– The role of metrics has developed gradually in Swedish newsrooms and has had a big impact on both work practices and perceptions of the journalism profession, says Carina Tenor, who recently completed her PhD in Media and Communication Studies at Karlstad University.
– The title of my doctoral thesis, New(s) metric management, alludes to the more well-known concept of New Public Management, which describes the measurement-based system of management and efficiency introduced in the welfare sector in the 1990s, and which has affected professions in areas such as healthcare, education and social services, says Carina Tenor. The parallel is that journalists, just like nurses, teachers and social workers, have certain professional ideals and values that are not always reflected in measurable data. This involves a negotiation around the meaning of working as efficiently as possible within an organisation.
Carina Tenor has focused on the traditional Swedish news industry. The daily newspaper companies, along with Sveriges Radio (Swedish public radio) and SVT (Swedish public television), have their roots in print media and analogue broadcasting, but have had to adapt to the digital media landscape. Since the majority of Swedish newspapers are owned by a handful of corporations, Carina Tenor has been able to present an industry-wide perspective by interviewing people in key roles, showing how metric management truly permeates Swedish newsrooms. It has become a standard practice in a very short time.
– I began by interviewing managers who are responsible for editorial measurement practices. They gave the impression that metric management may have been controversial in the past, but that this is no longer the case. To get a broader picture, I continued by interviewing journalists who are union representatives. The idea was that they could also offer a more complete picture of the discussions among their members and colleagues, whether there had been any conflicts or not.
Carina Tenor presents her data in five empirical chapters, based on different levels:
- Strategic construction
- Organisational strategy negotiation
- Workflow integration
- Individual assessment
- Normative reflection
What does your research show?
– It shows that metrics have quickly become normalised and that numbers and statistics permeate the work of all traditional newsrooms today – though in slightly different ways. My point is that editorial measurement practices have become a “performance management system” of journalistic work. My research shows that news organisations are constantly adjusting how and what they measure, and they are developing strategies for how the results and conclusions are shared across the newsroom. Management prioritises which metrics are important and sets key performance indicators for the newsrooms. The aim, of course, is to influence how journalists carry out and assess their work. Metrics have, in other words, become a useful tool for managing a professional group that was previously considered quite difficult to steer. I also show how a focus on efficiency has taken hold – every resource is expected to be used to its fullest and directed towards quantitative targets. This sometimes clashes with journalistic ideals such as curiosity and public scrutiny.
Of course, all journalists want to connect with their audience. What struck Carina is that even though audience metrics are an important part of the key performance indicators, the audience remains quite abstract. How the audience listens, reads, clicks or buys tends to function more as an aggregated data source when newsrooms experiment and try new approaches.
– I emphasise that the systems also capture data on what journalists produce, that is, the number and length of segments or articles produced, the topics covered and so on. However, the fact that measurement entered newsrooms as technical audience figures rather than formal management systems may have infringed on journalists’ influence. The union is really only involved in measurement-related issues when the figures are linked to stress or pay criteria.
Carina Tenor has a long professional background as a journalist and has witnessed how the media industry has been challenged as a result of digital competition. The early chase for clicks has been widely regarded as having a very negative impact on journalism, whereas other forms of measurement, such as what attracts people to become subscribers, have been viewed far more positively. This made Carina curious about how what gets measured affects both the way journalists work and the journalism that newsrooms produce.
An important theoretical framework concerns how people relate to and are influenced by quantification and measurement, mechanisms referred to as “metric power” – that is, the power that comes with creating and using metrics. Numbers are often perceived as objective facts, but they are also open to interpretation and have the ability to affect people’s emotions. This became the starting point for questions on how journalistic work is governed and assessed in a digitalised working environment.
Was there anything in your research that surprised you?
– Yes, actually – how loyal union representatives are to their organisations. They demonstrate great trust that management is trying to use the measurements in a good way, even when they prioritise certain age groups over others. However, some concerns were also raised about how it affects both content, the work environment and the qualities and driving forces expected of future journalists.
How do journalists and editors view the use of metrics?
– Many of them described it as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can create a sense of having hit the mark – that you’re reaching the audience– but on the other, it can also lead to stress. Many journalists want to learn more about how they can reach audiences digitally, but at the same time, there is a contradiction: although high numbers are seen as a sign of skill, they are influenced by so many factors that they are insufficient as measures of quality.
Carina Tenor hopes that her research can contribute to reflection and a more conscious use of metrics in journalism – and to creating better discussions about what actually constitutes quality, both in terms of journalism as content and as a profession. She also hopes that it can serve as a resource for unions, educators and media organisations seeking to understand how digitalisation affects working conditions and professional ideals.
In what way does your research strengthen Karlstad University?
– I believe that my research strengthens the university’s connection to working life and the wider community, while at the same time deepening our understanding of the datafication we see in so many areas right now, says Carina Tenor. I have already met several people who say they have read my doctoral thesis from cover to cover, and I take that as a sign that it is fairly accessible to anyone interested in the subject. But I think you will get a lot out of reading the introductory chapter and the final chapter as well.
What are your plans for the future in terms of research?
– I have become increasingly inspired by working life science and would like to continue investigating what quantification does to working life and how we think about what it means to do a good job and be professionally skilled. Recently, I have also conducted several projects that focus on the newsroom perspective – it would be interesting to explore how journalistic work is perceived from the outside as well, by those who meet journalists and consume the work they produce.
