MesquiteCitizen Tops Online Rankings
It looks like Mesquite has a new leader in news.
For print newspapers, the traditional benchmark is circulation, or the number of newspapers printed each day or week. In the race between the Desert Valley Times and Mesquite Local News, the DVT wins that one hands down with a circulation of about 7,500 on Fridays, not to mention another 7,000 on Tuesdays, compared to MLN's stated circulation of around 6,000. Of course, the argument when I was with the MLN was that the 7,500 number wasn't legitimate, since it didn't factor in "returns" the way an audited circulation number does at major newspapers. Judging strictly by the fact that Mesquite Local News racks were always empty within a day or two all over town while DVT racks were filled with extra, untaken newspapers (and the enormous stack of advertising inserts people had pulled from the DVT's guts and thrown on the retailer's floor, shelves, and even our racks), I always believed the actual number was a lot closer.
But that's a quintessential discussion of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Print newspapers are journalistic dinosaurs, destined for the tar pits of "remember when?" Even hard core newsies are finally admitting that print is on its way out as a means of delivering news.
The final piece in the newspaper puzzle has fallen into place, ensuring that online news isn't just the future but is now the accepted and embraced norm. When we started MLN as an online-only entity, we heard from so many people who wanted us to offer a print version of our successful news service. The consistent complaint was that online news wasn't "portable" enough (meaning, you couldn't take your desktop computer into the bathroom with you).
The final puzzle piece is today's proliferation of smart phones and tablets like the iPad. These hi-tech devices deliver the old-fashioned convenience of being able to read the news while sitting on the toilet, which I learned years ago is a bigger deal than you might imagine.
The reality is that online news is far superior with its immediacy, its video and audio capability, and its capacity for interaction with and feedback from the readers. Comments from readers have become part of the news itself.
And did I mention the immediacy? "News" in a weekly newspaper can be as much as 10 days old, while a car wreck or house fire that happens this morning can be online before firefighters have even left the scene.
Mesquite is extraordinary, unlike any other municipality of its size. Because of mergers and usurpations by mega media giants, what were once small town newspapers have become regional rags. Most small towns our size are lucky to have their own newspaper, online or otherwise. It's unusual to have two. In Mesquite, we have the unheard-of luxury of three different online newspapers: Desert Valley Times (dvtnv.com), Mesquite Local News (mesquitelocalnews.com), and the new upstart, Mesquite Citizen Journal (mesquitecitizen.com).
What might be even more surprising to the casual observer is that the new kid on the block is now ranked number one online.
When determining the most popular websites, a service called Alexa is acknowledged as the arbiter of web ranking. Alexa.com, owned by Amazon.com, ranks the top 25 million websites in the world based on visitors, hits, and other criteria. That includes all websites, not just news sites.
Over the last few weeks, Mesquite Citizen Journal has knocked Mesquite Local News from its perch atop the local Alexa rankings.
In 2007, MLN surpassed the Desert Valley Times online. By early 2009, MLN was ranked in the top 500,000 in the entire world, an astounding accomplishment for a news site in a little town of 15,000. Being ranked 500,000 doesn't sound very impressive, until you realize that out of 25 million websites, it means Mesquite's online paper was in the top 2% in the world.
While the numbers slipped after MLN was sold in 2009, it consistently remained in the top million.
Today, the Mesquite Citizen Journal is ranked 1,118,155 in the world by Alexa. Mesquite Local News is ranked 1,730,050. (Remember, the higher the number, the worse the ranking).
The DVT, which has never had a strong online presence, isn't even in the top 25 million. It is listed as "unranked" by Alexa. Part of the reason might be because the DVT's news site is actually an adjunct to its parent newspaper, the St. George Spectrum, instead of its own stand-alone site. The Spectrum itself has a mediocre Alexa ranking, coming in at 173,202. That compares to the Las Vegas Review-Journal at 11,347. Once in awhile the DVT numbers crack the top 25 million, but not often.
Mesquite Citizen Journal was founded by Barbara Ellestad, who used to be one of the hard-hitting investigative reporters for Mesquite Local News. She has taken the spirit of the original Mesquite Local News, which was "to tell the truth no matter what the personal cost," along with an incredible talent for deep research and an indefatigable courage, to push her online newspaper into the top spot in Mesquite. And she's done it in less than a year.
On a personal note, I'm proud to know Barb, and proud of her accomplishment. Thanks to her brave and tireless efforts, Mesquite citizens aren't being treated like mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed a steady diet of BS). She is making sure that the people are aware of the nonsense going on at City Hall and the water district. Without her and her staff of writers like John Taylor, residents would know only the soft and fluffy side of Mesquite while the real news is swept under the carpet by corporate-owned news agencies more interested in advertisers and their dollars. Ironically, if you look at MesquiteCitizen.com, you'll see they have way more advertisers than Mesquite Local and the DVT combined. Well done, Barb!
