Mirror Reflects on Pageview Targets

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Per Press Gazette, individual pageview targets are being introduced for journalists on The Mirror. According to a staffer at parent company Reach, this will not be implemented at other national titles within the business. “It’s not going to get rolled out across everyone,” they said. “The Mirror is a very, very different beast to The Express, and The Express is very different to The Daily Star.”

They described The Express as “untouchable”, adding: “You wouldn’t even know they’re the same company 99% of the time.” This means the paper does not generally feel the consequences of changes in other parts of Reach. Meanwhile, “The Mirror are under a shit tonne of pressure to prove why they’ve been hoarding staff, essentially, continuously bringing in new staff, even though they’ve got way more than everyone else, and refusing to share resources.”

Obviously, hacks do not tend to like pageview targets. There also seems to be some frustration that the move came not long after they were told by senior execs it wouldn’t be happening.

Mirror Boss Defends Pageview Aims

Mirror editor Caroline Waterson has sought to justify the move. “Why shouldn’t we be ambitious for every story we produce?” she told Press Gazette. “Of course, some stories will reach millions and others a more modest but still solid number. But we should always aim to have as many people reading and remembering a Mirror story whether that be in print or online.”

These latest details of targets have emerged not long after other details of Reach targets became public. Back in October, I reported on how demands on the number of stories journalists at the company are being asked to produce was taking its toll, with some copy being powered by an AI tool.

The Mirror, The Express and, in its own way, The Daily Star, are all titles with a proud history. However, quantity not quality seems to be the name of the game at Reach at the moment.