NationalWorld one year on
NationalWorld has become JPIMedia’s highest ranking title for digital audience within its first year.
In March 2022, NationalWorld hit 19.3 million page views, more than any other brand in the JPIMedia portfolio of 139 titles.
On video too, NationalWorld is also now the group’s top performing brand, with 7.1 million video views recorded in March.
On an industry level, NationalWorld is one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK. In a Press Gazette list of news brands which saw the biggest month-on-month audience growth in February, NationalWorld was ranked fourth on 18.2%, behind only the New York Times (following its purchase of Wordle), Reuters and Tom’s Guide.
The impact of NationalWorld helped the JPIMedia group to achieve 37.7% annual growth in digital audience, according to Comscore (February 2022), which made it the top performer in the regional market.
NationalWorld’s rapid growth was achieved through a clear focus on digital publishing best practice. The team includes specialists in SEO, data journalism, video production and interactive graphics, but these skills are shared across the whole reporting team through constant learning and development, so that everyone is a fully fledged digital journalist and content producer.
As the brand marks one year since its launch, NationalWorld now has ambitious plans to maintain this momentum and consolidate its place in the UK national news market.
The first stage of this expansion involves recruitment for three new editorial roles, including a Weekend Editor and two Search and Trends Writers, to build out its seven-day coverage.
The next stage will involve further recruitment to new roles, and a series of enhancements to the user experience, designed to complement the team’s strengths in explainers, data and investigations.
Recent investigative work has included the ‘Part Time Parliament’ series on MPs’ second jobs, and a project on women’s safety and the justice system, to mark a year since the tragic death of Sarah Everard.
NationalWorld’s growth has also been underpinned by a focus on explainers, which go beyond breaking news to explore not just what happened, but why it matters.
NationalWorld’s Editor, Nick Mitchell, said: “The past year has seen NationalWorld go from an idea to a confident national news brand, with agenda-setting exclusives and in-depth digital storytelling.
“The audience growth has been phenomenal, and the next phase is going to be about turning this into a loyal base of readers and improving both our content and product offerings.
“Our clear, unbiased explainers resonate with a younger audience in particular, which is reflected in the fact that two thirds of our readers are under the age of 45.
“However, the real reason for such rapid growth is our talented team of journalists and editors, who have been working tirelessly from their homes and offices across the UK, from Brighton to Aberdeenshire. I think this is what makes us unique, and makes us a national brand in a true sense.”
