New Media: Journalism by Numbers

What’s the Latest Development?

Lifetime media professional Lewis DVorking says he measures traffic volume to the Forbes website, where he is chief product officer, on nine separate platforms so he is never uninformed on what’s popular and what’s not. “Now,” he says, “in a digital and social media world, the individual is increasingly ‘the brand.’ That means journalists need to understand the numbers, the audience and their place in the larger news business so they can continue to do what they love to do.” 

What’s the Big Idea?

The line between journalism and public relations is blurring. Dvorking references reports indicating that P.R. men and women have filled the increasing number of empty desks at news offices across the world. “Journalists and other experienced content creators need to apply their professionalism to the new ethos of digital publishing. They need to build a bridge from traditional media values to all those traffic numbers,” he says. “Journalists just need to get in tune with their audience, which is really what our business is all about.”