Journalistic metrics: more than a game

What if a board game could help journalists navigate audience data more critically? This project explores that challenge with newsrooms.

In short

Audience metrics are an integral part of digital journalism. This project investigates how newsrooms and journalism students can improve their digital literacy in dealing with such data. Through workshops and a board game, they learn to understand the opportunities and risks of data-driven journalism. The research is conducted in Flemish media organisations and journalism programmes.

Need and relevance

Although audience metrics are omnipresent, newsroom knowledge and critical engagement with them remain limited. Journalists often feel judged by data they do not fully grasp or trust. This can create resistance and uncertainty. By boosting digital literacy, the project empowers journalists and supports newsrooms in making more informed, conscious decisions.

From approach to impact

Using design thinking, the researchers develop both workshops and a serious board game. The game simulates real newsroom dilemmas related to metrics, encouraging reflection and debate. Co-created and tested with professionals and students, the game aims to foster critical insight into data use and improve journalistic practices in a metric-driven media landscape.