True the exact numbers are hard to pin down. My point is that articles gaining traction on social media is viewed as a major dimension of editorial strategy (as

True the exact numbers are hard to pin down. My point is that articles gaining traction on social media is viewed as a major dimension of editorial strategy (as is obvious by the dramatic increase in clickbait headlines), because once a story goes viral it is all upside for the paper's own views and ad sales. This was either already incentivized by the internal incentives given to editors and writers, or incentives have been adapted (by papers that have survived) to take this valuable channel into strong consideration when deciding how to phrase something.