FT takes data journalism to the next level

The Financial Times has launched Lantern, a new editorial analytics dashboard for the newsroom, which will give journalists access to rich, real-time data focusing on reader engagement.Renée Kaplan (pictured), the FT’s head of audience engagement, said:The goal of Lantern is simple: to bring data into the newsroom in a clear, practical way. Our aim is to demystify data and empower our journalists in real time."Understanding what stories are topical and relevant to different audiences will in turn lead to a better experience for our readers.”Read Also: Case Study: How PropertyGuru is making use of data journalismHow data journalism can help content marketingThe launch of Lantern comes as part of FT's wider focus on quality reach and deeper user engagement as a means to build richer relationships with audiences.The platform will help journalists better understand the impact of stories and how audiences are engaging with FT journalism.Instead of the usual visits or page views, Lantern focuses on reader engagement, through other elements such as depth of scroll, time spent on page, traffic source and device breakdown.The data will contribute to FT's company-wide engagement metric which measures the frequency of visits, time spent reading, and the volume of articles read.General access will be coupled with personalised, beat-specific analysis by the audience engagement team, allowing the newsroom to better understand reader preferences and the impact of editorial decisions on audiences.