The Telegraph has denied that leaked proposals to pay journalists according to the number of subscribers they attract would lead to cash-for-clicks sensationalism, arguing the opposite would be the case.
Telegraph editor Chris Evans mooted in an email to staff, leaked to The Guardian, that it “seems only right that those who attract and retain the most subscribers should be the most handsomely paid”.
But he has hit out at the newspaper’s representation of his suggestion on Twitter, writing: “It’s not about clicks. That’s the point The Guardian misunderstood.”
Evans also wrote: “If you think about it, ‘working for clicks’ is exactly what you don’t do if you’re pursuing a subscription strategy such as ours. And the strategy is going well…”