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Top Dal stories of 2010

- January 5, 2011

lsc
Stories about the Life Sciences Centre, currently getting a retrofit, got a lot of eyes in 2010. Ā (Nick Pearce Photo)

From awards and accolades, to new research, to building closures and natural disasters, there was no shortage of news happening at pilipiliĀž»­ 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 yearā€™s most popular stories were also among the most urgent. Coverage of the closure of the Life Sciences Centre due to asbestos (LSC reopened)Ā and fire (Update on building closures)ā€”in April and July respectivelyā€”as well as preparations for Hurricane Earl (Getting ready for Earl)Ā 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 ā€˜lip dubā€™ video (Representing 'Dal-ifornia') to a look at exchange studentsā€™ 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 ā€œDoctor Malachi'), who was named an honorary member of the Dalhousie Medical School Class of 2010.

When it comes to coverage of administrative news, two stories about changes to Dalhousieā€™s website were among the yearā€™s 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 Newmanā€™s exploration into how the brain processes grammar (Wired for grammar).

All in all, Dal News published more content than ever before in 2010ā€”448 news stories, 40 discussion topics, 48 photo essays, 48 pollsā€”and 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 viewsā€”905,813 in total.

The top 15 most-read Dal News stories of 2010:

  1. ā€œLSC reopenedā€ (April 8) - 9,367 views
  2. ā€œRepresenting 'Dal-ifornia'ā€ (August 17)- 6,737 views
  3. ā€œGetting ready for Earlā€ (September 1) - 3,997 views
  4. ā€œUpdate on building closures" (July 25) - 3,497 views
  5. "All-star Academic All-Canadian" (November 17) - 3,324 views
  6. ā€œMeet the New Dalhousie homepageā€ (February 23) - 3,266 views
  7. ā€œA dream come true for 10 year old ā€œDoctor Malachiā€ā€ (June 15) - 3,213 views
  8. ā€œOnly in Canada you say? Pityā€ (April 19) - 3,185 views
  9. ā€œIn good companyā€ (September 24) - 3,104 views
  10. ā€œAssessing the damageā€ (July 27) - 3,076 views
  11. ā€œRating our own professorsā€ (April 30) - 3,071 views
  12. ā€œU-Passes on the wayā€ (August 18) - 3,033 views
  13. ā€œChris Saulnier elected DSU presidentā€ (March 25) - 2,940 views
  14. ā€œWired for grammarā€ (May 4) - 2,936 views
  15. ā€œWeb makeover revealā€ (October 14) - 2,837 views

SEE ALSO: Spreading the news about Dal research