The beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to review the old one. January 2nd also marked the first anniversary of The Current so it is also a good time to give our readers an update.
Because we are an online newspaper (or “blog” if you prefer!), we have the advantage of being able to see at any given time how many people are reading which particular article and in which geographic location. Our website statistics let us see what stories we published that most captured our readers’ attention.
The Top Ten of 2018
In order of popularity, here are the top ten most-read stories on The Current during 2018:
- Municipal election “Town Hall” forum
- MV Councillor subject of complaint after outburst
- MV Township without CAO
- MV is not a CAO-friendly environment
- Announcement: Pot shop poll
- Township sued by former Integrity Commissioner
- Proposed condo development includes Chippawa Lodge
- MV Mayor claims she has no role in the disciplining of council members
- Confrontation continues at MV committee meeting
- Porch Views: Who is a local? Diversity or division in the Madawaska Valley
All of these articles remain on our website and the Comments section which follows every piece bears witness to the extent of our readers’ engagement. The Top Ten list reveals that during the municipal election year many of our readers used The Current’s online Town Hall forum to engage with those municipal candidates who participated. The forum alone attracted more than 150 online comments out of nearly 200 relating to the election campaign. This is a significant proportion of the 750-plus online comments The Current received last year.
But the Top Ten list doesn’t tell the whole story. 2018 was, after all, a municipal election year so it was understandable that there would be a greater degree of public interest in campaign coverage. Readers of The Current also demonstrate a thirst for stories about economic development, culture and heritage – as well as community events and lifestyle.
Readership and engagement grows
During 2018 The Current averaged 23,000 page views per month. Some articles attracted as many as 1,900 views per day. We are pleased to report that our average returning readership exceeds 2,300 per month. To these numbers must be added the readership of our free monthly print version. We distribute more than 750 print copies of The Current — from Whitney to Eganville to Maynooth — in waiting rooms, multi-unit residences and shops. Like the online stories, each month’s selection for print remains available in PDF form on our website.
What’s next for The Current?
The Current aims to make some improvements during 2019 so our first print version of the year will arrive a bit later in January. Watch out, too, for website changes to give our readers more relevant content.
Thank you
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to our readers for making the first year of The Current so successful. And as always we are extremely grateful to our talented contributors who have provided such great reading material.
A happy and healthy 2019 to you all!
Great job. Very professional.
Congratulations on a most successful 2018 year of reporting ‘current’ news on your online newspaper/blog entitled “The Madawaska Valley Current”! Since January 2018 was the beginning of your first year at such an outstanding accomplishment, I extend two well-deserved greetings as well: “Happy New Year” AND “Happy Anniversary”. I am edified also by your distribution of more than 750 free monthly print copies of selections from “The Current”; that inclusion is an extremely thoughtful one which renders much appreciation on the part of those print-readers. As part of my appreciation for all your hard work, I make others aware of “The Madawaska Valley Current” and frequently deliver print copies to local residents who are without internet access but who wish to be made aware of current ‘news’ presented in an honest, accurate and easy-to-read way. May you have continued success in 2019!
Excellent journalism; fair, informative and inclusive. MadValley Current brings us together wherever we are with up-to date news, and local stories allowing us to participate in the decision-making for our favourite place in the world – the Madawaska Valley. We are proud to support the Current and see it continue into 2019 and beyond. Thank you, Claudia & Dirk Van Wijk, Madawaska Kanu Centre
Happy New Year. Thank you for your time, diligence, and perspective.
Thank you for all your hard work in helping to keep us informed. Looking forward to your articles in 2019!
Happy New Year!
Excellent!!!!!Its an awesome way to keep up with whats going on back home in the Valley down here in the big smoke in Toronto. I love the fact also that I don’t have to buy a paper to read the whole. Did I mention the Leafs are awesome this year!!! Keep up the great work…something to think about, the odd story from the minor hockey scene in the Bay would be awesome.
The top 10 tells us what we are obviously interested in. The reporting has been very accurate and very interesting to read. Keep up the great work. Super paper (blog!)
Well done . A real asset to our community . Thank You for all your hard work . Good luck in the future . Congratulations.