A few weeks ago, my editor and I sat in a Detroit hotel room for a run-through of a presentation. She brought snacks. And White Claws. Barbara Allen and I had planned out our talk for the Society of Features Journalists’ annual conference months before, and we’d designed it weeks before.  

Our snacks-and-drinks session was the final practice. 

It’s also when Barbara added in a quote from Jason Collington, the deputy managing editor of the Tulsa World, that I wish I’d heard at the beginning of my career.



We highlighted Jason’s wise words today in a story because it captured the heart of our talk – great reporting and writing are essential, but not where your job ends. 

Our story has four tips.

1. Your audience matters

2. Headlines matter

3. Analytics matter

4. All the little stuff matters

I want to spend a little time with you on that third one.

Do you have access to analytics? If you’re an editor, a publisher or somehow in charge, are you offering that access? If you’re offering access, are you helping make sense of it?

The pageview popularity contest will not save local news. (Pageviews do matter, of course, as the top of the audience funnel. But don’t get stuck there.)

I’ve heard people at The Philadelphia Inquirer talk about being data-informed vs. data-driven, and I think they’re on to something. In July, I decided to be better data-informed about my own work. Using a Google spreadsheet and Google Analytics, I started tracking the pageviews, uniques, time spent and some notes for each story I wrote. With my editor, we set benchmarks that stories had to meet. 

I was able to see which kinds of stories weren’t getting read (announcements and stories about projects that didn’t yet have results) and which stories were (in-depth stories-behind-the-stories and solutions-oriented coverage that did have results).

This now helps me know which stories to say no to and which to spend time with. 

Have you tried this? How has it worked for you?

In the quest to get read, understanding analytics feels like a piece to the roadmap we all need.

Related free training: A creative approach to analytics

While you’re here…

• Last week I reported that the Table Stakes program will expand and include a new focus on diversifying newsrooms.

• The Christian Science Monitor looked into local newsrooms and how they’re changing to survive.

• Check out the hundreds of newsrooms taking part in NewsMatch.

• The Institute for Nonprofit News brought together 12 newsrooms in seven states to look at rural hospitals.

• Check out Nieman Lab’s coverage of how The Fresno Bee is working to raise money for education coverage.

• And here’s some great local journalism we highlighted this week from Hearst Connecticut and the News & Observer. 

That’s it! See you next week!