On June 14, I received notification from WordPress that my post Newspapers Now on Blog for Iowa was selected for Freshly Pressed, “a showcase where (they) feature editors’ picks and community favorites on WordPress.com.” The result was an immediate and substantial increase in views and likes of the post. There are more than 60 million active blogs on WordPress, so this special viewership, while large compared to my normal, was a scant drop in the bucket of what is possible. The recognition is welcome.

What does it mean?

According to WordPress lore, one is selected for Freshly Pressed only a single time. It is not something that can be requested, nor is it reliant on artificial intelligence. Humans make the selections. They want to feature a variety of authors rather than any single blog or writer.  How they do that is not made public.

According to WordPress, editors look for original, non-plagiarized content; a distinctive voice or perspective; strong storytelling, humor, or thoughtful writing; clear presentation and readability, relevant tags and categories; good headlines; and images or other visual elements when appropriate. Posts are chosen because editors think they are interesting or well-crafted, not because they have accumulated likes or comments.

When I wrote Newspapers Now, I spent more time than normal on it. I scrubbed off anything in society that was not directly relevant to the story of the changing role of newspapers since the mid-1960s. There was no better way to describe the transition to monetization of attention than referencing Tim Wu and Chris Hayes’ books. I kept the writing grounded in reality, something that can be hard for a blogger. By maintaining this viewpoint, I created a story that stands on its own. I believe that is what most writers want. I know I do.

The likes and views continue to arrive. I look at the profiles of people who like or comment and they are from all around the world. It is good to know people read and value my work.

Here’s hoping I can continue in that vein.