Monday 25 July 2016

Digital life after print death for the Independent



I've written an article for InPublishing looking at the Independent since it decided to abandon its print edition last May and go digital only. A journey other newspapers may have to make.

Like many, I was sad to see a newspaper close its print edition for good but the Independent's traffic figures for its first digital only month in April were encouraging. Since I wrote the article the Independent has released its figures for June:

In the UK, the Independent reached its highest ever monthly page views figure, 175m (+92% year-on-year and +47% month-on-month), with a total of 33m unique visitors (+79% year-on-year and +52% month-on-month).

Globally, 82m (+56% year-on-year and +33% month-on-month) unique visitors came to the Independent, generating 319m page impressions (+75% year-on-year and +33% month-on-month) globally. The number of average daily unique visitors increased by a record 72% year-on-year and 44% month-on-month to 4.4m.

Coverage of the EU Referendum attracted more than 30m visitors, and average daily visitors to the Independent’s homepage have increased by 55% since the EU Referendum results were announced.

Christian Broughton, editor of the Independent, said in a statement: “In a month when bias, spin and plain lies consumed the news agenda and other media outlets, The Independent’s core values shone through. We have always been committed to explaining the big issues that grip the world, with passion, insight and authority, resolutely resisting party political bias. We speak to the subjects people really care about, with passion and an approachable language that connect with millions – both ‘classic’ Indy readers and a new audience. And they come back for more.''

Maybe the future is not so bleak after all.

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