Published through the Polis think tank at the London School of Economics, “The Great Audience Experiment” provides an historical perspective on the collection and use of audience data across American news organisations, highlighting the intersections of audience data and journalism practices. The author contends that a better understanding of the effects of the use of audience data has implications for both the business of news and the mission of journalism that are of critical importance as our news organisations strive to shape their future in a period of dramatic reconfiguration.

Since the beginning of mass media journalism, news professionals have endeavoured to develop new tools, systems, and processes to better understand and reach audiences. In the past, audience engagement was generally seen as the responsibility of non-editorial departments such as marketing. Today building audience engagement is more likely to be driven by editorial teams and seen as increasingly central to the work of reporters and editors.

Audience data and analytics are often regarded as symptoms of commercialisation, associated with news distribution and consumer demands, and lauded as tools to reach new audiences and grow revenues. The use of audience data also contains opportunities and risks for journalism as an institution, a profession, and for audiences themselves. With new technologies that allow unprecedented attention on the news audience, it is sometimes unclear who is leading who. Are practitioners using the right metrics to truly understand audience needs? Do current methodologies help or hinder meaningful journalism? When the business of journalism undergoes revolutionary changes – for example, in the shift from advertising to subscription monetisation — how does or should the mission of journalism respond?