When I read over my notes from Pete Clifton’s lecture, I found a flurry of statistics, new ideas and potential concerns – an average day for the Beeb then.
The main themes for me?
Audience statistics
Apparently, 80% of us will see (participate in?) some form of BBC journalism every week, but the way we want our news is diversifying. The website has 5.5 million hits per day, yet 15 million non-liners use Ceefax. Auntie Beeb wants to cater for everyone and faces the daily challenge of how to keep her increasingly demanding audience engaged, from using video to complement rather than regurgitate its written counterpart, to localising news. Whew – no wonder she’s struggling for cash.
Web traffic monitoring
Unsurprisingly, the news interactive team monitors web traffic like a hawk. This awareness of what is relevant to the site’s visitors is vital in maintaining the BBC’s popularity. But could this morph the site into a fluffier version of its former glory?
I asked Clifton whether popularity statistics affect editorial decisions on newsworthiness. He answered yes but only to a certain extent – especially because there is room for deliberate manipulation by the audience. The concern for me is what happens if a journalist identifies an important issue which doesn’t attract many hits – does it get taken off the site? It’s unlikely but let’s hope the Beeb doesn’t forget what it stands for – accessible but serious news as well as the fun stuff – in its quest to please the world and his wife.
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