ABSTRACT
Web analytics is embedded in journalistic routines, but its impact on news production is neither direct nor automatic. Indeed, studies have argued that journalists usually normalize new technologies, using new tools in ways that fit their existing routines, instead of transforming their routines around new affordances. The constant supply of different forms of audience feedback into the newsroom has created additional tasks for journalists. The use of web analytics for management purposes, such as to reward journalists whose articles do well in terms of audience metrics, also has implications for how individual journalists make sense of their own work. A desk editor working at an online-only news outlet in Hong Kong said web analytics has also affected how journalists select news sources to interview. The organization plays a crucial role in the adoption and adaption of web analytics in the newsroom. Web analytics is also changing the relationship between journalists and their publics, such as audiences and advertisers.
