Dashboards & Analytics
Transform your newsroom’s data into actionable insights that drive revenue and audience growth.
- Custom dashboards that answer your specific questions
- Automated reporting that saves hours each week
- Clear metrics tied directly to sign-ups, subscriptions and donations
WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR REPORTS
Your newsroom relies on “gut instincts” instead of data-driven analysis.
But’s it’s not your fault. It’s because:
- You’re drowning in vanity metrics
- You’re using dashboards you didn’t create
- You lack visibility into data for crucial editorial decisions
How we can help
📊
Custom Dashboards
Looker Studio dashboards and bespoke spreadsheets tailored to your newsroom’s KPIs.
🔌
API Integrations
Connect all your tools—CMS, analytics, paywall platform—into one view.
💰
Revenue Attribution
Track which content directly drives subscriptions and donations
⚡️
Real-Time Analytics
Get the most out of Parsely, Chartbeat or Marfeel to track breaking news and viral content.
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Automated Reporting
Key daily, weekly and monthly reports direct to your inbox, Slack or other platform.
👨🏫
Training & Documentation
Your team learns how to use and maintain everything we build.
our strategic approach
1
Discovery
We audit your setup and identify gaps in your analytics.
2
Strategy
Define KPIs and design custom dashboards for your goals.
3
Build
Create dashboards, connect APIs, and automate reporting.
4
Train
Your team learns to use and maintain the reports autonomously.
CASE STUDY:
LARGE NEWSROOM DOUBLES REVENUE IN 11 MONTHS
A vertical-focused news organization with more than 1 million monthly readers was transitioning from a free publication to a soft paywall.
The Problem: No Revenue-Related Dashboards
The news organization was implementing a paywall for the first time. It didn’t have any revenue-related metrics in Google Analytics 4 or any of its other dashboards.
The Solution: Automated Reporting Through GA4 API
GDS worked with the paywall platform and CMS to create custom dimensions and metrics that would feed into GA4.
We then created custom dashboards in Looker Studio as well as a custom spreadsheet that auto-updated every morning using the Google Analytics API.
The Outcome: Revenue More Than Doubled
In the first 11 months after contracting GDS to help with its data analytics strategy, revenue grew by 211 percent.
For the first time, the newsroom’s leadership team had clear insight into what content was driving and retaining subscriptions. This allowed them to be more strategic about their paywall strategy and allocate resources to the news that resonated most with its audience.
Who is this for?
We help newsroom leaders who are ready to turn their data into a competitive advantage
The Data-Driven Editor
You know data should inform editorial decisions, but you’re drowning in dashboards and conflicting metrics. You need clear insights that help you allocate resources to content that actually drives subscriptions.
The Overwhelmed Digital Director
You’re juggling multiple analytics platforms and spending 10+ hours a week creating manual reports. You need automated systems that free you up to focus on strategy instead of data wrangling.
The Revenue-Focused Publisher
You need to prove journalism’s business value to stakeholders and identify which investments drive ROI. You want clear attribution between editorial work and revenue outcomes.
The Growth-Minded Newsroom Leader
Your team has outgrown basic analytics. You’re ready for sophisticated tracking, custom dashboards and data infrastructure that supports your growth trajectory without requiring a full-time data team.
Tools we support
Let’s work together
Every engagement starts with a free consultation. We’ll discuss your challenges, review your current setup and create a custom plan.
Most analytics projects take 4-8 weeks from discovery to launch, with an option for ongoing consultation.