The Washington Post. The Baltimore Sun. NBC4. WBAL. The Gazette. These are a few of the many sources Marylanders go to for news and political coverage. But no one knows the relative readership of these sources on the Internet, which is becoming the premier platform for information delivery, because they do not report their site traffic. That ends today. Now, for the first time, we reveal all!
The best way to get web traffic data is through openly accessible measuring software like Sitemeter or Statcounter. MPW and many other blogs have one or the other and make them available for public inspection. (Just click on the Sitemeter icon in our right margin to see MPW’s traffic.) We have periodically reported on visit trends for Maryland blogs that use such open reporting systems.
But almost no one in the mainstream media (MSM) regularly reports their site stats. Luckily, we have found a way to get around that problem: Compete.com, a company that measures traffic and drums up business by helping site owners boost it. Compete relies on a panel of two million online users who are diversified by geography, demographics, browsers and more and allow the firm to collect their web browsing data. Then, “Compete’s experts in the fields of mathematics, statistics and the data sciences have developed a proprietary methodology to aggregate, normalize and project the data to estimate US Internet activity. Based on the daily web usage of more than 2,000,000 members in the Compete community, Compete estimates total traffic, rank and other statistics for the top 1,000,000 sites on the web for use by consumers.”
We don’t believe Compete’s methodology is perfect. Specifically, a panel of two million users won’t estimate the traffic of very small sites that well. And let’s be honest: these data are estimates, whereas Sitemeter and Statcounter generate real-time counts. Still, we believe that ballpark estimates contain some value. A site that is estimated to have two million visits per month probably has more users than one that has 100,000 visits. That level of information is better than what we have now for the MSM, which is… basically zero. Furthermore, since Compete measures all sites using the same methodology, its stats should offer apple-to-apple comparisons.
We used Compete’s database to obtain a three-month average (August-October) of site visits for over forty online news sources in Maryland. Compete defines visits this way:Visits are initiated when a user enters a site during an internet session. As the user interacts with the site the visit is live. Visits are considered live until the user’s interaction within the entire internet session has ceased for a 30-minute period. Visits are unique to a session.
This is a fairly standard definition of site visits that is also used by Sitemeter and Statcounter.
For instance, User A enters Yahoo at 9:00. User A checks their email and reviews the week's weather forecast. User A then goes to a meeting at 9:30. She returns at 10:30 and checks her Yahoo email again. Since 30 minutes lapsed between her two interactions User A is considered “one person” that made “two visits.”
Here are Compete.com’s site visit estimates for selected Maryland news sites.
A few notes:
1. We are not surprised that the four largest newspapers have the four most-visited websites. But it’s impossible to tell how much of their traffic is directed to Maryland-oriented content. The Post attracts worldwide traffic for its national and international news. The Times and the Examiner are go-to sites for national conservative commentary. All have readers in the District and Virginia. Despite all this, we won’t dispute their raw size. And isn’t it interesting that the Sun, the Times and the Examiner are all basically tied in traffic?
2. Nine of the next fourteen sites are TV stations, including two based outside the Washington and Baltimore metro areas. Television stations have an inherent potential synergy with the web through their ready access to video, but for the most part, they have not built user-friendly video archives. Wouldn’t it be nice to go to a TV site and quickly assemble a series of clips into one video of the latest stories on your topic of choice? The first TV site that figures out how to let its users customize its content access easily and quickly is going to take off.
3. Online-only news sites get some insider buzz but they have few if any readers. It’s hard to make a case that any are economically viable. According to Sitemeter, MPW averaged 57,867 site visits per month in the August-October period, far more than any of the Maryland online politics sites covered by Compete. But even if MPW maxed out on ads, we would not generate anywhere near enough money to support a full-time author. That calls into question the prospects of any of the online-only news sites with a fraction of our traffic that are expected to someday be self-supporting.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
How Much Web Traffic Do Maryland News Sites Get?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sentinel Ignores GOP Activist Scandal
The Sentinel has ignored our story on GOP activist Glynis Kazanjian, whom it allows to craft propaganda on health care for the Republican Party at the same time that she submits "news" articles on the same subject to the newspaper. Below is its latest article from Kazanjian. It is increasingly apparent that the Sentinel has as much respect for its readers as con artists have for their victims.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
GOP Activist Masquerades as MSM Reporter
Times are bad for the MSM. They’re losing money. They’re imposing layoffs. They’re trying to launch blogs (gasp). And now they’re finding reporters in the most unusual of places. Like, for example, the activist core of the Maryland Republican Party.
