Top Dal stories of 2010

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

From awards and accolades, to new research, to building closures and natural disasters, there was no shortage of news happening at Dalhousie 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’s 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 respectively—as 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 Dalhousie Medical School Class of 2010.

When it comes to coverage of administrative news, two stories about changes to Dalhousie’s website were among the year’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 Newman’s exploration into how the brain processes grammar (Wired for grammar).

All in all, Dal News published more content than ever before in 2010—448 news stories, 40 discussion topics, 48 photo essays, 48 polls—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 views—905,813 in total.

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

1. “LSC reopened” (April 8) - 9,367 views
2. “Representing 'Dal-ifornia'” (August 17)- 6,737 views
3. “Getting ready for Earl” (September 1) - 3,997 views
4. “Update on building closures" (July 25) - 3,497 views
5. "All-star Academic All-Canadian" (November 17) - 3,324 views
6. “Meet the New Dalhousie homepage” (February 23) - 3,266 views
7. “A dream come true for 10 year old “Doctor Malachi”” (June 15) - 3,213 views
8. “Only in Canada you say? Pity” (April 19) - 3,185 views
9. “In good company” (September 24) - 3,104 views
10. “Assessing the damage” (July 27) - 3,076 views
11. “Rating our own professors” (April 30) - 3,071 views
12. “U-Passes on the way” (August 18) - 3,033 views
13. “Chris Saulnier elected DSU president” (March 25) - 2,940 views
14. “Wired for grammar” (May 4) - 2,936 views
15. “Web makeover reveal” (October 14) - 2,837 views

SEE ALSO: Spreading the news about Dal research