General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAs Trump's Problems Mount, Breitbart's Numbers are Cratering
Full article at Vanity Fair here.
From the article:
Early on, Solovs prediction seemed to be coming true. Breitbart News is the #45th most trafficked website in the United States, according to rankings from Amazons analytics company, Alexa.com, they wrote on January 9, 2017. With over two billion pageviews generated in 2016 and 45 million unique monthly visitors, Breitbart News has now surpassed Fox News (#47), Huffington Post (#50), Washington Post (#53), and Buzzfeed (#64) in traffic. A month later, the site had even greater cause to celebrate. Breitbart News is now the 29th most trafficked site in the United States, surpassing PornHub and ESPN, they crowed. In the article, its staffers bragged that their bonkers traffic reflected the sites cementing a permanent place in American politics. The numbers speak for themselves, said Solov. (Many outlets, including The Hive, experienced traffic peaks around Trumps inauguration.)
Just a few months later, the numbers have a different story to tell. As of May 26, 2017, according to Alexa.comthe same web-ranking analytics company that Breitbart drew its numbers from in JanuaryFox News is the 64th most-trafficked site in the country. Huffington Post is at 60. Buzzfeed is at 50. The Washington Post, on the strength of a series of eye-popping scoops, is at 41.
Breitbart is in 281st place.
Other conservative media sites have also experienced declines in traffic in recent months, but none as pronounced as Breitbarts. According to Alexa data, National Review Online, Infowars.com, The Daily Caller, and Drudge Report all saw slumps in their rankings. Over the last week, as Trump was engulfed in the Comey scandal, Fox Newss viewership dropped to third place behind CNN and MSNBC for the first time in 17 years.
But for now, the simplest explanation may be that Breitbarts traffic struggles reflect the struggles of the man they backed during the election, now mired in the difficulties of governance and scandal. When you tie yourself to a candidate you shouldnt be surprised, said the former staffer. If the candidate has trouble, youre going to have trouble. And if your goal is to provide cover for that candidate and the news is about that candidate, its going to be difficult to cover the news in a way thats interesting.
Looks like there are some troubles on the right wing-o-sphere. People are either smartening up a bit about the insane right-wing coverage, or they're going EVEN FURTHER off the deep end, past Breitbart and straight into InfoWars territory.
Sad. Weak.
MattP
(3,304 posts)sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)"The imminent conservative takeover of local TV news, explained
Thanks to Trump, Sinclair Broadcast Group will soon have all it needs to be the next big force in right-wing news."
https://www.vox.com/2017/5/15/15598270/sinclair-broadcast-imminent-conservative-takeover-of-local-tv-news-explained
Also see
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/08/527462015/sinclair-broadcast-group-has-deal-to-buy-tribune-medias-tv-stations
"Sinclair owned station in Montana won't air recording of Gianforte assault"
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/25/sinclair-owned-station-montana-wont-air-recording-gianforte-assault/216678
"Foxs Unfamiliar but Powerful Television Rival: Sinclair"
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/business/dealbook/sinclair-media-expansion-fox-conservative-media.html
angstlessk
(11,862 posts)The more technically savvy folks become the more they use other means of communicating..not being a vegetable in front of a one way vehicle.
sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)angstlessk
(11,862 posts)sharedvalues
(6,916 posts)You're basically stating Obama's strategy -- look past old media, reach out to the Internet, speak to the next generation, and ignore the current media that is on its way out.
That strategy ALMOST worked. HRC lost by a tiny fraction of overall votes.
But we live in the present. The white house and GOP donors are actively trying to make this a one party, authoritarian country. I think we have about a year to take the country back. We must address the current information landscape, I believe.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)If someone were to take that November quote from Solov and shove it up his Twitter account.
Ohioblue22
(1,430 posts)vlyons
(10,252 posts)Got regrets
hvn_nbr_2
(6,486 posts)Breitbart articles have started appearing on the Google news page. I just sent this feedback to Google: "Breitbart is NOT news. Breitbart is lies, innuendo and wingnut fever dreams. Get Breitbart off the news page."
If you use Google news, there is a link "Send Feedback" at the bottom of the news page.