Should journalists be paid based on how well their articles perform online? This was the chilling vista portrayed by critics of the Daily Telegraph following the publication last week of an internal memo suggesting that its salaries could be linked to how successful writers’ articles were in attracting traffic and getting new subscribers. In an email leaked to its competitor, the Guardian, Telegraph editor Chris Evans told staff that “in due course” the newspaper wants to use its internal analytics system, which measures the impact of stories based on how many subscriptions they drive and how much traffic they get, “to link performance to reward”.

Source: The Irish Times March 20, 2021 06:56 UTC