Meet Glynis Roxanne Kazanjian. She’s a 43-year-old Rockville resident and a Republican. But she’s not run-of-the-mill GOP rank and file. She’s a go-get-em member of the faithful!
Kazanjian is one of the hardest-working GOP women in Montgomery County. Here she is, raising money for the MoCo Republican Party with a book signing.
Here she is, testifying against drivers licenses for illegal immigrants on behalf of the Maryland Federation of Republican Women.
And she was the Montgomery County Coordinator for Maryland Women for McCain.
But as busy as she is, Glynis Kazanjian cannot be busy enough. She wanted to do more. LOTS more.
Last spring, Nancy Navarro’s County Council campaign received this email.On Tue, May 5, 2009 at 10:37 AM, bockaz@aol.com wrote:
When Navarro’s campaign manager told “Roxann” that Navarro was a naturalized citizen, she replied:
Dear Ms. Navarro,
I am a District 4 constituent and a registered Independent. There are many rumors about your citizenship, and I would like to put them to rest, to help clear my vision of who I vote for in the special election on May 19. Can you tell me if you are a US citizen and when and how you became legal? I know that you came from South America and I don't know much about immigration law.
Thank you.
Roxann Avolt
Olney, MDFrom: bockaz@aol.com
Of course, there’s no such person as Roxann Avolt. But note the email address: bockaz@aol.com. It matches the email address used by Glynis Kazanjian in the book signing solicitation above. And it’s probably not a coincidence that Kazanjian’s middle name is Roxanne. In fact, she used “bockaz” as a Google handle in a comment on this very blog:
Date: Tue, May 5, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Subject: Re: constituent request
To: navarroforcouncil@gmail.com
Dear David,
I am informally involved with a group of Independents and we are trying to identify a candidate that we feel comfortable endorsing. It would be great if you could put the rumors to rest and provide information as to when (what year) and where, which state, Ms. Navarro received her naturalization or citizenship. Thank you.
Roxann
So what would a pseudonym-using, dirt-digging GOP activist do with her spare time? You guessed it – become an MSM reporter!
Just as Kazanjian said in her blog comment, she wrote about the District 4 campaign for the Montgomery County Sentinel. At the same time, she wrote about the campaign for the MoCo Republican newsletter.
Kazanjian also covered anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Maryland for the Sentinel. She was hardly an objective observer of the group, having testified against drivers licenses for illegal immigrants for the Maryland Federation of Republican Women.
But she deserves extra credit for her switch hitting on health care. On 7/30/09, the Maryland Republican Federation of Republican Women put out this call for action on health care thanking Kazanjian for “preparing this material.”
On 8/7/09, Kazanjian wrote an article for the Sentinel on Congresswoman Donna Edwards’ town hall meeting on health care.
Then Kazanjian wrote an analysis on health care for the Sentinel on 9/10/09.
So let’s see. The Sentinel allows Kazanjian to write political propaganda for the GOP and write “news” articles for them on the same issues at the same time.
All across America, bundles of fish wrap are protesting that the Sentinel is giving them a bad name!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Ben Cardin on the Mainstream Media
Last week, the Sentinel sat down with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. Their entire interview is a good read, but this exchange over the mainstream media caught our eye.
The Sentinel: One of the other things I wanted to cover for, I guess for constituents, for younger constituents especially, there's such a plethora of information out there or ability to access information, yet it seems like information has been watered down to where it can't be found. How do you combat that?
Cardin: I don't know that it's watered down so you can't find it - there's information, the availability of information is almost unlimited because of the ability to search on the Internet. What I find frustrating is the quality of good reporting. There's not a lot of good, investigative work being done today. Now, I look at what I do in the United States Senate and look at the number of local reporters who cover what I'm doing, and it's not very many. And the same thing's true of businesses in Maryland and the same thing's true of schools or environmental issues, there's just not - the quality of investigative reporting, the quality of the news bureaus of our local papers has been greatly diminished, and one of the reasons it's greatly diminished is because people are getting their news online and get it with less cost, and therefore the financial ability of local papers to maintain robust bureaus is compromised. I have the answer for that, but that's -
The Sentinel: What's your answer?
