Good afternoon,
Weekends used to be quiet on the Delaware Business Now website. Not that many years ago, we took a look at traffic figures on a Saturday morning and found a grand total of 60 page views.
Even on a quiet weekend morning, traffic is now 20 times that figure, with the pace quickening as the day goes on.
Blame coronavirus.
Last weekend was a case in point. The top trending story was the pandemic-driven relaunch of the Payroll Protection Program, effective today. (Newsletter readers can check out the above link.
Also drawing a sizable number number of page views were updates on gas prices, pop-up vaccination locations and sad news of the death of the first child from Covid-19.
We realize that posting these updates normally isn’t in the DNA of most business news journals. We have endeavored to keep pace with business news, while also serving as a trused source of news of more general interest to the business community.
It is clear that a steady decline in the number of “boots on the ground” in local media has led to gaps in coverage here and elsewhere. These cuts fall hardest on print-based media facing the twin challenges of digital and labor and capital intensive print publishing.
State agencies and the private sector are fully aware of these information gaps and now use Facebook, Twitter and NextDoor to disseminate information. As we all know, social media comes with troubling issues and an ability to spread unverified information.
Yes, we long for have quieter weekends, but as long as this virus is front and center, we’ll pass along needed news and information. – Doug and Sharon Rainey
