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[View this email in your browser]( [NewsWhip]( TL;DR this email Hi there, For the uninitiated, TL;DR means too long; didn’t read, and often provides a one-sentence summary of a much longer written piece. But long form isn’t going away. In fact, when we looked at the top stories for September for [news-focused publishers]( their top stories were generally 700+ words long. As we’ve seen in [our data]( the news publishers that consistently make the rankings are the ones that are able to deliver timely and relevant news to readers, in the formats that they want in that moment. That could be whether they’re commuting, waiting in line, or intentionally investing time with the day’s biggest stories. The New York Times has done a “TL;DR” of its own recent investigation into the Trump family’s finances. In fact, that was just one of four ways that the Times published the story, breaking it down across a 14,000-word article, a 2,500-word summary, an interactive article, and tweet recaps. According to [Merrill Wasser]( managing director of strategy and growth at Atlantic 57, publishers must understand that audiences seek out content for micro-moments. For our full publisher rankings, [take a look at the blog here](. ​ The Top Stories of the Week How did the week shape up on social? Below are the top stories from the past week, from our [NewsWhip Spike]( platform. We've ranked them by their total Facebook likes, shares, and comments. Almost all of the top stories from the past week came from traditional news outlets. Only one came from a viral publisher, Bored Panda. Many of the top stories were about politics and Brett Kavanaugh. Three of the top stories reported on an urgent climate change report. To dive into your content's performance, or to research any topic, [check out Spike here.]( Stay woke Just how important are a brand's beliefs to consumers? Last week, Edelman’s 2018 [Earned Brand Study]( found that 64 percent of global consumers make purchasing decisions based on where brands stand on societal issues. That number is up from 50 percent in 2017. Below, we looked at how plastic straws have taken off on social this year. In fact, a BuzzFeed article about Starbucks banning plastic straws drove ~460k engagements alone. Regardless of price-point, consumers expect companies to be socially engaged. In this study of Gen Z's [top 100 brands]( many brands were cited due to their socially conscious stances. This doesn’t mean going “straight to being Nike”, but it does mean aligning with causes that are authentic to a brand’s core. In our Socially Conscious Brands report, we round up companies that have taken up the hero’s cape and advocated for a variety of causes. We took a look at how it played out on social media for them. Read the [Socially Conscious Brands]( report here. The top sports publishers on social media [Read here >]( 5 quick things about what goes viral on YouTube vs. Facebook​ [Read here >]( Report: The latest insights on the Facebook Algorithm [Read here >]( Noted - The University of Michigan used NewsWhip data to classify [questionable media]( and explored how it's changed on Facebook & Twitter - Speaking of, here's a look at [disinformation]( on WhatsApp ahead of the Brazil election - Snapchat is launching [TV-like programming]( with Snap Originals - After a security risk, Google has decided to shut down [Google+]( - In odd influencer news, this [NYC penthouse]( was made for influencers to rent, and the [Sims 4]( is creating an influencer career in its next game - Getting with the times? The New York Times will no longer use Mr./Ms./etc for its [second references]( in pop culture coverage - Children's entertainment is being upended by YouTube. [Here's]( what that looks like That's it from us! If you were sent this newsletter and would like to subscribe, head over [here](. Let us know [on Twitter]( if you have any thoughts or questions. Have a great weekend, Gabriele and the NewsWhip team. [NewsWhip Spike]( [NewsWhip Analytics]( [Resources]( [Blog]( [Contact](mailto:%20hello@newswhip.com) Millions of stories, videos, and social posts are published each day, sparking billions of interactions. NewsWhip transforms this ocean of social data into actionable insights to inform your content strategy. NewsWhip products show you what audiences are engaging with in real time and what has performed best historically – in every vertical. Copyright © 2018 NewsWhip, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you opted in for the NewsWhip blog newsletter and updates. Our mailing address is: NewsWhip 47 Merrion SquareDublin, Ireland [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.