Among the news, information and gossip of the

violent digital onslaught, what online audiences

value most can be surprising: long stories, in-depth
coverage and journalistic investigation that offers
new perspectives. That's the conclusion of a recent
study that evaluated a pioneering suite of media
analyzes used by the American Press Institute (API)
to track reader engagement.

Drawn from more than 400,000 subjects and 55

publications, the study's results challenge the view
that the only thing people want are "soft stuff
(Justin Bieber), quick topics without depth, or
'article-lists'" (' 7 things you should know about
Donald Trump's hair," says API executive director
Tom Rosenstiel.

The conventional wisdom that writing for the

Internet should be short and snappy, and that
writing for mobile apps should be even shorter,
simply does not correspond to the truth," writes
Rosenstiel.

In one of his works, "Solving journalism's hidden

problem: Terrible analytics", Tom Rosenstiel claims
that the average was misled by conventional
systematic analysis of data – audience
measurement indicators that usually measure the
wrong things or offer illusory statistics that They
exaggerate the number of readers. Rosenstiel
assesses that websites overcount – more than
double, perhaps triple – the true number of readers.

Seeking to go beyond audience counting, the

American Press Institute and associated publications
developed an "Involvement Index" that mixes about
a dozen indicators measuring visit time, the number
of page views and the times on that was shared. An
audience survey was also conducted, but instead of
examining editorial opinions of the news, the
researchers asked people questions "about their
lives – their passions, their concerns and their
community."

The main point, according to Tom Rosenstiel, is that

new audiences want "journalism that identifies new
behaviors", of good quality and journalistic reports
that dedicate time, resources and the necessary
talent to delve into a subject. Although business –
and investigative – reporting requires extraordinary
commitment, the reward comes, according to the
study, with greater commitment on the part of
readers (48% per cent).