SUBSNEWS: 23,000 readers — or should it be 'reads' — in one day?... Substance Web traffic growing as Chicago news expands with 23,088 hits on last day of Chicago Hit List hearings
Now that the staff of Substance has a chance for a breather following the end of the 14 Clark St. hearings on the 2010 Chicago 'Hit List,' we can also reflect on how people are getting information in this new age and through the combination of print, other traditional media (radio and TV), and Web news. The only thing that is obvious at substancenews.net is that our on-line readership continues to grow. After a dip in December (holiday season?), traffic at www.substancenews.net began increasing again in January 2010 and has continued to remain at high levels since. On February 10, 2010, substancenews.net had 762 unique visitors and 23,088 total "hits" — in one day — according to the data provided to us under our contract with Network Solutions, which is where our site is hosted.
By contrast, most of the news we have been providing on line and in print is being ignored by the corporate media that dominates Chicago. Even the massive protest at the Chicago Board of Education against this year's Hit List was blacked out by CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox. Only WGN covered the story, as the Chicago Teachers Union and the union's various factions led more than 400 people in a cold march against the cuts and closings at 125 S. Clark St. Even more thorough has been the corporate blackout on news reports of the hearings that were taking place every night (sometimes two per night) upstairs at Clark St. The dramatic reports from Bradwell and 13 other schools were available only at www.substancenews.net. Even Chicago's supposed alternative media are ignoring these events.
The continuation of the Substance print edition is expanding less slowly, but that may be because Substance staff members are working so hard on reporting and photographing the news that nobody is taking the time to market print subscriptions or do print sales. The editor told the staff after the tumultuous hearings between January 28, 2010, and February 10, 2010, that dozens (or more) copies of Substance could have been sold by anyone during the activities at Clark St. Substance staff will be meeting later this month to discuss all these things.
By: Garth Liebhaber
A few others,,
Noticias and Linda Lutton of WBEZ were also there, for point of record. But yes, the others were not. It would have been nice to see other alternative media out- I don't think they realize how big this story is. I do see Democracy Now! covered the NYC angle of this privatization story- maybe they'll get clued in as well to the national story.
The media in general is like a high-powered spotlight. At the point when they cannot ignore a story, then everyone is on it like flies to honey. They stumble and fight over each other, and then just as quickly disappear into thin air. In that way, they serve as subterfuge, allowing the public to think the issue has also disappeared.
That is why persistence and consistency is important in establishing a meaningful history of the events at hand, and a predilection of the events that need to come next.