--- title: "Journalist Linking Statistics: New York Times Leads at 2.8%" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/most-linked-sources-news description: "Journalist linking statistics from 2,987 articles: The New York Times is linked from 85, the most, while 73.3% of sites appear once. See the data." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fmost-linked-sources-news&text=The%20New%20York%20Times%20Is%20the%20Website%20Journalists%20Link%20to%20Most%2C%20in%202.8%25%20of%20News%20Articles Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fmost-linked-sources-news Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fmost-linked-sources-news Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fmost-linked-sources-news&title=The%20New%20York%20Times%20Is%20the%20Website%20Journalists%20Link%20to%20Most%2C%20in%202.8%25%20of%20News%20Articles The New York Times is linked from **85** of 2,987 news articles, more than any other website, ahead of ESPN and USA Today. Yet no source dominates: 73.3% of the websites journalists link to appear in just one article. Analysis of 2,987 news articles and the 2,970 websites they link to · Google News results, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. The New York Times is the website news articles link to most, linked from **85** articles, 2.8% of all news articles, ahead of ESPN (64) and USA Today (63). Copy stat 2. 2. **96** of the 150 websites news articles link to most are other news outlets, and 30 are company websites. Copy stat 3. 3. Company websites get **44.6%** of all links from news articles, more than news outlets at 38.9%, but those links are spread across 1,816 different company sites. Copy stat 4. 4. **73.3%** of the websites linked from news articles are linked from only one article. Copy stat 5. 5. The government websites news articles link to most are whitehouse.gov (**16** articles), state.gov (14) and weather.gov (13), and government sites get 5.6% of all links from news articles. Copy stat ## Summary A reporter writing about a court ruling links to the filing. A sports writer links to the league's statistics page. A political story links to another outlet that broke the news first. Every one of those links is a choice about which source deserves the reader's click, and for the website on the other end, it is one of the most valuable links it can earn. For a brand, knowing whom journalists link to shows what it takes to be cited. If reporters mostly link to each other, a company competes with the whole press for a reporter's attention. If they link to evidence, such as court records, data and official statements, a company can earn links by publishing the kind of material reporters cite. Both are true. **The New York Times** is linked from 85 articles, 2.8% of the total, and the ten most-linked sources are all news or sports media. But company websites receive the most links overall, 44.6%, spread across 1,816 different sites, and 73.3% of all linked websites appear in only one article. ## What we measured On September 23 and 24, 2026 we collected the 2,987 articles that ranked in the Google News top 10 for 2,000 news searches. We counted how many articles link to each outside website from the story itself, 2,970 different websites in all, and grouped each website by type: news outlet, company or commercial site, government site, university, or nonprofit. A link counts once per article, so a site linked three times in one story counts as one article. Outside websites are websites run by a different organization from the outlet that published the story. A share of articles is the number of articles linking to a site divided by all 2,987 articles; a share of links is a site type's links divided by all 5,470 links to outside websites. ## Journalists link to other news outlets most 85 news articles link to The New York Times, more than to any other website. The New York Times is linked from 85 articles, 2.8% of all news articles. ESPN (64) and USA Today (63) follow, and the wire services Reuters (38) and AP (37) complete the top five. Every one of the ten most-linked sources is a news or sports media site, and 96 of the 150 most-linked websites are news outlets. News articles linking by website nytimes.com 85 espn.com 64 usatoday.com 63 reuters.com 38 apnews.com 37 sbnation.com 34 heavy.com 32 npr.org 32 cnn.com 29 thehill.com 28 nfl.com 27 variety.com 25 deadline.com 25 hollywoodreporter.com 25 si.com 25 Source: Suff Digital analysis of 2,987 news articles and the 2,970 websites they link to · Google News results, September 2026 Reporters link to other outlets to credit a scoop, point to fuller coverage or cite a wire report. Sport and entertainment stand out: sbnation.com, nfl.com and si.com sit in the top 15 alongside the trade titles Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, because those beats run on scores, casting news and box office figures that one outlet reports and others pick up. Even so, no single source dominates. The 20 most-linked websites together take 12.3% of all links. ## Company websites get the most links, but rarely twice Company and commercial websites receive 44.6% of all links from news articles, more than news outlets at 38.9%. The difference is how widely those links are spread. They go to 1,816 different company sites, three times the 593 news outlets that receive links, so the average company site is linked from just over one article. Share of links by type of website Company or commercial site 44.6% News outlet 38.9% Nonprofit or .org site 9.3% Government site 5.6% University 1.6% | Type of website | Different websites | Share of links | | --- | --- | --- | | Company or commercial site | 1,816 | 44.6% | | News outlet | 593 | 38.9% | | Nonprofit or .org site | 368 | 9.3% | | Government site | 137 | 5.6% | | University | 56 | 1.6% | The most-linked company sites are ones journalists use as evidence or reference: court records on courtlistener.com (19 articles), ticket listings on seatgeek.com (18), code on github.com (14) and odds on fanduel.com (14), followed by amazon.com (13) and flickr.com (12). Across all websites, 73.3% are linked from only one article. For a company, that means a news link is earned one story at a time, and a brand does not need to be famous to get one. ## Government and university sources are a small share Government websites receive 5.6% of links from news articles and universities 1.6%. The White House (16 articles), the State Department (14) and the National Weather Service (13) lead the government list, followed by NOAA (12) and Congress (9). Cornell (6) and Marist (5), home of a well-known poll, lead the universities. Among nonprofit and .org sites, mozilla.org (10), prx.org (9) and documentcloud.org (9), where reporters publish source documents, are linked most. News articles linking by website whitehouse.gov 16 state.gov 14 weather.gov 13 noaa.gov 12 mozilla.org 10 congress.gov 9 prx.org 9 documentcloud.org 9 cornell.edu 6 marist.edu 5 These links are about primary sources: a statement, a forecast, a bill, a poll. They show that reporters link out when a page holds the original record, which is the same role a company's own research or data page can play. ## What this means for PR teams and brands Publish the kind of page journalists already cite. The sources that earn news links are those that hold evidence: court records, official statements, forecasts, polls and data. A company page with original numbers, a clear method and a date gives a reporter something to link to instead of just a name to mention. Plan for one story at a time. With 73.3% of linked websites appearing in only one article, a single well-placed story is the normal way a company earns a news link, and each new data release or expert comment is a fresh chance. Pitch reporters on the beats where your data is the primary source. Make the linkable page easy to find and stable: a permanent address, a plain summary at the top and charts a reporter can reference. A digital pr agency (https://www.suffdigital.com/services/digital-pr) like Suff Digital builds data studies designed to be cited by the press. