Chapter 2
Online headline testing at a Belgian broadsheet
A postfoundational perspective on how news professionals ‘sell’
content
In this chapter, we investigate the impact of recent
audience-monitoring tools on the (online) newspaper sub-editors’ task of
crafting headlines. We zoom in on how metrics have become part of the
newsmaking process and are now intrinsic to a larger foundation of more
collaborative, participatory and engaging practices. Drawing on digital data
and fieldwork, we analyse the back and forth between the sub-editors’
journalistic gut feeling, their awareness of ‘selling’ their brand ‘in the
right way’, and the need to gain clicks. Relying on a linguistic
ethnographic perspective (NT&T
2011), we address how sub-editors reflect on their changing
professional routines. By investigating how the sub-editors’ aim to position
themselves in tandem with their algorithmic tools is foundational to news
media today, we shed new light on how the use of audience engagement metrics
intertwines with long-standing journalistic practices and contribute to
global debates on the politics of technology and online participation.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Research focus 1: Audience-monitoring tools and metrics
- Research focus 2: Headlines and (online) sub-editors
- Methodology and data
- Findings
- Online sub-editing and headline testing
- Cases
-
Case 1: For clickbait – “More of a trigger”
-
Case 2: For clickbait – “Missing the boat”
-
Case 3: Against clickbait - Staying true to the
brand
-
Case 4: Reframing the news story
- Newsworkers reflecting on the use of headline testing
- Conclusion
-
Notes
-
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