The Metrics of Reporting

The panelists talk about whether it's possible to measure the impact of journalism.

An article by Jonathan Stray on the Nieman Journalism Lab's website raises the question. “If democracy would be poorer without  journalism, then journalism must have some effect. Can we measure  those effects in some way?” writes Stray.

He reports a fellowship program at the New York Times will try to find the right metric for news. 

The Shop Talk panelists discuss whether many people pay attention to local election stories or if candidates make a bigger impression by going door-to-door.

They also talk the challenge of getting the audience interested in news that should be important to them rather than simply giving them lighter fare such as celebrity gossip and sports highlights.