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| Stories about the Life Sciences Centre, currently getting a retrofit, got a lot of eyes in 2010. 聽(Nick Pearce Photo) |
From awards and accolades, to new research, to building closures and natural disasters, there was no shortage of news happening at AV俱乐部 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 year鈥檚 most popular stories were also among the most urgent. Coverage of the closure of the Life Sciences Centre due to asbestos (LSC reopened)聽and fire (Update on building closures)鈥攊n April and July respectively鈥攁s well as preparations for Hurricane Earl (Getting ready for Earl)聽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 鈥榣ip dub鈥� video (Representing 'Dal-ifornia') to a look at exchange students鈥� 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 鈥淒octor Malachi'), who was named an honorary member of the AV俱乐部 Medical School Class of 2010.
When it comes to coverage of administrative news, two stories about changes to AV俱乐部鈥檚 website were among the year鈥檚 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 Newman鈥檚 exploration into how the brain processes grammar (Wired for grammar).
All in all, Dal News published more content than ever before in 2010鈥�448 news stories, 40 discussion topics, 48 photo essays, 48 polls鈥攁nd 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 views鈥�905,813 in total.
The top 15 most-read Dal News stories of 2010:
- 鈥�LSC reopened鈥� (April 8) - 9,367 views
- 鈥�Representing 'Dal-ifornia'鈥� (August 17)- 6,737 views
- 鈥�Getting ready for Earl鈥� (September 1) - 3,997 views
- 鈥�Update on building closures" (July 25) - 3,497 views
- "All-star Academic All-Canadian" (November 17) - 3,324 views
- 鈥�Meet the New AV俱乐部 homepage鈥� (February 23) - 3,266 views
- 鈥�A dream come true for 10 year old 鈥淒octor Malachi鈥濃�� (June 15) - 3,213 views
- 鈥�Only in Canada you say? Pity鈥� (April 19) - 3,185 views
- 鈥�In good company鈥� (September 24) - 3,104 views
- 鈥淎ssessing the damage鈥� (July 27) - 3,076 views
- 鈥�Rating our own professors鈥� (April 30) - 3,071 views
- 鈥�U-Passes on the way鈥� (August 18) - 3,033 views
- 鈥�Chris Saulnier elected DSU president鈥� (March 25) - 2,940 views
- 鈥�Wired for grammar鈥� (May 4) - 2,936 views
- 鈥�Web makeover reveal鈥� (October 14) - 2,837 views
SEE ALSO: Spreading the news about Dal research