Newsroom Success Manager
Shay Totten is the Newsroom Success Manager at the American Press Institute.
Shay works with newsrooms that utilize API’s proprietary analytics tool Metrics for News, built to help publishers answer important audience questions, identify better ways to engage users, improve loyalty and drive subscriptions. Shay joined API in 2022.
Most recently, Shay led the growth and membership strategy at The Compass Experiment (a collaboration between the Google News Initiative and McClatchy) that launched digital newsrooms in underserved communities. He has previously worked as a consultant for the News Revenue Hub, LION Publishers, Inside Climate News, as well as other mission-driven organizations on audience engagement and membership best practices as well as strategic communications.
Before working in audience and membership roles Shay spent more than 15 years in publishing and communications—in top editorial and communication positions at a national nonfiction book publisher, as well as an investigative reporter, political columnist, newsroom editor, and founder and publisher of a digital-print hybrid news organization in Vermont in the early 2000s.
Email Shay at shay.totten@pressinstitute.org.
More from the author
Lessons from the field + a starter checklist
We invited newsroom leaders to talk about their transition to GA4 and I’ve pulled together some highlights of our conversation.
A closer look at reports
One of the first comments we heard from newsrooms who started setting up a GA4 instance — aside from, “Why, Google … why?!” — was “Where are my reports?”
Setting up events, tracking and reports
For the rest of us, the bottom line is: If you’re stressed about losing a year’s worth of growth analysis, know that you’re not alone. Everyone’s in the same boat.
