The Local Paper has been again confirmed as the Number One website for local news in Murrindindi and the North-East.

Even the erratic Kinglake Ranges News has published figures confirming the widening gap.

The Local Paper had 29,682 page requests in November. Kinglake Ranges News admits its November figures were 20,625.

The Local Paper had 30,652 page requests in December. Kinglake Ranges News admits its December figures were 19,329.

The Local Paper had 11,323 more page requests than the challenger in December. That’s a 58.5 per cent lead on the KRN figures. KRN readership figures are on a freefall plummet. According to their own figures, Kinglake Ranges News online readership has halved in November and December, from figures in September and October.

Yesterday (Thurs.), the Kinglake Ranges News wrongly claimed The Local Paper had only 14,000 online readers over a six-month period. “They change their wild claims on an almost daily basis,” said Local Paper Editor Ash Long. “Their figures cannot  be trusted.”

“Kinglake Ranges News often quotes reader statistics from www.similarweb.com. That website shows www.kinglakerangesnews.com has a bounce rate of 89.54 per cent – no-one stays to read their ‘reports’. It is little wonder with the outrageous personal attacks they publish. Last month, they defamed Murrindindi Deputy Mayor Cr Leigh Dunscombe, and then cowardly removed their ‘report’ implying that Cr Dunscombe was somehow interferrng with their website.”

As well as better online readership figures, The Local Paper has print readership with 8820 each issue. Kinglake Ranges News editor ‘Asho’ Geelan yesterday conceded in a Facebook post: “(Our) figures do not include print circulation figures. We don’t print at Kinglkae (sic) Ranges News.”

There is one local media platform that has proven integrity: The Local Paper.