Chartbeat Announces the 100 Most Engaging Stories of 2017

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2017 -- Chartbeat, the leading content intelligence platform for publishers, today announces the 100 Most Engaging Stories of 2017, the articles that were read most this year based on highest Engaged Time. Selected out of over 39 million stories on over 50,000 media sites around the world, the top 100 serve as a snapshot of the year’s major events and highlight the themes that resonated most with readers.

While “Trump” was by far the number-one entity referenced in news stories according to Chartbeat’s global dataset, reader attention was consumed by more than just politics. Authentic, personal accounts of human struggle from The Atlantic and ESPN, breaking news about the Weinstein allegations from The New York Times and political coverage of Trump’s White House from many including The Washington Post topped the list, as well as terror, disaster and health articles from companies including the BBC, CNN and many more.

“Each year the Most Engaging Stories list affirms that readers want compelling journalism and storytelling that reports, educates, informs, and helps them make sense of the world,” said John Saroff, CEO of Chartbeat. 

The Atlantic’s “My Family’s Slave” earned the top spot on the list. The piece, written by the late Alex Tizon, gives a truthful, humble account of his life growing up with his caretaker Lola, simultaneously a beloved mother figure and “slave” in his family home. Collecting almost 58 million minutes of Engaged Time — triple of any other article on the list — the story garnered widespread global readership and debate, and is a marquee example of the human-centered stories making their presence strongly known on this year’s list.

“People value story, great writing and honest emotion,” said The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. “When we published Alex Tizon's piece, we were at the beginning of the Trump presidency, and Trump was seemingly the only thing on everyone's minds. I had no idea that a tragic, very personal story by an esteemed but not particularly well-known writer would connect in such a dramatic way. But we learned that the marketplace still rewards quality.”

The top ten most engaging stories that follow The Atlantic’s “My Family’s Slave” are:

2. ESPN: “I Just Wanted To Survive” by Tisha Thompson and Andy Lockett
3. The New York Times: Multiple Weapons Found in Las Vegas Gunman’s Hotel Room
4. CNN: Something went 'incredibly wrong' with Las Vegas gunman, brother says by Emanuella Grinberg
5. The Atlantic: Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? Jean M. Twenge
6. CNN: Weapons cache found at Las Vegas shooter's home By Holly Yan, Philip Victor and Darran Simon
7. The New York Times: Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
8. The New York Times: You May Want to Marry My Husband by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
9. The New York Times: Pictures From Women’s Marches on Every Continent
10. The New York Times: The Lost Children of Tuam by Dan Barry

For more information on the 100 Most Engaging Stories of 2017, please visit 2017.chartbeat.com or contact [email protected].

ABOUT CHARTBEAT
Chartbeat, the content intelligence platform for publishers, believes that today's content creators need mission-critical insights – in real time and across desktop, social and mobile platforms – to turn visitors into loyal audiences. That's why our software helps content creators understand what, within their content, keeps people engaged. Partnering with over 50,000 sites across 60+ countries, Chartbeat's software and front-line tools help the world's leading media companies harness the truth to measure and value the attention earned by their content.

Terri Walter - [email protected]
Lauryn Bennett - [email protected]