NEW YORK--Oct. 11, 2001--Following on the results of a recent Harris Interactive survey, which showed that the number of Americans with online access who used the Internet as their primary source of news and information more than doubled in the two weeks since the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) today released traffic data(a) from a wide variety of its member sites.

Taken as a whole, these usage patterns show that trusted news and information sites are becoming increasingly indispensable tools for business professionals and the public at large.

Internet news sites have sustained significant traffic increases since the events of September 11. As compared to the week ending September 9, page views for the week ending September 30 were up 70.0% at ABCNEWS.com, 78.0% at MSNBC.com, 69.2% at NYTimes.com, 31.2% at USATODAY.com and 47.8% at Washingtonpost.com. In addition, average daily unique visitors were up 65.1% at ABCNEWS.com, 63.3% at MSNBC.com, 69.2% at NYTimes.com and 39.7% at USATODAY.com for the same period. Average daily unique visitors at Slate.com increased 76.6% for that period, as well. Many local sites also showed significant gains. For example, Knight Ridder Digital's Miami.com was up 67% in average daily unique visitors, according to Media Metrix, and DetroitFreePress.com was up 98%.

CNET's News.com, which ran a substantial amount of technology and general news related to the attacks, maintained a 200% increase in traffic the week after the attacks, and continues to be up in unique visitors from the week ending September 9. SPACE.com also ran some attack-related coverage, and saw a 38.2% increase in page views and a 28.9% increase in average daily unique visitors for the week ending September 30 from the week ending September 9.

Non-news sites are also experiencing sustained traffic increases. For example, CondeNet's Style.com recorded increased traffic every week of September, with page views for the week ending September 30 up 34.8% over the week ending September 9. Because the bulk of the New York City fashion shows scheduled for September 9-16 were cancelled due to the tragedy and many retailers were unable to travel to the shows that followed in London, Milan and Paris, Style.com has been fulfilling a critical business need. Using the site, retailers can evaluate all the collections online despite the travel and financial constraints that resulted from the September 11 attacks.
Traffic grew substantially at financial sites as well. Page views at MarketWatch.com were up 29% the week ending September 30, compared to the week ending September 9, while average daily unique visitors were up 18% over the same period. At Bankrate.com, page views decreased approximately 4.9% the week of the attacks, but increased 100.4% the following week, as the impending interest rate cut caused more and more people to turn to the Web to investigate not only refinancing options, but deposit rates as well. Bankrate was quick to cover financial disaster issues with a variety of pieces on what to do now -- from how to protect your financial documents to how the events would impact small businesses.

"These figures from a wide range of top-quality sites confirm that Internet users increasingly turn to strong editorial brands when faced with a need for reliable information," said Michael Zimbalist, acting executive director of OPA. "The growing audiences of these sites are also a testament to the ability of the Internet to bridge distances and provide information continuously, worldwide and on demand."

About Online Publishers Association

Founded in June 2001 by twelve of the Internet's leading content brands, Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the highest standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. For more information about Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.

(a) Unless otherwise indicated, traffic data was supplied directly by the publisher.

This press release may be found at http://www.online-publishers.org.

CONTACT:
Online Publishers Association
Lisa Carparelli, 917/743-4537
lcarparelli@online-publishers.org