Web site sees 50% growth in May
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Here’s the memo on it from Meredith Artley, executive editor for Interactive.
Colleagues:
The numbers are in and they are beautiful: 120 million page views for May. That’s nearly 50% growth compared to this time last year.
That’s a big time record-breaker and a tribute to the team of producers, editors and reporters who are doing more and more groundbreaking journalism on the site. This growth is also thanks to the tech team, which is making visible improvements such as making site search friendlier, opening up the archives and creating tools that make the job of publishing one of the fastest-growing news and information sites more efficient.
Some of the outstanding efforts that are resonating with readers include a very browsable database of all the California servicemen and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan – this launched over the Memorial Day weekend. Photos, comments and the ability to search by high school, age, hometown, cemetery and more make this continually updated database an ongoing, interactive memorial.
From the whiz-bang file, the local red light camera investigation led by reporter Rich Connell inspired Ben Welsh, database producer, with the idea of building a downloadable GPS application so drivers can be warned when they are approaching a camera. Producers and editors also constructed a Google Map showing where all red light cameras are in L.A.; video of red light violators was published, as was a demonstrative flash graphic. Also, the entire California/Local section went through a lite redesign to provide clearer navigation and improve readability.
What a month for entertainment. Hollywood Backlot launched in May – a beautifully designed database of images from photographer David Strick. It started out with a gallery of exclusive shots from the set of “Twilight,” an upcoming movie that has the younger set abuzz. This brand-new feature brought in brand-new readers, creating a whopping 3.6 million page views for the month.
Chapeaux off to the Cannes team – the constantly updated blog included posts and video commentary from Sheigh Crabtree, Pete Hammond, Kenneth Turan and John Horn. Sheigh shot video of Kenny moments after the world premiere of the new “Indiana Jones” film. That video was on the homepage minutes later, drawing thousands of streams.
To the dismay and relief of Richard Rushfield, “American Idol” is over. Who else can do a better job of referencing Homer (no, not Simpson) while reporting on the nation’s most popular television show? Richard and the ShowTracker team owned the coverage – at many points during the season, latimes.com was the first result for anyone who typed “American Idol” into Google.
The newly launched video project, “ICU: Los Angeles Connections,” is generating a lot of buzz around the Web and beyond. Katy Newton, the videographer and visionary, appeared on KTLA with one of her subjects.
Other recent highlights include a new outdoors section and blog at The Guide, and users viewed the first fruits of our new video studio on the 5th floor in the form of Bill Plaschke’s exclusive video column the morning after the Lakers beat the Spurs, one great element of the outstanding coverage.
On Sunday, the coverage of the Universal fire included live updates, video and great staff photography, as well as exclusive follow-up stories and breaking news alerts that are distributed to a growing list of subscribers.
Today is Election Day. Check out the June 3 election guide from Cal/Local, and its sibling in the Opinion section – both are great collections to consult before heading to the polls.
Traffic from Google has doubled from this time last year. This is thanks to the search-engine optimization team, which includes editors and producers who are writing Web headlines and checking out Google Trends, and also tech folks who are making changes to gain us more visibility with Google.
These monthly memos/spams are not complete without an update on the continued success of Top of the Ticket. Here’s a snip from a cheeky note Andy Malcolm sent around over the weekend: “Thanks to a long, hard Saturday with Don at the keyboard, the Top of the Ticket politics blog closed out the month of May with a strong day to amass a total of 2,633,553 page views in 31 days, a new LATimes.com blog record for a single month. The old record – oh, look, also held by The Ticket since April – was 1,922,000. That’s roughly a 37% increase month-over-month.”
What’s next? Our technology section will soon take the form of a blog powered by the Business tech team. More great blog launches are planned, including environment and Olympics. The navigation bar for California/Local will soon include links to traffic and immigration sections – two topics of great interest to our readers. A look back at the assassination of RFK is coming this week, with some moving video and great photos and articles from the archives. New database projects will look at charitable organizations and local pool inspections. And some local team is in the NBA finals. Sports continues to hold the title of the most-viewed section on the site, but Entertainment and Cal/Local are getting closer, and I can only encourage a grudge match.
You’ll see in the lists below that the gay marriage ruling and national politics drew a lot of interest, as did real estate, celebrity coverage and all things Lakers.
Top Articles for May:
1. California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban (Maura Dolan)
2. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt: ‘We’re entertainers’ (Kate Aurthur)
3. Clinton faces new pressure on 2 fronts (Peter Nicholas and Janet Hook)
4. 96 arrested in San Diego State drug bust (Tony Perry)
5. At 107, Livermore centennial light bulb is still a real live wire (John M. Glionna)
6. Political world abuzz over Scott McClellan’s tell-all book (James Gerstenzang and Richard B. Schmitt)
7. Fairness, idealism and other atrocities (P.J. O’Rourke)
8. Aaron Eckhart: Not just another pretty face in ‘The Dark Knight’ (Geoff Boucher)
9. California chief justice says same-sex marriage ruling was one of his toughest (Maura Dolan)
10. Obama’s got a confident new strategy (Peter Nicholas)
Top Blogs:
1. Top of the Ticket - 2,633,553 page views
2. Show Tracker - 1,242,868
3. L.A. Land - 1,005,657
4. Lakers Blog
5. L.A. Now
6. Homicide Report
7. Daily Travel & Deal Blog
8. Web Scout
9. Movable Buffet
10. Booster Shots
Top Photo Galleries:
1. Celebrity and sports collide in L.A.
2. Hot Property, featuring Cary Grant’s Palm Springs hideaway
3. Red Carpet Rewind: Cannes ’08 fashion
4. Celebrity shots
5. Foreclosure listings, from Culver City to Pasadena
6. The scene at Cannes ’08
7. Indiana Jones and the Rip-offs of Doom
8. 10 least expensive states for travelers
9. Before they were stars: From Jodie Foster to Angelina Jolie to Lindsay Lohan
10. Skyfarm (Home)
Top Videos:
1. Jackson on Lakers dramatic win over Spurs - 18,273 - (LAT)
2. Kobe breaks down the Spurs - 18,154 streams - (LAT)
3. Tornadoes Part of Wild Southland - 16,285 streams (CNN)
4. Kobe Bryant talks about Game 2 win - (LAT)
5. Kobe Bryant on how the Lakers won the West - (LAT)
6. Sasha Vujacic: ‘We have a very deep team’ - (LAT)
7. Students buried under rubble after earthquake - (CNN)
8. Phil Jackson: We’re pretty familiar with both teams - (LAT)
9. Kobe Bryant on Game 2: “It was special tonight” - (LAT)
10. Kobe Bryant discusses Game 5 - (LAT)
Great work by the Kamenetzky brothers, our Lakers bloggers who shot much of this month’s top ranked video.
Congratulations to everyone involved on another big step forward. We are in the process of creating a site worthy of the dynamic, diverse region we serve.
Links for the Mac crowd:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/
http://www.latimes.com/wardead
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-redlight19-2008may19,0,3530718.story
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/cannes_film_festival_2008/index.html
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-jones19-2008may19,0,5905300.story
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/american_idol/index.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-election-sg,0,2229465.storygallery
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/elections/
http://www.latimes.com/theguide/outdoors/
http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=2541838
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/