ABSTRACT
At the turn of the 21st century, as news organizations were beginning to feel the economic consequences of a world leaning more frequently into the internet for its daily fill of information, the drumbeat for a more engaged news experience grew louder. The statement also highlighted a tension as it suggested that journalism would come to rely on bloggers and evolving audiences for its survival. Some organizations tinkered with new forms of content delivery with moderate success, creating digital sandboxes in attempts to appease audiences while keeping them at bay. Journalists must then at once humanize their interactions with audiences while incorporating analytics and their metrics to shape their understanding of audience behaviors. Analytics and their metrics are part of the rationalization of audiences and, at least in part, the rise of an audience-centered focus in journalism.
