News.com.au’s Kate de Brito on what it takes to be number one
Of the past 55 months, News.com.au has held the top spot in the Nielsen Digital Content Ratings for 54 (it was toppled briefly by the ABC in July 2016 for the federal election). Mumbrella’s Hannah Blackiston sat down with editor-in-chief Kate de Brito to find out what it takes to be number one in Australia’s busy digital news landscape.
According to the May 2019 Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, News.com.au isn’t just a name synonymous with digital news in Australia, it can also boast over 10 million UAs. This is a figure the platform can add to another fairly impressive number – News.com.au has held the top spot in the DCR for 54 out of the last 55 months, only dropping it in July 2016 when the ABC became the most-visited news site for the federal election.
Since January 2017, the person charged with keeping news.com.au ticking over has been Kate de Brito. She returned to the company after a year as editor-in-chief at Mamamia. Prior to that, she was News Corp’s editorial network head of digital and news editor at News.com.au.
But before all that, de Brito got her start as a copy girl for The Daily Telegraph, meaning she’s seen the full transition of media at News Corp, from the heady days of print newsrooms to the non-stop tick of digital homepages. When I ask de Brito which she likes more, and whether she’d ever return to print, she laughs.
de Brito: I’d never go back to print
What it takes to be #1?
Produce click-bait drivel on daily basis.
Write loaded headlines…”no-one could believe what they did next” Throw in a *distressing content warning* for max clicks.
Make sure there’s plenty of T&A on the homepage somewhere (focus on Kim K and c-grade MAFs “influencers”)
Weekly story about Carrie Bickmore.
Oh yeah…and not have a paywall.
Sour grapes much?
Congrats to Kate De Brito. She really does do an excellent job.
Not sour grapes. Just fact. Go take a look at News.com homepage right now and say it isn’t so….
Nah, not sour. Just salty.
Hahahahahahahha. She tries to make it sound like they are not just turning out click bait. “Swimsuit trend shocking the internet”. They write stories from social media comments and don’t even contact the publisher of the comment. You shouldn’t be proud.