Here is how to gauge the popularity and reach of online newspapers. Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices has used the same methods that determine the popularity of blogs on online newspapers.
HereÂ’s how you calculate this metric:
- Search Technorati to determine the number of links that include the paperÂ’s URL. For example, I just did a Technorati search for links to the Indianapolis Star site (search string: http://indystar.com). The result: 1305 links from 942 sources.
- Get the paperÂ’s peak daily circulation from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. (Figures for the 100 largest U.S. papers are online.) For the Star, estimated daily circulation is: 358,261.
- Divide the circulation estimate by 1,000. For the Star, that yields 358.261.
- To calculate LkpC, divide the numbers of inbound links (step 1) by 1/1000 of the daily circulation (step 3). For the Star, this means 1,305 / 358.261 = 3.64
The bloggiest newspapers Ethan Zuckerman found were:
Christian Science Monitor – 134.90
New York Times – 63.08
Washington Post – 58.44
San Francisco Chronicle – 38.32
Boston Globe – 29.80
Seattle Post Intelligencer – 18.56
New York Post – 12.48
LA Times – 11.21