Newspaper websites see more traffic when there's more news
According to Hitwise, last week newspaper websites - "which includes the websites of national, local and international newspapers, as well as print magazines and trade publications" - captured 1.48% of all UK web visits, a new record. A combination of the collapse of global stock markets, the SocGen rogue trader, the tragic death of Heath Ledger and a video on the Sun's site allegedly showing Amy Winehouse taking drugs seem to have driven the relative traffic gains.
I remember at the start of the year FleetStreet2.0 publishing a list of the top UK news stories on Digg during 2007 and scoring ten for ten mainstream news sites with a combination of national newspapers and the BBC. And this amidst widespread concerns that people are turning their backs on news.
Perhaps it is simply that many people only read the news when there's actually news to read. I watch breakfast TV news almost every day, and am often struck by the almost risible paucity and insignificance of the events with which hour after hour of programming must be filled. 24 hour news channels have left us in the absurd situation where no-one can admit, even for one minute, that nothing important or worthy of reportage has changed since last we looked. Is it possible that last week's surge in visitors tells us people have caught on, and in a media landscape liberally filled with entertainments and distractions are turning to news sources only when there is something of real moment to report?
“The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there were.”
- David Brinkley
Posted by: Ron Davison | January 31, 2008 at 01:08 AM
Ron - nice. I do like that.
Posted by: Seamus McCauley | January 31, 2008 at 09:11 AM