Inserts coins into Observer blog traffic-o-matic t'riffic traffic reader. Waits. Gives it a kick. It spews out ticker tape. Tears off strip of tape and starts to read.
Monday morning is traditionally the time when we, the internet-conscious of the Observer, pore over the logs of what people read over the weekend. (Luddite newspaper people are still tucked up in their Observer sleeping pods.) Of course, we never know to what extent massive traffic through a story on the site correlates to interest in that story in the paper. Anything involving sex in the headline gets disproportionate hits, probably misdirected from search engines. And sport does surprisingly badly, although we know that a lot of paper readers turn to those pages first.
But it's still always instructive to see what, from our stable of fine news items, gets excited mouse-fingers clicking, especially when, as this week, it is not something from the front page.
The blog had a hunch that our international lead story (Outrage as US soldiers kill hostage rescue hero) would score highly with readers. It is the fascinating story of kidnapped Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena who was injured - allegedly by US soldiers - as she was being driven from her release. It was quite under-reported in UK, but has since been blogged heavily around the world with quite a few nice people citing us as a source. There has also been a fair amount of scepticism poured on Sgrena's account of events, some of which merits further inquiry. It doesn't help when trying to unpick what might really have happened that a lot of hostile voices from the US seem fixated by the fact that she works for a communist newspaper. Communism and Conservative America. Never really did see eye-to-eye, did they?
Observer blog traffic-o-matic t'riffic traffic reader shakes into life, lights up and spews out more ticker tape.
The other big hits with readers over the weekend were, as you might expect, the two front page leads. Gaby Hinsliff, Observer Political Editor, had exclusive access to Tony Blair for 48 hours at the end of last week, netting a satisfying haul of insights, not least among them TB's admission that he recognises that he is an 'issue' for the party going into the election campaign.
Meanwhile, our scoopsome front page splash - Top hospital forced to turn away ill children - got picked up quite widely. The blog heard it being played over the radio yesterday and we notice it has become the front page of today's Daily Mail.
Observer blog traffic-o-matic t'riffic traffic reader emits shrill crunching whine, not unlike the noise created when accidentally putting car gears into reverse while doing 70 down the motorway. Shuts down.
Time for a coffee.
