Metrics Are Everywhere in Media. Here’s How They Help.

Here’s How They Help.

Kathy Zhang, a newsroom and product analytics manager for The New York Times, reading her Kindle on the subway. “I credit the Kindle for getting me to read more than I used to,” she said.CreditJeenah Moon for The New York Times

By Kathy Zhang

How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Kathy Zhang, a newsroom and product analytics manager, discussed the tech she’s using.

Your team helps Times reporters analyze data about stories and readers. What kind of tech do you use to do that, and what information do you review?

The Times uses a few different technologies to measure readership and behavior within our website and apps. The primary tool we use is an internal analytics system that powers the bulk of our analysis and dashboards. This system also underpins a newsroom tool called Stela, which provides story- and department-level analytics snapshots.

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The Paperwhite version of the Kindle is conveniently pocketable, Ms. Zhang said. “I can use it one-handed, so it’s easier to read on the train than a physical book,” she said.CreditJeenah Moon for The New York Times

We also use tools like Chart-beat and Google Analytics for the same purposes, because they have user interfaces that non-analysts can also use to inform their work. Editors use Chartbeat to understand real-time readership of our stories and Google Analytics to pull trends and reports over a longer period of time.