Cardin: Well the answer is first of all, they should have different - other revenue options than advertising and subscription.
The Sentinel: Such as…
Cardin: Well I've suggested that if there's local people who want to help support it through a non-profit, they should be able to contribute to a news organization as a non-profit. And I've also suggested that you should look up compensation for original news source on the Internet; there should be some way of papers being financially compensated for their work being used on the Internet, the original work.
The Sentinel: The original work, like a copyright.
Cardin: Right. It's impossible to do under our current trust laws. There's no way that a local paper can keep its information off the Internet without having an understanding of other news organizations, otherwise you'll be at a terrible competitive disadvantage.
The Sentinel: And you know the problem that everyone in the news industry would have with a non-profit-government interference.
Cardin: There is no government interference; it's to protect it! Does the government interfere with the church? Church is a non-profit.
The Sentinel: But it is - you understand, the appearance versus reality.
Cardin: I understand the appearance. And when I explain it, people start to say 'Hey, wait, maybe you're right.' I mean, it's the same model we use for private schools, it's the same model we use for churches, and it preserves the government staying away from it - I would oppose anything that would allow the government to interfere with the free press.
That's against the free press; free press has to work independently. Today, what's happening is because of the realities of the current marketplace, you're losing the checks and balances that a free press provides in a democratic society, 'cause you're not getting the same investment in independent reporting. Therefore, you need a model that can work, and the reality of life is that subscription and advertising is not going to work, so where the other revenue flows, and what's wrong with a private foundation being able to support an independent news organization for its community?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
MoCo Delegation Speaks Out on Slots, Part Three
The Montgomery County Sentinel’s series on the MoCo delegation’s positions on slots concludes this week. Following are the positions of legislators from Districts 19, 20 and 39. The Sentinel did not report responses from Senators Mike Lenett (D-19) and Nancy King (D-39) and Delegates Hank Heller (D-19) and Kirill Reznik (D-39), but as we have seen, that does not necessarily mean that those legislators did not contact them. Of the legislators who are quoted in the Sentinel, Delegates Roger Manno (D-19), Sheila Hixson (D-20) and Tom Hucker (D-20) voted for the referendum and Senator Jamie Raskin (D-20) and Delegates Ben Kramer (D-19), Heather Mizeur (D-20), Charles Barkey (D-39) and Saqib Ali (D-39) voted against it.
Delegate Ben Kramer (Against):Kramer voted against the referendum during the special session and said he has some difficulty understanding why many voted for the referendum last year and now claim they oppose it. “I question their rationale,” he said.
Editor’s Note: Can someone explain to us in the comments section what this alternative could be?
Kramer said he would like to see, as an alternative to slots, a repeal of a tax cut that was disapproved.
Delegate Roger Manno (Against):Manno said he will vote against the slots referendum on the November ballot. “I do not believe that the slots proposal offers a stable or justifiable source of revenue, even if we assume the most generous slots revenue projections,” he said.
Senator Jamie Raskin (Against):
“As a legislator,” he continued, “my focus is to protect vulnerable populations, shore up critical infrastructure commitments, fulfill our contract with retirees who have paid into the system, and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.”
In lieu of revenue from the slots proposal, Manno said cuts and efficiencies in the range of $100 million to $200 million are “likely unavoidable. In addition, alternative revenues include cracking down on the misclassification of employees (yielding some $200 million annually in other states), and implementing combined reporting to capture revenue from corporate tax loopholes (yielding perhaps $100 million annually). If enacted, these measures would close the portion of the budget shortfall that slots revenue would assume.”Raskin said he voted against the slots proposal in the Senate and intends to vote against it at the polls as well. “To me, it seems like a low road for the state to go down,” he said. “After so many home foreclosures, risking bankruptcies and staggering consumer debt, I cannot imagine that it’s a good idea to set up 15,000 slot machines in our state.”
