JEDDAH, 10 June — As online editor, the question I am most frequently asked is “How has the launching of ArabNews Online affected the circulation of the print edition?” Is it pessimism that drives this question or simple curiosity? There is an ongoing debate about the effect of the electronic age on the print medium. In the realm of providing news, many assume that providing information free of charge at the click of a mouse will lure away loyal print fans. We are happy that we can tell people to be careful about making such assumptions. Our circulation figures have remained constant despite the fact that we are close to reaching 1,000,000 page views per month.
Currently, according to statistics from WebTrends, ArabNews Online (www.arabnews.com) is averaging 30,000 page views per day. This figure translates into roughly 5,000 visitors per day viewing an average of six pages per visit. Our online edition has a global reach which indicates the power of the Internet. Over 60 percent of our viewers are from the United States and Canada, according to statistical results from Mycomputer.com. Our feedback which is pleasantly overwhelming comes from all around the world. Everyday we receive comments, suggestions, congratulations and criticism from the smallest towns in the United States to the largest cities in Asia.
Our most popular/most viewed pages — not including individual articles — are the home page, cartoon page, classifieds, features, letters to the editor, and local press. The average time spent per visit is six minutes which is considered high in terms of the Internet surfer’s attention span. Most Internet users spend less than 2-3 minutes on any single information site.
ArabNews Online is not an exact copy of the printed newspaper and as we move forward, we strive to offer unique value to the reader of the online edition. We offer local and regional stories, exclusive features, Islam and Law and You columns, local information, market data, sports and weather. With expansion, we will provide more interactive options for our viewers.
In general, research from around the world is proving that the Internet is not replacing the print media. Audiences for online news are still small compared with those for printed newspapers. The typical newspaper site gets relatively few users in a week compared to the cumulative impact of its daily circulation. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the figures indicate that print readership is increasing with papers that have an online edition.
Fairfield Research Group and WAN provide analysis based on figures concerning US data. As the Internet news audience grows, it is replacing television instead of newspapers. Their work finds that newspaper readership is holding steady but viewing figures for television news are dropping steadily.
While use of television and radio dropped 9 percent this year, readership of books, trade and business magazines and newspapers increased over last year. Consumers are spending 12 percent more time reading newspapers than they did in 2000. One in three members of the US public gets news from the Internet at least once a week — up from one in five in 1998. Furthermore, three times as many people — 15 percent — read online news daily as did in 1998.
Online news reading patterns differ greatly from newspaper and magazine reading patterns, according to a study by the Poynter Institute and Stanford University.
People reading news on Internet sites tend to focus on the article text first, looking at photos and graphics afterward. Those who read newspapers and magazine do the opposite: look at illustrations first, then examine the text.
Internet users who read news online read 75 percent of each article whereas newspaper and magazine readers read less than 30 percent of each article.
Surfers visiting news sites viewed a surprisingly high 45 percent of banner advertisements for one second which is long enough for full perception of an online advertisement. Sixty-four percent of photos and 22 percent of other images were viewed for the same length of time. Local newspaper sites attracted 45 percent of those studied. Most people want detailed information, which is more personally pertinent.
We are constantly being thanked for offering news, stories and information to people who at one time lived in Saudi Arabia or want local information that they cannot obtain from other sources.
We receive questions on Islam, inquiries from students around the world doing research, comments from Kahil’s cartoon loyalists and suggestions from people who care enough to give us their recommendations. We still have a long way to go on our electronic journey and we thank all of our viewers for their feedback.
