News judgement in the “click-thinking” culture: the impact of web metrics on journalism and journalists (O Julgamento das Notícias na Cultura “Caça-clique”: o impacto das métricas sobre o jornalismo e sobre os jornalistas).

Abstract

This paper offers a critical primer on the rise of web metrics (audience tracking data) and their potential impacts on journalism and journalists around the world. Online audience tracking creates an unprecedented opportunity for the media to collect natural, real-time data on what users do, and do not do, with the news and can serve as a helpful tool for editorial decisions and newsroom strategy development. However, they present a new set of challenges that, if not calmly addressed, could deepen an already critical crisis of journalism – the dumbing down of news – and bring newsroom tensions and conflicts to new heights. Journalists need to foster a strong professional culture that helps them to take confidence and pride in their autonomous news judgement and to resist, wherever necessary, the sentiment of the crowd.