Delegate Sheila Hixon (For):
He said if there was universal health care, universal accessibility and a stronger safety net, then the state could, perhaps, responsibly rely on people’s gambling losings to fund essential state services. “We don’t have a real social safety net,” he said. “Just a tight rope and it’s already shaky enough for a lot of people and kids right now. I don’t think the government should help push people off of it with the introduction of slot machines.”
Raskin said he believes there are people of good will on both sides of the issue. “Our economic problems, flowing downhill from the fiscal recklessness and out-of-control spending of the Bush Administration, are deep and will require sustained attention,” he said.
Alternatively, Raskin said he would like to see a tax on liquor and continued pruning of the state budget, including a repeal of the death penalty, which, according to the Senator, will save millions of dollars a year.Hixson said that without slots, the budget would be very tight. “We have given the voters to choose,” she said. “If they want it, they will vote for it.”
Delegate Tom Hucker (Against):“While there is no question that the state needs additional revenue,” Hucker said, “any significant revenue from slots won’t arrive until fiscal year 2012, too late to fix the budgets for next year or the following year.”
Editor’s Note: As we will see in an upcoming post, next year’s budget deficit is projected to be $1.3 billion. That’s a lotta gold bullion! Hey Tom – how many of those “gold bullion collectors” live in District 20?
He said the revenue from slots is “overestimated” and will be “offset by millions of dollars that will be needed for increased bankruptcies, gambling addiction treatment, domestic violence and other crimes that typically increase in the states that legalize slots.”
Hucker said he has been an organizer and vocal advocate for a progressive state income tax for years and said he was proud to vote last year to finally make the income tax progressive. He said he also worked in 2003 and 2004 to close the Delaware corporate tax loophole, which dozens of large companies, according to him, were using to cheat Maryland out of hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We need to end our state tax breaks for yacht owners, gold bullion collectors and country clubs. And most important, we need to enact combined reporting to make sure multinational corporations pay taxes in Maryland just like the rest of us. Taking those steps would raise more than $500 million annually – enough to close our budget deficit next year, not years down the road.”
Delegate Heather Mizeur (Against):“Maryland is the wealthiest state in the nation for a reason,” Mizeur said. “We invest in our people, in their skills and in our communities. Our state thrives on job creation fueled by creativity, research and new technologies.”
Delegate Saqib Ali (Against):
Mizeur said slots are “a regressive throwback to 19th Century thinking.” She said that the state should focus on science and technology and not slots to help balance the budget. “Instead of betting on slots, Maryland could expand its individual and corporate tax bases by promoting economic winners like nanotechnology, renewable energy or biotechnology,” she said. “Let’s bet on science, not slots.”Ali said that slots are a tax on the poorest members of society. “I think the detrimental aspects of slots, like addiction, ruined finances and broken homes, outweigh the fiscal benefits.”
Delegate Charles Barkley (Against):
He said he is also concerned that the gambling companies will be unjustly enriched by the referendum.
Ali said he would like to see the same budget cuts the government has made in the past. “Additionally, I see no reason why alcohol taxes in Maryland shouldn’t be raised,” he said. “They have not been raised in more than a generation.”“I am not a fan of gambling,” he said. “We shouldn’t base our revenue on slots because too many things come with it.”
Barkley said he is afraid, like many others, that the social problems that are attached to gambling such as crime, corruption and gambling addiction will burden the state.
“Cutting certain programs and spending could help turn around the budget crisis,” he said.
Friday, October 24, 2008
State Legislators Cry Foul on Sentinel Coverage
Two state legislators claim that the Montgomery Sentinel has inaccurately characterized their responses on the slots issue. These are serious allegations that the Sentinel must address immediately.
In Part Two of our series reprinting the Sentinel's questions to state legislators on slots, we reported the Sentinel's statement that it did not receive return communications from Delegates Bill Bronrott and Bill Frick, both of District 16. Both Delegates claim that is untrue.
Delegate Bronrott told me, "The reporter and I traded calls a couple of times. While we did not connect in time to have a conversation before his deadline, I did leave him a message letting him know that I oppose the slots referendum." Nevertheless, Sentinel reporter Joe Slaninka wrote, "Though the Montgomery Sentinel tried repeatedly to get in contact with Bronrott, by press time he still had not returned our phone calls."
