I noticed that the number of page views generated by news articles are not used as basis in compensating writers. But I observed that it is used to determine which article hits the headline first and how long does it stay there.
If my observations are correct, I am in favor of removing it from the headline immediately to give other popular news articles a chance to occupy the headline.
Some of my sports (boxing) articles that generate more than 10,000 page views in a matter of few hours, stays in the headline longer than the other popular news articles.