From awards and accolades, to new research, to building closures and natural disasters, there was no shortage of news happening at 窪蹋勛圖厙in 2010.
A quick scan of the most read Dal News stories of 2010 provides a snapshot of the year that was. Some of the years most popular stories were also among the most urgent. Coverage of the closure of the Life Sciences Centre due to asbestos (LSC reopened)and fire (Update on building closures)in April and July respectivelyas well as preparations for Hurricane Earl (Getting ready for Earl)in September account for four of the top 15 stories.
But those situations are more the exception than the rule. Generally, the most popular Dal News stories were those which focused on student life, from the behind-the-scenes story of the DSU lip dub video (Representing 'Dal-ifornia') to a look at exchange students impressions of life in Canada (Only in Canada you say? Pity). Also popular were profiles of Academic All-Canadian Alex Legge (All-star Academic All-Canadian) and incoming DSU President Chris Saulnier (Chris Saulnier elected DSU president), along with the heartwarming story of 10 year old cancer patient Malachi Rai (A dream come true for 10 year old Doctor Malachi'), who was named an honorary member of the 窪蹋勛圖厙Medical School Class of 2010.
When it comes to coverage of administrative news, two stories about changes to Dalhousies website were among the years most-read, with stories about the U-Pass program (U-Passes on the way), student ratings of instruction (Rating our own professors) and the Times Higher Education rankings (In good company) also proving popular. And the most-read research story? It was psychology professor Aaron Newmans exploration into how the brain processes grammar (Wired for grammar).
All in all, Dal News published more content than ever before in 2010448 news stories, 40 discussion topics, 48 photo essays, 48 pollsand in doing so had its biggest year ever for readership. The Dal News website saw a 14 per cent increase in visits and a 15 per cent increase in overall page views905,813 in total.
The top 15 most-read Dal News stories of 2010:
- LSC reopened (April 8) - 9,367 views
- Representing 'Dal-ifornia' (August 17)- 6,737 views
- Getting ready for Earl (September 1) - 3,997 views
- Update on building closures" (July 25) - 3,497 views
- "All-star Academic All-Canadian" (November 17) - 3,324 views
- Meet the New 窪蹋勛圖厙homepage (February 23) - 3,266 views
- A dream come true for 10 year old Doctor Malachi (June 15) - 3,213 views
- Only in Canada you say? Pity (April 19) - 3,185 views
- In good company (September 24) - 3,104 views
- Assessing the damage (July 27) - 3,076 views
- Rating our own professors (April 30) - 3,071 views
- U-Passes on the way (August 18) - 3,033 views
- Chris Saulnier elected DSU president (March 25) - 2,940 views
- Wired for grammar (May 4) - 2,936 views
- Web makeover reveal (October 14) - 2,837 views
SEE ALSO: Spreading the news about Dal research