Delegate Frick received an email from Slaninka on Tuesday, October 14 at 11:56 AM saying:Dear Delegate or Senator,
Delegate Frick emailed Slaninka four minutes later:
I am polling the Montgomery County Delegation about your positions on the Slots Referendum on the upcoming November ballot. I am asking for your position (either for or against) and your reasons for your position. If you are against, I am also asking what alternatives you would like to see to help fix the current budget crisis in Maryland.
I have a deadline of tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 15) so I would appreciate it if you could respond as soon as possible. You can respond to this email or you can call me at my office or on my cell phone (provided below). I appreciate your time and I look forward to hearing from you very soon. Thank you.Joe, I am voting "no" on the referendum.
Nevertheless, Slaninka wrote, "Though the Montgomery Sentinel tried repeatedly to get in contact with Frick, by press time he still had not returned our phone calls."
This is irresponsible press coverage on multiple levels. First, given the woeful understaffing of state legislative offices when the General Assembly is out of session, it is absolutely unreasonable to give them 24 hours notice to respond to press questions. Anyone who covers Annapolis would understand this. Second, the Sentinel blatantly mischaracterized these two Delegates as unresponsive when they in fact did reach out to the reporter. In Frick's case, he did so in four minutes.
The Sentinel's editors need to investigate this and issue a retraction and an apology to these two Delegates. And they should do it yesterday.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
MoCo Delegation Speaks Out on Slots, Part Two
The Montgomery County Sentinel's series on the MoCo delegation's positions on slots continues. This week, legislators from Districts 16, 17 and 18 reveal their views on the subject. However, only Senators Brian Frosh (D-16) and Jennie Forehand (D-17) and Delegates Susan Lee (D-16), Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-18), and Jeff Waldstreicher (D-18) responded to the Sentinel's questioning. The other legislators went AWOL (although who can doubt Delegate Luiz Simmons' position?). Of the ones who responded, Senator Forehand and Delegates Lee and Gutierrez voted for the referendum while Senator Frosh and Delegate Waldstreicher voted against it.
Senator Brian Frosh (Against):From 2001 to 2003, Frosh served as co-chair of the Senate Special Committee on Gaming. He says his experience at that position convinced him that slots will burden a community. "These burdens will add to the expense of building new infrastructure to accommodate the crowds, the potential for higher crime rates, bigger crime prevention budgets and beefed up social service programs to address the problems attendant to gambling addiction," he said.
Delegate Susan Lee (Against):
He is also concerned about the argument that the slots amendment will raise money for schools. $660 million of the revenue from slots is earmarked for education. "The state's education budget, currently $5.5 billion, is set according to formulas based on enrollment and other factors," Frosh said. "The budget won't go up because another $660 million is available. Instead, the slots money will shift existing education dollars to be spent in other areas."
"The bottom line is that we're going to have to balance the budget and pay for our schools the old fashioned way: by finding economies and making hard choices," he said. "Slots aren't the answer."Lee said gambling is an unstable source of revenue for the state. Her biggest concern is the social burden annd costs that slots bring.
Senator Jennie Forehand (Against):
"The problems it creates, such as addiction, domestic violence, burden on the criminal justice system, and damage to neighborhoods far outweigh any possible short term revenue to the state," she said.
She said the state needs to do what it has done before to help fix the current budget problem and that it has to come up with more responsible ways to raise revenue, prioritize and make cuts where there are inefficiencies. "We will have to make some very hard choices," she said. "However, slots are not the answer.""I know the state needs money, but I plan to vote against the referendum," Forehand said.
Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez (Against):
Forehand's concern is that a lot of the revenue will go to Maryland's racing industry. "I think the public is better served and comfortable if the money goes to education and other state priorities and not the racing industry," she said. Forehand said that the racing industry does not need the $100 million that is promised to it.Gutierrez says she is 100 percent against allowing slots in Maryland and is doing everything that she can to not let the referendum pass.
Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher (Against):
"I am very concerned of the social damages that come with slots," she said. "We should be finding better ways to increase a better economic base."
She said that Montgomery County is a good example of economic development and does not want to see it go in the opposing direction. "We should not be selling our soul to the devil."Waldstreicher said slots are the wrong way to go. He also said that the revenue will not show up for several years. "Fiscal year 2009-2010 will not be affected so we will have to address the problem now," he said.
