Audience metrics has become a new mantra for the newspaper industry (Cherubini & Nielsen, 2016; Hansen & Goligoski, 2018). Advertising revenues from print have declined and as of yet digital ad revenues are not materialising to replace them (Cornia, Sehl, Simon, & Nielsen, 2017). As a consequence, news media is becoming more dependent on user revenues, with a focus on digital subscriptions. The common approach in news media companies has been to imitate how digital-first media companies mine and evaluate user preferences. Visiting any newsroom provides visual experiences of dashboards showing what people are clicking on and reading, and how much time they spend reading the news. 

However, the present metrics approach is developed for the advertisement industry and is not suitable for news unless modified (Kiesow, 2018). There is a need for new methods and tools to evaluate audience engagement that goes beyond a mere metrics strategy, a comprehensive approach that includes crucial qualitative components such as focus groups and interviews (Domingo, Masip, & Costera Meijer, 2015).

The new strategy also includes a foundational shift in journalism itself, a move towards a new value proposition (Meijer, 2013). News subsidised by advertisers is distinctly different from news paid for by the users, which means that media companies need to learn how to listen closely to their paying customers, and not only follow statistics of clicks.

This proposed paper explores how media companies are moving from a purely data-driven understanding to a more qualitative analysis of why, when, where, and how people consume news. Data for the study derives from semi-structured interviews with media managers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the United States, collected in 2016-2018. In addition, we have selected five media companies - Amedia, Bonnier, Schibsted, Voice of San Diego and Billy Penn - for case studies that illustrate this more informed and interactive approach to audience relationships. We see, for instance, that companies are putting more emphasis on user engagement and are now starting to allow reader comments again. For instance, Bonnier owned Dagens Nyheter in Stockholm is actually implementing comments in its metrics approach.