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: The New York Times Is the Website Journalists Link to Most, in 2.8% of News Articles - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). The New York Times Is the Website Journalists Link to Most, in 2.8% of News Articles. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/most-linked-sources-news Plain link The New York Times Is the Website Journalists Link to Most, in 2.8% of News Articles - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/most-linked-sources-news ## Frequently asked questions ### Which website do news articles link to most? ### Do journalists link to company websites? ### Which company websites do journalists link to most? ### Which government websites do journalists link to most? ## Related studies - Digital PR 70% of News Articles in Google News Never Link to a Company Website: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/news-articles-outbound-links - Digital PR Local News Articles Carry 2.2 Times as Many Business Links as National News Articles: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/local-vs-national-news-links - Digital PR Only 0.4% of Links From News Publishers Are Marked Sponsored vs 2.8% From Online Stores: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/publisher-links-sponsored-tag - Digital PR 54% of News Mentions of Airline Brands Are Negative vs 32% Elsewhere Online: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/airline-brand-mentions-sentiment ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization", "name": "Suff Digital", "alternateName": "Suff Digital Marketing", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "contentUrl": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "caption": "Suff Digital" }, "image": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo" }, "description": "Suff Digital is a full-stack digital marketing agency that turns websites into predictable revenue engines, SEO, paid media, content, CRO, and web design built around revenue, not vanity metrics.", "slogan": "Digital marketing built for what's next.", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "foundingDate": "2022", "founder": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Suffoletto", "jobTitle": "Founder & CEO" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "contactType": "sales", "areaServed": "US", "availableLanguage": [ "en" ] } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Nashville", "addressRegion": "TN", "postalCode": "37219", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/suff-digital/", "https://www.instagram.com/suffdigital/", "https://www.youtube.com/@suffdigitalmarketing", "https://www.tiktok.com/@suffdigital" ], "knowsAbout": [ "Search Engine Optimization", "Pay-Per-Click Advertising", "Paid Social Advertising", "Conversion Rate Optimization", "Web Design", "Digital PR", "Link Building", "Website Migration", "Website Maintenance and Support", "Technical SEO", "Local SEO", "AI Search Optimization" ], "hasOfferCatalog": { "@type": "OfferCatalog", "name": "Suff Digital Services", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/ppc" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Paid Social Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/paid-social" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/cro" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Web Design", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/web-design" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Digital PR & Link Building", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/digital-pr" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Migration", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-migration" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Maintenance & Support", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-maintenance" } } ] } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#website", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "name": "Suff Digital", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/most-linked-sources-news#article", "headline": "The New York Times Is the Website Journalists Link to Most, in 2.8% of News Articles", "description": "The New York Times is linked from 85 of 2,987 news articles, more than any other website, ahead of ESPN and USA Today. 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Yet no source dominates: 73.3% of the websites journalists link to appear in just one article.", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/most-linked-sources-news", "creator": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-24", "dateModified": "2026-09-24", "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "measurementTechnique": "Articles ranking in Google News results and the outside websites they link to" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/most-linked-sources-news#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which website do news articles link to most?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The New York Times. nytimes.com is linked from 85 of 2,987 news articles (September 2026), 2.8%, ahead of ESPN (64 articles) and USA Today (63)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Do journalists link to company websites?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Company websites receive 44.6% of all links from news articles, more than news outlets at 38.9%, but spread across 1,816 different company sites." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which company websites do journalists link to most?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "courtlistener.com (19 news articles), seatgeek.com (18), github.com (14) and fanduel.com (14): sites that hold court records, ticket listings, code and odds." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which government websites do journalists link to most?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "whitehouse.gov (16 news articles), state.gov (14) and weather.gov (13). Government websites receive 5.6% of all links from news articles." } } ] } ] } ] ```