In a media landscape dominated by online pageviews, The Post is sitting pretty among those at the top.
A recent report from Degree Choices, an online higher education blog, ranked The Post sixth in the nation among college newspapers in terms of online visits. Last year, the publication garnered 89,626 organic online visits, according to the blog.
The Post also ranked sixth in the nation in terms of total articles published with 2,698. Not bad, if you ask me.
The student newspapers that ranked higher than The Post in those categories are from places like Louisiana State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Michigan, all of which boast considerably higher total enrollment numbers than Ohio University.
The Post outranked student newspapers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Purdue University and the University of California, Berkeley. When it comes to doing student journalism, The Post is the place to be.
The ranking was based on data collected by online marketing platforms Semrush and BuzzSumo during the 2021-22 academic year. That means I can’t take credit for The Post’s success last year, but I know someone who can: The Post’s most recent ex-editor-in-chief, Abby Miller.
“Seeing these rankings, it's really a testament to how hard everyone on staff works. Not just the editors who are editing the articles, but it really is the reporters who put in all these articles that put us in one of the top-producing spots,” said Miller, who graduated in Spring 2022. “It really is a testament to how great everyone is on the staff and the energy that we have at The Post.”
Miller and her team had to contend with several obstacles last year, including volatile COVID-19 regulations and the possible loss of The Post’s business manager through funding cuts, which jeopardized the publication’s future at the time. Despite that, Miller and her team kept a pulse on the wants and needs of The Post’s audience and helped deliver quality journalism that the publication has become known for.
“We also just realized where we could tap into things that were trending on the internet and tailor that toward things that also students would like,” Miller said.
Though I’m over the moon about The Post’s rankings for last year, my talented team and I have our sights set for higher success in 2022. Through ideas and initiatives that we have already vocalized, we plan on increasing our readership and our connection to OU and Athens in tangible, creative ways.
If you’re part of The Post’s audience, thank you for your continued support. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we remain committed to churning out articles that attract your eyes.
If you’re a student journalist and thinking about joining us, I’ll defer to Abby again: “I really just think (the rankings) speak to what a great place The Post is to learn at.”
Ryan is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Interested in chatting more with him? Email Ryan at rm554219@ohio.edu and find him on Twitter at @ryanmaxin.
