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15 December 2016updated 07 Jun 2021 8:38am

The New Statesman announces a record year

By New Statesman

NS.com registers peak online traffic of over 4 million monthly unique visitors and 27 million monthly page views in 2016 – an almost 400% increase in traffic since 2011.

Magazine circulation hits a 35-year high following strong news-stand and subscription performance.

*****

The New Statesman has today (15 December) announced record traffic to its website and a 35-year high in magazine circulation, assuring the title’s future in a challenging media environment.

The announcement follows long-term growth in advertising revenues as well as a strong digital and news-stand performance through the 2015 election and EU referendum campaigns. Circulation of the award-winning politics and culture magazine has grown by 50% since 2011 to 35,000. Traffic to the New Statesman website has grown by almost 400% in the same period. The title’s coverage of the EU referendum generated more than 27 million page views from four million unique users in June 2016 alone.

Jason Cowley, editor of the New Statesman, said: “This is a major transformation in the title’s fortunes. While much of the liberal media has been struggling to survive in a declining market dominated by powerful media groups, the New Statesman has not merely held its position but expanded dramatically.

“We have succeeded by returning to the founding mission of the magazine, which was to create a high-class weekly review of politics and literature, beholden to no one political party. Today’s record figures are the result of a relentless commitment to quality, sceptical and unpredictable politics, innovative special issues (such as guest edits), investment in emerging talent, and a smart digital strategy. This is the best possible platform from which to cover these momentous new times. We are in great shape.”

The NS‘s deputy editor, Helen Lewis, and digital editor, Serena Kutchinsky, are leading a digital expansion of the title with a focus on further raising traffic, launching new microsites and newsletters, and increasing global readership.

Contributors to the magazine and website include John Gray, Rowan Williams, Helen Lewis, Professor Brendan Simms, Laurie Penny, the BBC’s world affairs editor John Simpson, Andrew Marr, David Runciman, David Reynolds and rising stars such as John Bew and Shiraz Maher. In addition, a growing team of online writers provides challenging and thoughtful analysis and commentary on politics, geopolitics, the arts and culture.

Recent digital innovations include our popular weekly podcasts, a daily politics e-newsletter, edited by the NS special correspondent, Stephen Bush, and the relaunch of the NS’s weekly email showcasing the best of the title in print and online. As well as a special podcast series exploring such themes as the future of the left and the fallout from Brexit, we have also launched an ideas forum called New Times.

Notes for editors

In June 2016 there were 5,393,792 visitors and 4,091,832 unique visitors to the New Statesman website and 27,291,666 pageviews.

 

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