Aram Zucker-Scharff

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There is not one but several “cultures of the click.”

Take the example of the gap between what journalists say about web metrics and what they do when they check their own traffic numbers. I find that journalists are particularly likely to have conflicted reactions to metrics when working for publications with high editorial ambitions facing financial instability. In this case, writers criticize the chase for clicks, but also understand online success as a signal of professional value.

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– When it comes to chasing clicks, journalists say one thing but feel pressure to do another.

“The problem is that the basic economics of that work have become so threatened that I don’t know what independent writers are supposed to do.”

– I’m Not Sure There’s a Workable Path for Professional Online Writers.

Here’s more pessimism for print advertising:

Nathalie Tadena in The Wall Street Journal: Magna Global cut its forecast for U.S. advertising revenue growth this year to 5.1% from 6% on Tuesday, because ad spending the first half of the year was weaker than expected. But the Interpublic-owned media buying and research firm expects the ad mar…

Print is dead. You shouldn’t be surprised. 

“Stripped down, pared-back journalism has created opportunities for those who dare, but it has also allowed outlets to hide behind flaky bottom lines as a means of abdicating responsibility.”

– James Foley and fellow freelancers: exploited by pared-back media outlets.