Rounding out the lineup of local information websites is the new Discover Mesquite website, which is a tourism publication offered online and in print by my former partner at Mesquite Local News, Cindi Delaney. In less than three months, DiscoverMesquiteNV.com is ranked 12,157,834, and has been climbing every week since it first appeared on Alexa on Jan. 29.
Like the DVT, Mesquite's other print publication has never had a strong online presence, as ViewOnMesquite.com has rarely made it into the top 25 million and is currently listed by Alexa as "unranked."
This website, MorrisWorkman.com, has had some success online, peaking in November of 2011 with an Alexa ranking of 6,254,245. However, particularly after taking the last two months off, MorrisWorkman.com has fallen off the charts altogether and is now listed as "unranked."
The Alexa numbers aren't only for publications. It ranks all websites, from the "big four" of Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Yahoo (ranked 1-2-3-4) all the way down to obscure blogs and family websites.
In Mesquite, the #2 ranked website is CasaBlancaResort.com, which is listed at 1,461,229, followed by GolfWolfCreek.com at 1,480,098.
The City of Mesquite and the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce both used to have excellent Alexa rankings over the years, but have fallen off dramatically. In 2010, the city's MesquiteNV.com website was ranked as high as 2,228,505, but is now ranked around 4,355,001. Mesquite-Chamber.com has fallen from a high of 2,762,764 in 2010 to today's rank of 8,391,302.
Over the next few weeks, we're going to introduce a new section which tracks the top 20 websites in Mesquite according to the Alexa rankings. If you're aware of a website we're missing, please let us know and we'll check it out.
TOP 20 WEBSITES IN MESQUITE
1. Mesquite Citizen Journal (mesquitecitizen.com)... 1,118,155
2. CasaBlanca Resort (casablancaresort.com)... 1,461,229
3. Wolf Creek (golfwolfcreek.com)... 1,480,098
4. Mesquite Weather (mesquiteweather.com)... 1,580,807
5. Mesquite Local News (mesquitelocalnews.com)... 1,730,050
6. Virgin River Casino (virginriver.com) 1,927,658
7. Golf Mesquite (golfmesquitenevada.com)... 2,098,877
8. Eureka Resort (eurekamesquite.com)... 2,471,751
9. LVCVA Visit Mesquite (visitmesquite.com)... 2,869,015
10. Reliance Connects (relianceconnects.com)... 3,162,470
11. City of Mesquite (mesquitenv.com)... 4,355,001
12. Highland Estates Resort (highlandestatesresort.com).. 7,694,797
13. Chamber of Commerce (mesquite-chamber.com).. 8,391,302
14. Skydive Mesquite (skydivemesquite.com)... 12,133,773
15. Discover Mesquite (discovermesquitenv.com)... 12,157,834
16. Computer Help (compuhelpus.com)... 13,019,163
17. Quality One Realty (mesquitenevada.com)... 14,743,000
18. Mesquite Bus Company (mesquitebusco.com). 15,529,722
19. Bowler Realty (mesquitegroup.com)... 16,108,329
20. Chris Miller's Mesquite Market (mesquitemarket.com)... 16,134,291
Morris, this was a great review of the state of Mesquite’s News Services. And I know to maintain objectivity to the subject; you had to limit your praise of the Mesquite Citizens’ Journal and Barbara Ellestad. But you could not have included too much praise for what she has accomplished in the last year. The numerical scores prove the worth and quality of the publication. But on the flipside, I have to take the Mesquite Local News to task on the loss of Mesquite history. Whether their website was hacked or intentional deleted by management, it appears the Mesquite Local News no longer posts over 5 years of Mesquite history. The missing content included all the invaluable participation of Mesquite residents to the stories of the day. I hope that Stephens Media and the MLN have been responsible and have backups to all of this information and will restore to the website.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the established print, and by now mostly corporate, publishers can live large off the taxpayers subsidy of tax and legal notices you ink-less types will work at a disadvantage. The playing field should be leveled by requiring the counties, cities and state to self-publish such notices on their own web-sites. It would be cheaper, easier, faster and provide greater public access. Nearly everywhere, there are more computer ISP accounts than newspaper subscriptions.
ReplyDeleteThere may have been a time when printing of such notices was justified. That time is past but don't expect the print media to roll over on this issue. Our tax dollars will have to be forcibly taken from their greedy ink stained hands. There will be editorial hell to pay for any legislator brave enough to propose such a move. The mostly monopolistic, subsidized printers will rail mightily against any effort to end the incestuous relationship between a "free press" and the politicians who fill the printers pockets for publishing legal and tax notices.
It's no wonder then that your old boss, Mr. Free-Market-I'll-Sue-Your-Ass-Off, buys yet another subsidized rural "news"paper so he can feed at the public trough. He'll make a bundle off just the Coyote Springs dust up. OK, OK I'll give him the benefit of doubt. Hell, he and his buddies at Righthaven probably just have an innocent new plan to bleed grannies and poor cat ladies.
Meanwhile that leaves you inkless wretches free (free IS the operative word) to pursue truth and justice.
RAGE ON.
s/Observer
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ReplyDelete