While newspapers across the country face a declining number of subscribers, traffic to the top 10 online newspapers grew 16 percent in December 2008 versus a year ago, according to new research from Nielsen Online.
NYTimes.com continued to be the number one online newspaper, with 18.2 million unique visitors. USATODAY.com and washingotnpost.com took maintained the number two and three ranks, respectively.
| Site | Dec-07 (000) | Dec-08 (000) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10 Online Newspapers | 34,602 | 40,093 | 16 |
| NYTimes.com | 17,177 | 18,187 | 6 |
| USATODAY.com | 9,939 | 11,420 | 15 |
| washingtonpost.com | 8,478 | 9,470 | 12 |
| LA Times | 4,607 | 7,963 | 73 |
| Wall Street Journal Online | 5,409 | 7,235 | 34 |
| Daily News Online Edition | 2,956 | 5,883 | 99 |
| Chicago Tribune | 3,891 | 5,235 | 35 |
| New York Post | 2,851 | 4,557 | 60 |
| Boston.com | 4,364 | 4,086 | -6 |
| SFGate.com/SF Chronicle | 2,785 | 3,503 | 26 |
| Source: Nielsen Online (January 26, 2009) | |||
"December was an extremely active month in terms of news. The economic downturn, and its effects on the holidays and coverage of the incoming presidential administration, among other stories, all helped drive this impressive growth," said Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media for Nielsen Online.
Nielsen Online also reported data regarding the top 10 parent companies and top 10 web brands for December. That information and the full release can be viewed here.
