Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

Not the usual negative headline you're used to seeing in this paper, the usually chirpy and cheerful Sun!

Unfortunately, it seems to be true. At least according to our latest research statistics, which show that readers are drawn more to bad news than good.

No matter how much we think we want good news, it's the shocking events that get more attention from you.

The latest SunLive readership figures, which are constantly climbing, still show that disaster and death are the most read articles on the Bay's leading news service.

Near the top of the list is funeral notices. On some days, the number of people checking the funeral notices on www.sunlive.co.nz outstrips those clicking on the homepage.

Here at the Sun, we'd like to think this is not so much a morbid fascination with fatality – but more a strong urge amongst our caring readers, focused on the wellbeing of their fellow man. Yeah right.

However, the statistics don't lie. That is one of the harsh realities, and I suppose advantage, of the electronic information age. We know exactly what is being read, by who, for how long, on which browser and even the size of screen it's appearing. The upside for advertisers is they know exactly how many people are seeing their message. That's another reason SunLive is flourishing. Advertisers know that it works well and outstrips daily paper results. When teamed with the weekly Sun paper advertising, it's an unbeatable combo.

But back to the death and doom – next on the list of most viewed is anything to do with crashes, disaster, murder and mayhem. The old newspaper saying, 'if it bleeds, it leads” would seem to still be true.

The only non-death related story to feature in the top twenty last week, was the flooding.

It was a long way down the list before a non-death or extreme weather damage story made the popularity list.

SunLive is averaging more than three minutes reading time per session, according to Nielsen Market Intelligence – the third longest average session time in NZ, longer than the gossip in the Woman's Weekly.

Readers view more than 200,000 SunLive pages a week. It is the fifth ranked news website in NZ behind Stuff and Granny Herald's site. Not bad for a Tauranga based, locally-owned company going hard out, without any corporate backing.

I'm sure that if we ran a headline that stated: Kitten crosses 12 lane motorway to rescue children's church choir, it would achieve a huge number of hits. Unfortunately, those sensationally good stories are very rare. Reality is, bad news happens more often.

Most hardened news hounds know this. That's why ailing newspapers all around the country are clinging to what is left of their circulations, by producing bigger and blacker headlines of bad news. To the point that a lot of you are saying, 'we're sick of this, we are tired of being bombarded with all this bad news.” Oddly, your next move is to pick up and buy those headlines, because human nature demands that you cannot resist.

A case in point is a certain local newspaper in this region, with falling circulation, that publishes increasingly dire stories on the front page. Even to the extent of running old news, sometimes several months old, often the court sequel, as if the event happened today. The reader is fooled into buying the paper thinking they're missing something, when in fact it's merely the regurgitation of a crash or an incident from many months earlier.

Most of the facts are old, but they're dusted off, propped up and given a bit of tarty makeup in the hope you'll be fooled long enough to part with the cash.

It's a bit dishonest, but achieves the short term aim of selling a few more papers that day.

The long term effect, however, is that people soon tire of being suckered. They also tire of the endless bad news that they have no control over.

This is where the new media, the electronic news services such as the highly successful SunLive, thrive.

It's all there for you, and you can pick and choose what, when and how you read it.

The reader can decide for themselves what is important. Suddenly, you are in control of the priority of your reading. We don't have to dress up old mutton as news lamb. Plus, it's free, and you get to comment.

It's a refreshing change.

Isn't it great from a reader's point of view, deciding for yourself the level of newsworthiness?

Even if you want to read doom, gloom and disaster all week, rest assured the chirpy and cheeky Sun will come out at the end of the week to cheer you up again.