Don't be a 'slave to metrics', warns WaPo editor Martin Baron

Journalists 'should not be a slave to metrics', Washington Post editor Martin Baron told delegates at the World News Media Congress in Washington DC today.

In conversation with Maria Ressa, chief executive officer at the Filipino outlet Rappler, Baron admitted he was "completely addicted" to checking story metrics on Chartbeat.

"In the past, journalists have been polluted into thinking people were reading their stories because there was no way to measure that," he said.

These days, all Washington Post reporters have access to metrics for their own stories to see how they are being received and, in particular, where on the web readers are coming from.

With many news outlets battling against reduced resources and increased competition for both readers and revenue, Baron believes it is now more important than ever for journalists to embrace innovation and entrepreneurial thinking.

As part of that, journalists should "take responsibility" for growing their own audiences across social media platforms, ensuring they add links and videos to make posts as engaging as possible.

The journalist behind a story is often better placed to share it effectively on social media as they know the subject and context better than an editor or community manager, he pointed out.

However, when examining metrics, journalists should be aware that "the stories that are the most popular are not necessarily the ones that are trending on the Internet".

Baron pointed to the Washington Post's coverage of stories such as a recent sex scandal at a church in Loudon County, Virginia.

"We didn't pursue that because we thought, 'it's going to be popular with our readers'. We did it because we thought it was part of our duty as be a public service".

Baron added while metrics can help outlets understand how stories are being read, journalists should not rely on them for generating ideas.

"Metrics tell you how you're performing," he said. "They're not going to tell you your next story."

• Journalism.co.uk is reporting from the World Newspaper Congress in Washington DC. Follow @abigailedge and #WNC15 for updates.

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