Thank you!
Sometimes we all forget to say that, right? But I wanted to begin this column with that shout-out.
I’ve written before about the struggles most all newspapers are having as the information age blossoms on the Internet. But we’re doing OK. Put simply, that’s because of you.
It could be better, of course, but we feel good.
And what we have are good numbers that can’t be matched locally.
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Look at Saturday: If we just look at Saturday’s paper, we have about 80,000 readers. Statistically a little more than two people read each newspaper.
And that’s just Saturday. Sunday is huge compared with that, and if you looked at the number of readers for a week, well, you get the picture.
So that’s around 80,000. Then you can add in around 20,000 more for those who look at us on the Web on Saturday.
Web folks like to call this unique visitors — but hey, that’s just the way those Web guys talk.
Now I’m no prodigio di matematica, but that’s 100,000 readers just on Saturday.
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My column: I did the Saturday stats because that’s the day this column appears. All the individual bits of information in a newspaper are pieces of the puzzle that results in total readership.
And my column is a piece. How much of a piece, well, that’s a little difficult to tell. We did a scientific study on this a few years ago, and like everyone else, I wondered how I did. The answer was well. (Whew!)
Knowing how your piece of the puzzle does on the Web is easier to figure. We have hard numbers. So I’ve asked how my column was doing on the Web. The answer was well. (Whew again!)
Press Talk usually lands around the top 10 for the weekend on the Web. And it usually does very well when compared with other columns and stories that run on the weekend.
One of the things you learn quickly is that readers — at least on the Web — love that crashing and shooting and burning stuff. So the rest of us are pretty happy to come in just below all of that.
“Time spent” is another stat you can look at on the Web. And I was happy to hear that of those top weekend stories on the Web, readers tend to spend the most time on Press Talk.
That’s really important for me, because the main object of my column is to — hopefully — make you think about things.
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Challenge what you think: So, OK, my column — overall — does pretty well. But like anything, sometimes you really hit a nerve and hit it out of the park.
And that’s what happened the past two weeks. Press Talk made huge jumps in readership. Home run!
Oh, I’d like to think it was because of some particularly sweet writing I produced. But I don’t think so. It’s usually because of the subject matter. I had written about the concept of guilt by association and how accountable a politician should be because of whom she associates with. (We have a local candidate who has ties to a well-known political operative and bad-boy blogger.) And I feel the topic challenged readers on how they think about things.
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Results come from you: So, yes, the newspaper gets results. But more important, when readers get involved in an important topic, community leaders listen. I had more than 100 comments on my past two columns. When a conversation like that happens, we all can learn and get better. And you can make a difference.
So thanks again!
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505 or lou.brancaccio@columbian.com.
