All the News That’s Fit to Click: How Metrics Are Transforming the Work of Journalists

by Caitlin Petre

From the New York Times to Gawker, a behind-the-scenes look at how performance analytics are transforming journalism today--and how they might remake other professions tomorrow



Journalists today are inundated with data about which stories attract the most clicks, likes, comments, and shares. These metrics influence what stories are written, how news is promoted, and even which journalists get hired and fired. Do metrics make journalists more accountable to the public? Or are these data tools the contemporary equivalent of a stopwatch wielded by a factory boss, worsening newsroom working conditions and journalism quality? In All the News That's Fit to Click, Caitlin Petre takes readers behind the scenes at the New York Times, Gawker, and the prominent news analytics company Chartbeat to explore how performance metrics are transforming the work of journalism.

Petre describes how digital metrics are a powerful but insidious new form of managerial surveillance and discipline. Real-time analytics tools are designed to win the trust and loyalty of wary journalists by mimicking key features of addictive games, including immersive displays, instant feedback, and constantly updated "scores" and rankings. Many journalists get hooked on metrics--and pressure themselves to work ever harder to boost their numbers.

Yet this is not a simple story of managerial domination. Contrary to the typical perception of metrics as inevitably disempowering, Petre shows how some journalists leverage metrics to their advantage, using them to advocate for their professional worth and autonomy.

An eye-opening account of data-driven journalism, All the News That's Fit to Click is also an important preview of how the metrics revolution may transform other professions.

Genres: Journalism, Nonfiction

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2021

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book read and was written like a textbook. The only difference was the cover was enticing and playful to a layman’s eye. I’m sure all of the author’s students will be required to purchase this book or any of its future editions.

The question that was and continues to be applicable, even outside the world of journalism, is how to ensure the right people are appointed with the authority to interpret and explain certain data? If the revocation of the Chevron Doctrine is any indicator, only judges have that power…not experts in their craft. That’s bad for everyone…except lawyers…

[Ivy Digest · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a decade late with research from 2011 and the disruption and fallout of newspapers until 2016. Caitlin delves into how the media like the New York Times adapted and transitioned online to retain readership. But it's old news now.

A shame that it didn't come out when it mattered because of the author's hard work. Algorithms morph so fast in real time that any article about data should be timely to be relevant. Otherwise, this is just a sliver of history since all subjects tackled here have moved on and evolved.
@IvyDigest

[Kendell Timmers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry and academic, and in some places seemed really wrongheaded about the use of metrics (the going-in theory seemed to be that metrics could only be used to exploit journalists and “trick” them into working more) - it still had some interesting insights into the stuff I do every day!

[Ajay Solanky · Rating 5 out of 5]

All The News That's Fit To Click is a fantastic study of how newsrooms have been impacted by the introduction of high(ish) fidelity metrics into the field of journalism.

Petre skillfully traces the (d)evolution of news media from its heyday in the mid-twentieth century, when papers were buoyed by luxuriously large profit margins to the current day, in which those margins have nearly disappeared altogether.

The resultant effect has been to dissolve the longstanding wall that once divided the arenas of journalism and advertising/monetizaion. Not only is the commercial viability of professional journalism in jeopardy, the integrity of journalistic principles is beginning to be compromised by the need to serve the interests of advertisers. Given its current trajectory, journalism may not stand as the fourth estate of democracy for much longer.

Petre also uses the field of journalism as a case study to investigate the broader implications of the introduction of metrics-driven management into "knowledge work" fields. She sprinkles in doses of philosophy from Max Weber and Michel Foucault to make the argument that "rationalization" in the field of journalism has engendered a state of "governmentality" within some newsrooms, or in other words, the self-exploitation of labor. The degree to which that is true varies from organization to organization, and she uses the newsrooms of The New York Times and Gawker to make her case.

There was a lot to unpack in this book, and it's a must-read for anyone truly invested in the state of journalism today (which, arguably, should be everyone).

On the flip side, one could argue that since the news industry has been evolving so rapidly in recent years, a lot of information in this book is obsolete. I don't think that's the case -- I think the study was actually performed at the perfect time: the liminal stage of news media's transformation from a pre-metrics to post-metrics world.

[Madis Must(s) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mjaa, veebiajakirjandus ja lugejanumbrid.

Erksaim mälestus, kui üks ülemusi pani Tallinna toimetuses eraldi ekraanile veebitoimetajate silme ette selle pagana pideva Chartbeati graafiku, mis näitas, palju on praegusel hetkel lehel lugejaid.

Ebavajalik stress. Muidugi pakkus teatud rahuldust, kui numbrid sai mõneks ajaks kõrgele. Mänguline kogemus, täpselt nagu Chartbeati loonud meeskond soovis, nagu ka sellest raamatust võib lugeda. Aga no pagan, mõistlikum on vähemasti siis nädala lõikes vaadata, mitte põdeda, kui mõnel päikesepaistelisel hommikutunnil on number madal.

Hiljem see ekraan toimetuse nurgast kaotati, aga üldiselt oligi seal töötamise ajal võimatu aru saada, kas peamiselt oodati veebitoimetajalt a) võimalikult palju klikke, b) võimalikult hästi müüvaid lugusid, c) pidevalt täienevat uudisvoogu või d) kvaliteetseid lugusid.

Oodati ilma selget prioriteeti sõnastamata kõike, aga samas kõike korraga ma ei soostunud andma.

Raamat kena, etnograafiline.

[April Helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delves into the impact of metrics and algorithms on the news media. The bulk of this, according to the author, was written nearly a decade ago, so this serves as an interesting time capsule into the earlier days of following metrics and the guesswork into what would get the clicks. Naturally some of this is dated, but that's to be expected. Of course, several years later the questions this book asks have more or less been answered. Still, it's worth a read- Petre goes into not just the impact of the numbers but in how newsrooms function, for better and for worse.

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so fascinating! I read an excerpt for class but mentioned to my professor that I was considering buying the book, which he ended up lending me. While it is quite outdated, as many other commenters have pointed out, it still brings many topics to light in its analysis of metrics. Personally, I found most interesting the discussions about autonomy, withholding metrics, and higher rates of worker exploitation in connection to analytics.

[Charlsie Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read for anyone who has to adhere to pageviews and analytics in the newsrooom. It is academic and a bit dry and repetitive but overall short enough you can get through it. It is an interesting behind the curtain look at Chartbeat.

[David M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caitlin Petre is a clear-eyed, upbeat and insightful writer. The book illuminates how reporting works, even at the highest level. Thank you to Caitlin Petre for helping us see just below the surface.

[Garret · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, while flashy, was already struggling to keep up with the changing field in 2021. It suffers from looking at only two major sources, which are radically different organizations. This book has very little perspective and input from journalists; it feels like a data science book rather than an explainer of how metrics influence the actual work. Even from a business side, little time is dedicated to the "why" metrics matter.