We are grateful that no one imitated Delegate Craig Rice's infamous response from last week. But we do wonder what "political agenda" were referenced by Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher. Would you care to elaborate, sir?
The social costs that slots bring are another of his concerns. "Crime, addiction and other social burdens will affect the state and could possibly add insult to injury," he said.
"We need to focus on the right thing to do for Maryland," he said. "We should not be making a decision on the issue based on political agenda."
Thursday, October 16, 2008
MoCo Delegation Speaks Out on Slots, Part One
The Montgomery County Sentinel is running a series in which they ask all of Montgomery County's delegation about their positions on the slots referendum. This week, they post responses from Senator Rona Kramer (D-14), Delegate Karen Montgomery (D-14), Delegate Kathleen Dumais (D-15) and Delegate Craig Rice (D-15). Senator Kramer and Delegates Dumais and Rice voted for the referendum, while Delegate Montgomery was "excused from voting." Concerning the other legislators, the Sentinel writes, "Though the Montgomery Sentinel tried repeatedly to get in contact with [Politician X], by press time he/she still had not returned our phone calls." Doesn't that sound like something a collections agency might say?
Here are the statements released by the above four legislators to the Sentinel:
Senator Rona Kramer (For):Kramer said she is reluctant to vote for the referendum but does not see any other alternative to help fix the $1 billion budget gap the state is facing. "It is not the best way to go," she said. "I do not want to see it in the constitution but it seems to be the only compromise available at this time."
Editor's Note: In an April blog post, we revealed that even if the slots referendum passes, it will not provide extra money right away. State budget projections find that slots revenues will total nearly $500 million in fiscal 2012 and $660 million in 2013.
Kramer does not see where the revenue could come from without slot machines. "If we don't have slots, then the state will have to cut other services that are already provided."
Delegate Karen Montgomery (Against):Montgomery said she believes slots will cause more harm than good and she raises the question of liquor tax. "How is it that Maryland has the lowest liquor tax in the country?" she asked. She said that Maryland does not put a tax on liquor like it does with tobacco and does not understand why that is.
Editor's Note: Delegate Montgomery was endorsed by MCEA in 2006. Are Bonnie Cullison, Tom Israel and Jon Gerson reading this?
According to the Comptroller of Maryland's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division, the Maryland tax on distilled spirits is $1.50 per gallon compared to Delaware's $4.85 per gallon. Montgomery wants to look to other alternatives to slots to help mend the financial crisis.
"I like Montgomery County Public Schools' idea of freezing raises as an alternative," she said.
Delegate Kathleen Dumais (Against):Dumais did vote in the special session last year to put the referendum on November's ballot and says it was one of the most difficult decisions she has had to make. "I don't have the magic answer, but I do think we need to take a harder look at taxes," she said. She said her biggest concern is that she has not seen documentation stating that most of the revenue will go to education and that makes her think the state's education system will not get what is promised.
Delegate Craig Rice (Decided):
Like Montgomery County Council Vice President Phil Andrews, Dumais said she is afraid that money that would otherwise go to small businesses would be diverted to slots if passed. "Local businesses will feel the negative effects," she said. "I think it's a disaster."Rice declined to disclose whether he is for or against the slot referendum. "My decision stays with me until I close the curtain in November," he said.
Excuse me? Did I read that correctly? "My decision stays with me until I close the curtain in November." I have never met a politician who enjoys such a response when seeking votes on the campaign trail. The reaction of constituents upon hearing such a thing from their elected leaders is not much happier.
Rice did say he is not a fan of slots and he said if Maryland turns to them "we should look into expanding to casinos and higher gaming and bring in table games along with slot machines."
As for alternatives to slots, Rice says budget cuts need to go deeper. "We have made quite enough tax increases, and teacher salaries need to be protected," he said.
Next week, the Sentinel will print the responses of legislators from Districts 16, 17 and 18, with responses from Districts 19, 20 and 39 due the week after that. We will be reprinting them here. District 18 representatives, if you are reading this (and I know you are), I very much hope that you will not give an "answer" similar to the one provided by Delegate Rice!
