Is There a Master Metric for Evaluating Public Media?
February 17, 2010
[Commentary] How are Public Media 2.0 projects measuring their success in informing and engaging publics? We've identified five elements to explore; each of these elements represents a measurable category of activity that helps media projects convene publics around issues:
- Reach: How many people encounter the project across various screens and streams: TV, radio, streaming audio, blogs and websites, Twitter, iTunes, mobile applications, and more?
- Relevance: Is the media project topical within the larger news cycle? Is it designed to stay relevant over several news cycles? Is it particularly relevant to targeted publics concerned with a specific issue, location, or event?
- Inclusion: Does the project address a diverse range of targeted audience, not just in terms of race, but in terms of gender, age, class, geographical location and beliefs? How open is the architecture for participation, collaboration and discussion?
- Engagement: Does the project move users to action: to subscribe to a site, contribute material, to write a letter in response, to pass on a link, donate time and money, sign a petition or contact a leader?
- Influence: Does the project challenge or put the frame on important issues? Does it target "influentials"?Is it "spreadable" or buzzworthy?
Is There a Master Metric for Evaluating Public Media?