Sunset at an icy Spy Pond on Dec. 20, 2016. / Photo by Ran Subramanian
… drew the most readers here?
Which stories grab the most public attention in Arlington in a given year? That can be a toss-up — unlike the photo above, which clearly pleases the spirit.
Yet, year in and year out among local media, reports known generally as “police stories” draw readers. So do elections. So do reports about our schools.
Are they stories having the most widespread impact on the town? Not really.
For now, let’s not ask deeper questions about why this is. Let’s look at how these reports stack up according to a Google Analytics‘ count of pageviews as well as the “hits” tracked by site software — that is, how many times online readers reached a report.
On that basis, here are the top 14 stories published at YourArlington.com during 2016, listed according to pageviews and hits, starting with the most:
2.) 2016 spring Town Meeting >>
3.) Cyclist draws motorist’s road rage >>
5.) Nov. 8/presidential election >>
6.) June 14 override: Town voters say yes, yes, yes in all precincts >>
7.) Vote goes Minuteman’s way, 69.47% to 30.4% >>
8.) Arlington Catholic principal takes leave >>
9.) 2nd alcohol-license suspension to close Common Ground 17 days >>
10.) What do Center landlords have in mind? So far, we have only bits, pieces >>
11.) MIAA soccer: AHS girls lose again to Hingham in heartbreaker >>
12.) Vote no against Minuteman (opinion) >>
Two outliers follow the top 12. Both have more pageviews than any of the others listed here. Reason: These are online links that include numerous short reports, so as they are updated, the hits increase:
Hits among these 14 published accounts ranged from more than 9,100 to 1,570.
My comment about the numbers
You may assume from this list that it tells me what stories I *should* be publishing. That’s only part of the tale.
These stats indicate what is popular. Such stories attract readers, and more hits mean more advertising, right? That can be true, but it’s not the whole picture.
Contrary to a few who claim I provide “clickbait” when informing the public about a new story — see one definition of the term here >> — my site’s overall goal is to inform Arlington about itself. It does so without overly hyping a story a story to get clicks.
That goal extends to what the site chooses to publish. What happens in town includes a car unexpectedly ending up in Spy Pond, who won an election — and inside looks at the people who make Arlington the dynamic community it.
Since 2009, YourArlington has been emphasizing people over police. In the past, such people pieces have fallen to me or Marjorie Howard, an able journalist and my wife. In 2016, two features writers have joined YourArlington to help drive that goal — Carla DeFord and Aileen Moroney. Read just two examples of their fine work here:
— La Rue adds multilingual music to the market (and that’s not all)
— Linking up with DeAnne Dupont: By-the-numbers retiree rescues food
In addition, the site in 2016 began publishing reports by freelance writers Susan Gilbert (selectmen, Mugar) and Jo Anne Preston (School Committee, School Enrollment Task Force). Look forward in 2017 to further restaurant reviews from food writer Jane Dornbusch. Support for these kinds of stories also reflect the information this site believes the public should know.
Website hits are not my sole push. Telling Arlington’s stories are.
Do you have any to tell me?
This listing, which includes some gentle, opinion, was published Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016.
