The Most Compelling Stories and Images from Duke, 2023
The stories that connected to readers and the community in 2023
Duke Today Stories
Duke Today is the news source of record for Duke,
with over 3,240,000 total views during 2023
Top Duke Today Stories
- The top story, with 144,151 views, was on research: Brain Images Just Got 64 Million Times Sharper.
Science stories can generate dramatic images, and this story accompanied the second-most watched video.
2. Duke's expansion of aid to students from the Carolinas is already drawing more outstanding students to apply to Duke. The June announcement had 112,227 views and was a top post on Twitter/X.
3. Research at Duke stories have real-world implications. Managers Exploit Loyal Workers Over Less Committed Colleagues, with 99,395 views, explored workplace dynamics.
Honorable Mention
Sometimes stories have surprising longevity.
The 2006 story on whether “too much” homework is an issue or an asset, received 33,552 unique clicks in 2023. That traffic has stayed steady for 17 years.
Top Duke Daily Newsletter Opens
The Duke Daily newsletter has sent 10,837,354 emails during 2023. These emails link to Duke Today stories, and opens trend toward presidential messages about campus, national and international events.
| Subjects of the Daily | Opens Rates |
|---|---|
| Statement from President Vincent Price | 45.63% |
| Presidential statement on attacks; resources for community | 42.66% |
| Message from President; University Medals; Durham heat maps | 39.51% |
Top specific links from the Daily, from left to right:
10,185 unique clicks
President Price Condemns Attacks by Hamas in Israel
7,590 unique clicks
Duke Awards 44 Distinguished Professorships
5,662 unique clicks
Eating Disorder Struggle Into a Burgeoning Business
Top Duke Weekly Newsletter Opens
The Duke Weekly, which targets university alumni, has sent 4,296,831 emails during 2023. Their highest open rates corresponded to campus events including commencement and the arrival of the class of 2027.
| Subjects of the Weekly | Open Rates |
|---|---|
| Distinguished professors; fragile banks; Class of 2023 | 52.01% |
| 2023 Commencement; father-daughter grads; spring athletics | 50.78% |
| High-energy welcome; John Hope Franklin; military support | 49.60% |
Top specific links from the Weekly, from left to right:
3,052 unique clicks
Here Are Duke Leadership Changes Beginning July 1
2,507 unique clicks
How Concerned Should You Be About AirTags?2,281 unique clicks
Duke Awards 44 Distinguished Professorships
Media Briefings
Media Briefings bring Duke faculty experts together for live-streaming question and answer sessions with the media. The briefings focus on current issues, using Duke scholarship to inform and elevate public conversations about topics that are important to the community, region and world.
Briefings are regularly shared by local and national media.
- Gender-Affirming Care in NC - YouTube Views: 829 / Media Coverage – WFMY, WCNC, NC Policy Watch, News & Observer
- How Abortion Restrictions Impact Health Care - YouTube Views: 554 / Media Coverage – WCNC and N.C. Policy Watch
- COVID Cases and Variants - YouTube Views: 409 / Media Coverage – Associated Press, NBC News, ABC News, The Hill, NC Newsline, WRAL, The Atlantic, Spectrum News, Queen City News, Winston Salem Journal, Cardinal and Pine
Social Media
In 2023, Duke Social channels gained 88,684 new followers (66k from LinkedIn) and had 37,485,077 impressions
LinkedIn Top Posts
As LinkedIn becomes more like a Facebook for professionals, Duke’s top posts trend towards celebration of the beauty and events on campus.
B
136,022 impressions
112,093 impressions 
99,577 impressions
From left to right: Beginning of fall colors, Commencement, End of fall colors
Facebook Top Posts
What works on Facebook varies widely.
77,605 impressions 
57,796 impressions
From left to right: Carillon recital for Michigan State University, Quad Arches , Spot the Snake
Duke Goes Viral
Riley Leonard got more attention for requesting a little more time to get his homework done than he did for winning the game against Clemson and “becoming a legend.”
Riley Leonard’s homework exchange was big on Instagram (129,149 likes), TikTok (353 likes) and Twitter / X (2.6 million views). Duke’s social content reached 1.56 million people on a single post.
2.6 million views
on Twitter / X
More Top Instagram Posts
14,531 likes 
11,120 likes
More Top TikTok Posts
76 likes 
93 likes
More Top Tweets/X Posts
307.3K views 
56.9k views
Videos
Duke YouTube videos were viewed 1,215,107 times in 2023
33,411.0 hours of videos watched
5,426 subscribers Gained
11,045,247 impressions
Most-Viewed Videos
Videos can continue to educate new viewers for years as they repeatedly resurface over time.
What is Autism? (Quick Learner) - this video was produced in 2021 but had 248,619 new views in 2023, and over 1 million views since its launch.
What is Artificial Intelligence (Quick Learner) - also produced in 2021, 82,434 of this video’s 95,426 views came in 2023.
When new videos can showcase visually stunning research, they can make an immediate impact.
This science research video, with 82,569 views, accompanied one of the top Duke Today stories of the year, for over a quarter of a million total interactions.
Top Video Playlists
From left to right:
Commencement 2023 - 981 views from playlist, 23,737 total views overall
Check This Out - 909 views from playlist, 29,083 total views overall
Duke Class of 2027 - 651 views from playlist, 27,583 views overall
Photography
Whether telling a story or sharing Duke moments, these images create a lasting emotional connection.
Photography
While online video viewing can be tracked, determining the popularity of a photograph is tougher. Tracking photos that are downloaded from Duke's photography archive, Webdam, is one option. These images are among the most downloaded and, more importantly, they tell great stories.
Documenting significant administrative change, such as President Price announcing the $100 million gift from the Duke Endowment, can be challenging - but the right image always presents itself.
Some events just have to be seen from above.
As Duke football's resurgence started getting more attention, ESPN brought its nationally televised ”Game Day” to Duke’s West Campus.
The arts are a critical piece of the Duke experience and the Duke Arts Block Party kicked off a week of phenomenal performance by world-renowned artists.
Students joined in photographing the Birdmen from Close-Act Theatre in the Netherlands.
Sunset over Duke Chapel
Sunsets over Duke remain some of the most popular downloads of Duke photography.
