Thanks! I didn't realize that it changed.
I like parts of this change as it gives a very clear indication on growth between different months.
It does minimize some of the usefulness, though. It would be nice to still have the minutes read. I also believe that story stats showed comments on each, which is now gone. Both of those together helped show how engaged readers are with the pub.
I'm never a fan of removing information, especially stats. The more information we have, the better we can expand, promote, and engage with the pub's audience.