News Site Traffic: Half Lost 20% While Euronews Grew

Half of the 50 biggest English-language news sites lost more than a fifth of their traffic in September 2026 compared with September 2025, according to Press Gazette's analysis of Similarweb data. Only seven grew. Euronews rose 99% to 44.8 million visits, Al Jazeera rose 14% to 64.5 million, and Variety rose 9% to 38.4 million. PR teams that build media lists from last year's rankings are working from outdated audience data.

Which news sites grew while half of the top 50 shrank?

Seven of the 50 biggest English-language news sites grew visits year over year in September 2026, according to Press Gazette: Euronews, One India, Substack, Al Jazeera, Variety, The Hill and CBC.

Euronews nearly doubled its monthly visits, and the growth is steady rather than a one-month jump. Press Gazette recorded Euronews up 62% year over year in July, 98% in August and 99% in September.

Press Gazette's September data shows Substack with the largest audience of the seven, at 172.2 million visits, about 4.8 times the 35.8 million visits recorded by Newsweek in the same month. Press Gazette reported Substack as the fastest-growing site year over year for seven straight months, from July 2025 to January 2026.

Al Jazeera shows how a spike settles. Press Gazette reported Al Jazeera up 397% year over year in March 2026, after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, and said the jump likely reflected interest in Middle East news. By September the gain was 14%.

Which news sites lost the most traffic in September 2026?

Press Gazette's data shows Newsweek lost the most traffic year over year in September 2026, falling 62% to 35.8 million visits, followed by Hindustan Times (down 56% to 76.9 million) and News 18 (down 53% to 66.4 million).

One month can mislead. Press Gazette also recorded Newsweek up 31% from August, the largest month-over-month gain in the ranking, while CBC added 9% and CNBC added 8%. Of the 42 sites that fell from August to September, only ten fell by 10% or more: India.com dropped 45% to 34.9 million, The Sun dropped 23% to 41.7 million, and NBC News dropped 17% to 61.5 million.

The biggest sites are not exempt. Press Gazette reported that in August, MSN (411.9 million visits) and CNN (313.3 million) each fell 25% year over year, the largest drops among the ten biggest sites by monthly visits.

What do publishers say is behind the decline?

Many publishers attribute the declines to Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, and Press Gazette's monthly top 50 ranking also notes that Google's May 2026 core update may have affected sites in June.

Forbes is a named example. Forbes CEO Sherry Phillips told Press Gazette in 2025 that Forbes lost traffic on queries such as "who's the richest person in the world?" because of Google's AI Overviews. Press Gazette's January 2026 ranking had Forbes down 48% year over year at 94.8 million visits.

Press Gazette's ranking measures visits, not causes, so the AI Overviews explanation is the publishers' own account and not a measured finding.

What does falling site traffic mean for a PR placement?

A placement on a site with falling traffic reaches fewer direct readers, but site-wide visits set a ceiling on audience and do not measure the readership of one article.

The value of a placement also depends on whether AI engines cite it. EPR's earned media citation analysis reports that 94% of AI citations come from earned media, and EPR's piece on placements as GEO assets explains how engines weight outlets by tier. A placement on an outlet with shrinking traffic can still be a cited source in an AI answer, which a visit count does not capture.

Measurement has to change with it. EPR's guide to earned media measurement beyond AVE covers measures such as share of voice and AI citation share that do not depend on one outlet's visit count. The earned media pillar page covers the wider discipline.

How should PR teams rebuild a media list from this data?

PR teams should rebuild a media list with four checks: trend direction, surge versus trend, audience fit and AI citation.

Why it works. A single monthly figure can point in two directions: Newsweek fell 62% year over year and rose 31% month over month in the same ranking (Press Gazette, October 8, 2026). Three months of data show whether an outlet is on a trend or a spike.

What decision does the September data support?

The September data supports replacing a static media list with one that is checked each month against Press Gazette's ranking. Keep the outlets whose three-month trend is flat or rising, keep the Tier-1 outlets that AI engines still cite, and add the growing international and independent outlets that match the client's audience. Drop an outlet only after its decline holds for three months, because Newsweek shows that one month can reverse.

Last updated October 9, 2026.