Why the New York Times has set up a newsroom analytics team

The team was set up by Aron Pilhofer, who already runs the interactive news team, social media team and communities team, to introduce editorial-focused analysis of data

Earlier this month a newsroom analytics team was introduced at the New York Times, with the aim of establishing a better understanding of how editorial content is consumed.

The team, which currently consists of James Robinson, who moved across from the news outlet's wider analytics team, and the New York Times's Knight Mozilla fellow Brian Abelson.

It was set up by Aron Pilhofer, who also runs the Times's interactive news team, social media team and communities team.

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia this week, he said that currently "we know next to nothing in the newsroom about how people consume our content, whether we're publishing in the right way, whether all the time and effort we're putting into creating these interactives actually work".

When you're spending so much time, you're putting so many resources into these projects and into these pieces you really shouldn't be publishing blindAron Pilhofer

"The only way you can do that is through analytics, understanding how people are interacting, what they're doing with your content."

He said that the news outlet has been looking into the different ways to understand this for some time.

Although the metered paywall has been in operation for two years now, this data stays on the business-side of the company, which is kept separate from editorial.
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