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News of Osama BinLaden’s death meant a lot of things on May 1st. One of those seems to be that, when it comes to the BIG news stories, we want more than just social media.
While some say Twitter contributed to breaking the news (and some argue against it), there is no doubt that, with a sustained rate of somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 Tweets per second on May 1st and early May 2nd, Twitter was most definitely a venue for expressing the wide range of emotions felt that historic evening. However, when Americans wanted the facts, TV and print media came out the winners.
A TVB analysis of Nielsen data shows that broadcast TV attracted more than 70% of the audience, with President Obama’s speech averaging 56.5 million viewers – despite airing at such a late hour. When it came to newspapers, USA Today added 300,000 copies to its print run. The NY Times added more than 400,000 copies. TIME reinstated its May 6th issue (having moved it to capitalize on the Royal Wedding) and sold 10 ad pages in a 24-hour period.
Traditional media online also showed record numbers. TIME’s homepage saw more direct traffic than ever before with a record low 29% bounce rate. Page views on USAToday.com jumped 25% and page views at NYTimes.com were up 62% vs. the same time period the previous four Sundays.
Yes, effects have fallen off, but as AdAge’s Nat Ives puts it, “the larger impact may be … that traditional, expensive journalism still has a place.” For advertisers, it might be a reminder that reacting quickly to find placement within the physical pages of historical events can be just as impactful.
Tags: president obama / osama bin laden / traditional media / nielsen / adage / nytimes / usa today / time magazine