully and her interviews and observations enliven the narrative and analysis. This strong book will generate lively debate.--Rodney Benson, author of Shaping Immigration News: A French-American Comparison

From the Publisher