• by Melynda Fuller , January 4, 2019

After rumors circulated about its uncertain future in early December, The Weekly Standard announced on December 14, it would shutter for good after 23 years of publication.

Though Clarity Media CEO Ryan McKibben stated the publication’s success was foiled by many of the same problems facing other media outlets, The Weekly Standard’s digital traffic was steadily increasing year-over-year.

In its latest analysis of Comscore data, TheRighting, a right-wing media aggregation company, shows The Weekly Standard recording a traffic increase in its last full month of operation, the third month in a row year-over-year for the outlet.

In November, The Weekly Standard recorded over 1.5 million unique visitors, an increase of 8% year-over-year.

The months preceding it showed an increase of 99% for the month of September year-over-year, with over 2.7 million unique visitors, and an 80% gain year-over-year in October with 2.5 million+ unique visitors.

The Washington Examiner, also owned by Clarity Media, placed in the top five right-wing websites in November, attracting just over 7.4 million unique visitors, per TheRighting. 

As The Weekly Standard was shuttered, some speculated it would be merged with The Washington Examiner as it prepares to launch a new magazine.

Last week, The Examiner announced the hires  of Helen Andrews to lead the new magazine as managing editor and Grand Addison and Jay Caruso as deputy editors.