Thursday, October 04, 2012

By the numbers | Debate story reader comments

Here's one measure of reader engagement. The much-anticipated first presidential debate last night was covered wall-to-wall by major newspapers and broadcast outlets. Here are the number of reader comments posted* so far to main live stories at four dailies:


231


381


1,427


5,000-plus


* the NYT only allows a relative handful of readers to post comments on their own; most require editor approval first. The Post offers the most liberal policy: readers aren't required to use their real names.

How does your site use reader comments to develop ideas for stories? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

2 comments:

  1. One reason I'm watching the number of comments at USA Today is to measure the impact of the new beta site on traffic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The new site sucks big time. Readers are bailing. Gelman should be fired.

    ReplyDelete

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