ABSTRACT
There's a large group of people without whom journalists would not have jobs. They are the audience, and their decisions about what paper or magazine to buy, and what station to select or site to browse, determine what publications, programs and sites survive. In order to capture audience attention, journalists need to know what their audiences want and need. News organisations rely on statistical data to give them an overview of audience numbers. Audience research is enormously important in today's media. It can influence the stories the media choose to pursue. Audience interaction via social media and via the 'comments' option on news websites means that a process that was once mainly a private exchange between the audience and media outlet is now largely a public one. Maintaining and increasing audience numbers is generally of primary concern to editors and circulation managers or program directors, rather than to the foot soldiers of journalism.
