Statistics

The ECOreport was launched, as an international news website, in December 2013. The website was given a more local focus and registered the domain name ‘Cortes Currents’ on February 27, 2019.

Cortes Currents on CKTZ 89.5 FM radio

On July 8, 2014, The ECOreport was a weekly radio program on CKTZ 89.5 FM from July 8, 2014 until Aug 19, 2020.

Cortes Currents switched to daily radio broadcasts on Monday, Aug 24, 2020. Since then, Cortes Currents primary focus has been radio.

As there is no reliable data available, all attempts to gauge the reach of the Cortes Currents radio arm are guesstimates. Based on the number of people who keep returning to the website, I suspect 700 people may listen to the radio program at least once a month. Some undoubtedly return to listen every day of the week.

Podcasts

Cortes Currents uses two podcast channels.

Most of our podcasts are available through Apple Podcasts, where we have a minuscule presence.

Our principle channel is SoundCloud. where we have 158 followers and have been averaging more than 1,500 plays a month since July, 2022.

Where are our listeners coming from?

SoundCloud also provides a glimpse into where our podcast listeners are coming from. The #1 location is Cortes Island, where close to  ¾ of the plays within our area originate.

(*Totals for Quathiaski Cove, Heriot Bay, Powell River and Comox)

How many visitors is the website getting?

(*As the website does not recognize rural areas like Cortes or Quadra Islands, this figure includes undesignated areas as well as totals for Campbell River, Powell River, Comox.)

There are more than 4,000 visitors in the average month since June 2022..

We know that a number of viewers outside our broadcast area are either Cortes Island diaspora or people with a connection to our area. Google Analytics indicates that since last June, more than 1,900 people a month have either came directly to the website or were referred by a third party site like the Cortes Tideline, a Facebook page or Folk U (we host their podcasts).

Top 3 articles in 2022 were: 

  1. (1,596 views) Roy L Hales, Where are Germany’s Bears, Wolves and Eagles? – Cortes Currents, May 6, 2016 (aggregate count of views on website since original publication – 67,481; SoundCloud Podcast added July 28, 2022: 33 Plays)
  2. (690 views) Roy L Hales, Federal Budget, the forgotten seniors (aged 65-74) – Cortes Currents, Apr 27, 2021 (aggregate counts since publication – 1,071 views on website, 95 Plays on SoundCloud)
  3. (519 views) Lois Jarvis, Richard Hagensen and Joanne Banks, The Dark Side of VIHA – Cortes Currents, Apr 27, 2022

This website was originally launched as the ECOreport in Dec 2013. At that time most views were obtained through reposts on larger websites. However the third and fourth biggest posts below were exclusive to this website.

Top 5 posts since the website was launched, as the ECOreport, in Dec 2013:

  1. 143,681 known views – Roy L Hales, The US can Nearly Quadruple its Renewable Electricity by 2030 -almost all views through reposting on Clean Technica, #4 article on that website for the year – (Oct 19, 2014)
  2. 138,020 known views – Roy L Hales, Germany leads the World in energy efficiency,  almost all views through reposting on Clean Technica, #5 article on that website for the year – (July 18, 2014)
  3. 67,325 views – Roy L Hales, Germany’s bears, wolves and eagles, exclusive to the ECOreport (now Cortes Currents) – (May 6, 2016)
  4. 36,396 known views  – Roy L Hales, Canada’s National Debt, Cortes Currents –  (Oct 3, 2019) 
  5. 19,403 views – Dan Bacher, US Approves Fracking Santa Barbara Channel – 2014 repost from the Much Raker – (removed when the website was rebranded as Cortes Currents in 2019)

Top 3 posts for SoundCloud

The top 3 SoundCloud podcasts, in terms of plays, for 2022, were:

  1. (250 Plays) Manda Aufochs Gillespie, The Amazing Neuroplastic Brain – Folk U, Mar 20, 2021 (no views in December, agreagate counts since the original publication: 51 views on website; 364 plays on SoundCloud) 
  2. (119 Plays) Roy L Hales, Highway Hippy’s home burned down – Cortes Currents, Oct 5, 2022 (views on website – 222)  
  3. (83 Plays) Manda Aufochs Gillespie, State of the forest on Cortes Island with Suzanne Simard – Folk U, July 20, 2022 (136 views on website)

Top 3 posts for SoundCloud in 2021:

  1. (301 plays that year, aggregate count of 306) Roy L Hales, Why the Pacific Salmon Foundation supports the DFO’s decision to remove open net fish farms – Cortes Currents, Mar 12, 2021 (199 views on wesbite that year, aggregate count of 216)
  2. (183 plays that year, aggregate count of 208) Roy L Hales, There will be a plan to address fisheries and job losses in The Discovery Islands – Cortes Currents,  (88 views that year, none since)
  3. (142 plays that year, aggregate count of 145) Roy L Hales, Peculiarities of the Cortes Island electric grid – Cortes Currents, Jan 20, 2021(203 views that year, aggregate count of 257)

Guesstimates:

Based on the stats above, we believe hundreds of people listen to Cortes Currents on CKTZ, 89.5 FM every month and some tune in every day.

Cortes Currents may have a monthly web/radio/podcast reach of about 6,000 people, roughly a quarter of which live in our FM broadcast area.

Top image: Feature image for German Forest by Bartosz Makara via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)

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