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While quizzes are also not new — Slate, for instance, previously offered the Carlos Danger name generator, a reference to the supposed pseudonym used by Anthony Weiner — the trend toward interactivity is only accelerating. Time magazine hired its first digital interactive graphics editor last August. BuzzFeed, the up-and-coming digital news site, installed a quiz template in its system in 2012. The Wire, part of Atlantic Media, has introduced a custom-made bracket competition to coincide with March Madness, the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament, where users vote to narrow the field in categories like the best college, the best city, the best seat in a movie theater.
The problem for media organizations is where, if anywhere, to draw the line between amusing content and the mission of reporting the news. Many digital publications have relied on addictively shared content of dubious news value — like quizzes to determine which character of the Downton Abbey television series the user most resembles.
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shaun james bockert 