The rise of the network can be said to account in part for the raised status of
these professionals, and this new journalistic form. Some reach out to the audience as
co-producers and involve them in design. On the other hand, audience behaviour is
measured, and use is made of audience metrics towards informing future ideas for cov-
erage. Clearly some interactives journalists are become gatewatchers, but others main-
tain a more traditional approach to their audience, basing creative judgements on
gut instinct (Schultz 2007), while responding to the audience primarily via the route
of editorial feedback. For some the only influence from outside the newsroom comes
from statistical and data visualisation experts, precluding all but a tiny number of audi-
ence members from participation in this field of news production. Equilibrium between
the operationally closed newsroom and the "former audience" in this field seems unre-
alistic in the near term.