This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Jan. 12, 2011 - Many news websites obsess about traffic. Some even assign stories based on what's trending as popular.
Here at the Beacon, we have a love-hate relationship with numbers. Sure, we're interested in how many people visit our website and what they read. But increasing traffic is not our only goal. If it were, the quickest route to success would probably be porn.
Traffic numbers only scratch the surface in tracking the impact of our work and whether we're fulfilling our News That Matters mission. We're constantly in search of better ways to measure our value to St. Louisans.
Still, at year's end we were curious to see what Beacon stories got the most hits in 2010. The list provides some interesting insights into our audience and the way news spreads in the digital world.
Among the Top 10 stories were several that seem to have drawn attention from networks of people intensely interested in certain topics.
Those topics ranged from religion to long-term unemployment. What drove the surge in traffic to these stories, I suspect, is that links got posted on blogs and shared among friends. These stories included:
-- Local dad's cry of the heart became memo that helped change the Catholic Church
-- Was a wise woman among the magi who followed Bethlehem's star?
-- The Muslims in your neighborhood: After several generations in St. Louis, Muslims face familiar challenges of preserving their faith and culture
-- After 99 weeks, then what? Long-term unemployed are left without assistance
-- As some unemployment benefits near expiration, will Congress act?
A second group of stories topped the traffic rankings, I suspect, because no other news organization was paying much attention. This group includes:
-- Out of prison -- now what? Reentry programs help those returning to community life
-- Amendment 3 would bar Missouri from enacting a real estate transfer tax
Rounding out our top ten list were:
-- One news-you-can-use favorite: Check out 2010 summer concerts series
-- One topic of great regional interest: Arch design teams present their plans to the jury
-- One compilation of names and activities: Fun and Fundraising
Beacon Backroom, Jo Mannies' frequently updated political blog, topped the list of most read sections.
What to make of these statistics? We're not entirely sure. Here are some thoughts.
First, people are really interested in what they're really interested in. When our reporting discloses something new about a topic like politics or priest abuse, people who already care about those topics pay attention. Often they share that information with interested friends, and our traffic grows.
Second, basic information that's not being reported elsewhere draws a following. I suspect that's why voters found our explanation of an obscure ballot proposition and why St. Louisans check out our Fun and Fundraising blurbs and the summer concert listing.
Finally, I think the Top 10 list says something admirable about Beacon readers. In 2010, we published stories that were quirkier or more sensational than those that made the Top 10. Beacon readers opted for depth and usefulness instead. We hope to provide more of it in 2011.