Seattle P-I out of top 30 newspaper sites
Posted by Simon Day on April 23, 2009 at 4:35 AM
The new exclusively online version of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has fallen out of the top 30 most visited newspaper Web site bracket, according to March statistics from Nielsen Online, which could make a case for the theory that print drives online readership, paidContent reported Wednesday. However, owner Hearst Corp disputes the result, saying internal numbers reveal a substantial increase in visitors.
The Nielsen results reported a 23 percent drop in unique visitors to seattlepi.com with 1.4 million, leaving it as the 32nd largest newspaper site in the U.S. And while leading its cross-town rival, the Seattle Times, in February numbers, Seattletimes.com recorded a 70 percent jump in online readers for March with 2.2 million unique viewers, suggesting a switch for former Seattle P-I readers.
The Nielsen results reported a 23 percent drop in unique visitors to seattlepi.com with 1.4 million, leaving it as the 32nd largest newspaper site in the U.S. And while leading its cross-town rival, the Seattle Times, in February numbers, Seattletimes.com recorded a 70 percent jump in online readers for March with 2.2 million unique viewers, suggesting a switch for former Seattle P-I readers.
Hearst spokesman Paul Luthringer challenged the Neilsen results saying that the company's own statistics, provided by Web analytic company Omniture, showed 4.4 million unique viewers to Seattlepi.com during March, a 9.6 percent increase from a year earlier, paidContent reported.
"The larger argument (which will not be won today) is that Nielsen's methodology is flawed. Nielsen's ratings are based on a statistical extrapolation of a small number of selected users?a statistical guesstimate," he said, according to paidContent. "The numbers have been stable, which we have been encouraged about."
Seattle P-I closed its print edition on March 17, while also cutting almost 80 percent of its staff.
On a whole, 75 precent of the top 30 online newspapers experienced double digit growth in March based on year to year results, Editor & Publisher reported Wednesday. The New York Times remained on top of the list with 20,118,000 unique visitors, and recorded a 7 percent growth for March.
Below is the top 30 list, with percentage comparisons of year to year results for March:
NYTimes.com - 20,118,000 - 7%
USATODAY.com - 9,961,000 - (-7%)
washingtonpost.com - 9,367,000 - 5%
Wall Street Journal Online - 9,192,000 - 34%
LA Times - 8,643,000 - 51%
Boston.com - 5,742,000 - 37%
Daily News Online Edition - 5,658,000 - 71%
Chicago Tribune - 5,270,000 - 38%
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle - 4,227,000 - 11%
New York Post - 3,827,000 - (-18%)
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News - 3,536,000 - 30%
The Houston Chronicle - 3,095,000 - 15%
Newsday - 3,065,000 - (-5%)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 3,041,000 - 28%
Politico - 3,033,000 - 45%
Chicago Sun-Times - 2,737,000 - 24%
MiamiHerald.com - 2,686,000 - 85%
Star Tribune - 2,360,000 - 34%
The Seattle Times - 2,262,000 - 70%
International Herald Tribune - 1,984,000 - (-23%)
NJ.com - 1,897,000 - 39%
Orlando Sentinel - 1,851,000 - 13%
Azcentral.com - 1,805,000 - (-10%)
The Washington Times - 1,753,000 - 35%
The News & Observer - 1,665,000 - 106%
tampabay.com - 1,649,000 - (-14%)
Cleveland.com - 1,586,000 - 9%
MercuryNews.com - 1,556,000 - (-6%)
KansasCity.com - 1,552,000 - 10%
MLive.com -- 1,531,000 -- 39%
"The larger argument (which will not be won today) is that Nielsen's methodology is flawed. Nielsen's ratings are based on a statistical extrapolation of a small number of selected users?a statistical guesstimate," he said, according to paidContent. "The numbers have been stable, which we have been encouraged about."
Seattle P-I closed its print edition on March 17, while also cutting almost 80 percent of its staff.
On a whole, 75 precent of the top 30 online newspapers experienced double digit growth in March based on year to year results, Editor & Publisher reported Wednesday. The New York Times remained on top of the list with 20,118,000 unique visitors, and recorded a 7 percent growth for March.
Below is the top 30 list, with percentage comparisons of year to year results for March:
NYTimes.com - 20,118,000 - 7%
USATODAY.com - 9,961,000 - (-7%)
washingtonpost.com - 9,367,000 - 5%
Wall Street Journal Online - 9,192,000 - 34%
LA Times - 8,643,000 - 51%
Boston.com - 5,742,000 - 37%
Daily News Online Edition - 5,658,000 - 71%
Chicago Tribune - 5,270,000 - 38%
SFGate.com/San Francisco Chronicle - 4,227,000 - 11%
New York Post - 3,827,000 - (-18%)
DallasNews.com - The Dallas Morning News - 3,536,000 - 30%
The Houston Chronicle - 3,095,000 - 15%
Newsday - 3,065,000 - (-5%)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 3,041,000 - 28%
Politico - 3,033,000 - 45%
Chicago Sun-Times - 2,737,000 - 24%
MiamiHerald.com - 2,686,000 - 85%
Star Tribune - 2,360,000 - 34%
The Seattle Times - 2,262,000 - 70%
International Herald Tribune - 1,984,000 - (-23%)
NJ.com - 1,897,000 - 39%
Orlando Sentinel - 1,851,000 - 13%
Azcentral.com - 1,805,000 - (-10%)
The Washington Times - 1,753,000 - 35%
The News & Observer - 1,665,000 - 106%
tampabay.com - 1,649,000 - (-14%)
Cleveland.com - 1,586,000 - 9%
MercuryNews.com - 1,556,000 - (-6%)
KansasCity.com - 1,552,000 - 10%
MLive.com -- 1,531,000 -- 39%
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