What is the ‘Deeply read’ list?

What is the ‘Deeply read’ list?

The Guardian has long tracked how readers engage with its journalism, focusing on the duration they spend on articles. While clicks offer insight into a story’s popularity, the time readers invest in a piece reveals more about its impact and depth. Unlike traditional metrics, this approach highlights not just reach but the meaningful interaction readers have with content.

For years, the Guardian and other platforms have displayed “Most viewed” lists to showcase popular articles. However, these rankings often overlook in-depth reporting on niche subjects. To address this, we introduced the “Deeply read” list, which emphasizes the attention time readers allocate to stories, offering a broader view of what captivates them. This list now appears on regional home pages, tailored to reflect the interests of local audiences.

Measuring Engagement Beyond Clicks

Our new metric evaluates how long readers engage with an article relative to its length. This allows the list to include diverse formats and subjects, from concise analyses to lengthy features. The result is a collection that balances brevity with substance, ensuring varied content reaches readers in a meaningful way.

“We hope this list brings more depth and variety to the stories you encounter.”