The managerial and future-oriented role of audience data in data-informed news organisations

Abstract

One sign of datafication in journalism is that newsrooms utilise insights from audience data and related metrics in their decision-making. In professional discourse, this often alludes to the notion of ‘data-informed newsrooms’ in which organisations are managed with the help of data. This article focuses on the managerial role of audience data in such organisations: What types of audience data inform newsrooms, which domains of newsroom management are being informed by data, and what kinds of visions motivate the future of data use in news organisations? These questions are answered based on empirical material from three different research projects (2020–2022) in Finland, including both qualitative interviews and survey results featuring the views of varied journalism professionals on data use. The theoretical framework draws from conceptualisations of anticipatory governance. Professionals’ interpretations of audience data reveal the basic elements of data sources, types, systems and storages that inform the organisations. Such audience data are used for four main management purposes–leading individuals, work processes, the news product, and the audience. The role of audience data in the future preferably includes elements of predictability, fairness, usability, and depth. However, there are discrepancies between the visions themselves as well as the views of the managers and journalists, which results in an ongoing negotiation about the suitable role of audience data in news organisations.