The production of news in the era of algorithms: routines, metrics and audiences in the three digital media with the highest traffic in Argentina

Abstract

This article reflects on the productive routines in the three news sites with the highest traffic in Argentina (Clarín.com, Infobae.com and LaNación.com) and focuses on the perception that editors have regarding the application of audience metrics and tools with algorithmic logic and the predominant role acquired by social networks and the Google platform. The analysis was developed from a qualitative approach, based on ten in-depth interviews. The journalists’ testimonies coincide in that they select and prioritize information based on digital content measurement systems. The emerging roles linked to audiences are increasingly involved in the editorial decision-making process, which generates tensions between what audiences demand, the traditional criteria of newsworthiness and the interests of the companies they work for.