Here’s what the New York Times wanted its readers to know about on Monday:
Panel to Weigh Overture by U.S. to Iran and Syria
News Analysis: Chilling Echo for Lebanon, Mirror of Regional Tension
Gilded Paychecks: Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices
Seattle Journal: City That Takes Rain in Stride Puts on Hip Boots
Time Served: Zoning Laws That Bar Pedophiles Raise Concerns
A G.O.P. Breed Loses Its Place in New England
50 Shots Fired, and the Experts Offer a Theory
Black Friday Turned Green at the Malls Before Dawn
As Drug Benefit Tottered, a Veteran Buckled Down
Suicide Bomber Kills 15 People in Afghanistan
Bad Neuenahr-ahrweiler Journal: In Vineyards, a German ‘Dr. Strangelove’ Secret
A Layered Look Reveals Ancient Greek Texts
Titans 24, Giants 21: Giants, Playing Catch and Release, Fail Again
Here’s what NYT readers e-mailed others about (as of midnight). Stories that appeared on the front page are bolded:
Gilded Paychecks: Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices
Op-Ed Contributor: My Life as a Dog
What It Takes to Make a Student
Seattle Journal: City That Takes Rain in Stride Puts on Hip Boots
State of the Art: Free Services to Inspire Your Cellphone
A Layered Look Reveals Ancient Greek Texts
Op-Ed Contributor: Atheists Agonistes
Home Schoolers Content to Take Children’s Lead
One Spoonful at a Time
‘Yours Truly,’ the E-Variations
Advertising: Shorthand for a Holiday: Ralphie, the BB Gun and the Flagpole
In Quest to Improve Heart Therapies, Plaque Gets a Fresh Look
Holiday Books: 100 Notable Books of the Year
…making the paper 23% in touch with its readers.
As with the BBC Touch page, the editors should never strive to match the two lists and achieve 100% (as they are employed after all to decide what they think is most newsworthy), but it is an interesting way to look at the data and see what really interests the general public.
everyone loves getting the blasted headline forwarded to their email
The brilliance that is actus.
Its the stuff on A1 that you NEED to email. ah! all those lovely elite wedding announcements i’ve forwarded.
Some of them did e-mail front page stories. It just so happened that none of them dealt with national or international politics. But rainfall in Seattle is news to both the NYT and its readers.
Compare to the most e-mailed articles from the Washington Post:
That last one was the WaPo’s top story Monday. Granted, the WaPo’s print readers are more likely to be focused on doings in the company town, but its ‘net readership isn’t obliged to be more interested in it.
But it is classic actus to focus only on the top story in the first place. Analysis with the depth of a small soap dish is his trademark. Followed by the non sequitur—about wedding announcements, in this case. Which paper puts elite wedding announcements on the front page with any regularity, except on actusworld?
None. But some of them make wonderful forwards. The point being that people might not be forwarding, and might not want to receive, what they’ve already read in the front page. For example, of this sunday’s times, I wanted to forward a page 26 or so story about sri lanka to a sri lankan friend and an arts cover story about rock-and-roll covers for babies. To a guy with a baby. None of those, though, belong on the front page. And I certainly wouldn’t want to be voting for that.
I forward niche items to friends—in fact, I noted the rock CD for babies at my regular digs—but you’re missing the point. Both the BBC and the WaPo seem to do better at reflecting their net audience’s interest on their front pages. As already noted, that’s not the be-all, end-all. The fact that NYT readers didn’t find any of their national or international political stories sufficiently compelling to fwd—unlike the visitors to the BBC and WaPo sites—is interesting. And if repeated over time, telling.
I doubt the NYT’s editors are thrilled that their political coverage was far less popular to e-mail than their coverage of rainfall in Seattle. And that their most e-mailed story is based on the earth-shattering thesis that the prospect of wealth affects career choices, rather than what they surmised was a scoop on recommendations from the ISG. I would argue this is particularly true vis the NYT, which fancies itself as shaping the national and international political discourse. Maybe, just maybe, this comparison is another look at why the company’s share value continues to plummet.
It’s not so much that the NYTimes is out of touch, but their biggest product is news, which is what they put on their front page. Same goes with the immediately viewable parts of their website.
Which Protein Wisdom bits are most trackbacked? Should you guys focus on semiotics or Mr. Carry or balloon shields? Are you out of touch?
Constantly developing.
The ones with teh funny or with good arguments. But pw isn’t the nation’s “paper of record”, it’s Jeff Goldstein’s blog.
See the difference?
Karl, you’re giving actus far too many words, and far too complete ideas. Make him dig, man! Reach down inside yourself for more glibness!
You’re on to what I’ve said, I don’t think that whats forwarded is a good gauge of what should be on the front page. I doubt many forwarded the article about the WTC being attacked. But that was totally front page material.
My hypothesis is that whats forwarded is a very long tail sort of thing. Several niches being filled. Whats on the front page is more of a lowest common denominator sort of thing. That and I think should also ‘break’ news.
I think their biggest product is readers, which they sell to advertisers. All over the paper.
jon:
NYT E-Mails Forwards = Protein Wisdom trackbacks.
Jeff, when did you go mainstream?
I HAVE BEEN DECEIVED. DOWN WITH THE NEW/OLD MEDIA!!
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t go for help…no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
– FZ
Just trying to save you some time, Karl.
True, B Moe. To be scrupulously fair to actus, however, his disagreement with the premise is at least a defined position, which represents progress for him.
And it only took him three or four posts to abandon his usual cryptic replies and make his position explicit. Well done!
it’s almost like he’s come in contact with the real world or something.
Maybe actus lost his financial support, and had to get a job, else be on the street?
Let’s just be happy he did.
I guess. When he can take a defined position that addresses the actual premise and not his misunderstanding of it, I will be impressed.
well, i am no longer living on stafford loans and drawing a salary.
The premise involves the assumption that what is forwarded is what should be on the front page. I don’t think thats quite correct.
Boy that was ambiguous. Am no longer on loans. Am now on salary.
I’m sure the unfortunate soul(s) that pay that salary would be more than a bit dismayed to see such…uh…efforts as made here…
The premise is how many times front page articles are e-mailed is a way to compare which newspaper is addressing peoples interests the best with what they select to present as front page news.
You get what you pay for.
I know. Thats what I have problems with.
Those two premises are not the same thing at all actus. I frankly am mystified that someone could get a law degree with your level of reading comprehension. Unless of course you are not being honest in your attempt to discuss this.
I don’t think they are the same thing. I said the premise involves it. Certainly we’re saying that there’s a connection between things being emailed and things being on the front page. It seems like we’re saying they should be the same thing. I don’t htink thats the case at all.