MEDIA IMPACT PROJECT
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    • MISSION
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  • PROJECTS
    • AFRICA NARRATIVE
    • ACTION CAMPAIGNS
    • CHARITABLE GIVING ON TV
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    • IMMIGRATION ON TV
    • JOURNALISM STUDIES >
      • VIRTUAL REALITY
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    • Are You What You Watch?
    • Africa in the Media
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Introduction

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WE KNOW THAT MEDIA HAS AN IMPACT ON THE PUBLIC, SHAPING DISCUSSION and action on important issues. How can we use the data to measure how stories that appear in print, online, or in broadcast reach members of the public, who consume, subscribe, amplify, and contribute to the conversation?

This guide is part of the USC Media Impact Project’s Understanding Media Metrics series of publications. It uses methods explained in the first guide of the series, Web Metrics: Basics for Journalists, which provides basic terms and methods for measuring digital audiences. You can download it at
www.mediaimpactproject.org/web-metrics-guide.html.

The purpose of this guide is to help media organizations analyze the impact their stories have on mobile audiences. In this guide, we’ll expand on our basic web metrics concepts and answer the following questions:

  • How many people are reading stories on mobile devices?


  • How many pages or articles do these users typically read?


  • When do these mobile users visit the site?


  • Where are these mobile users located?


  • Which stories did well with mobile users?


  • How do mobile metrics compare to site averages?

This guide uses Google Analytics to illustrate the types of software tools used to gather and report mobile web metrics data. It is one of several popular web metrics tools that are used by media organizations – others include Adobe SiteCatalyst (formerly Omniture), Chartbeat, and WebTrends. Keep in mind that data from one tool usually can’t be combined with data from another, as they use different methods and terms. All of the reports from Google Analytics and the other tools are designed to be used by non-technical users.




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The Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project researches how entertainment and news influence our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and actions. We work with researchers, the film and TV industry, nonprofits, and news organizations, and share our research with the public. We are part of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.