Top 10: Dicken field trip flap, pop bottle bombs, tornadoes most viewed AnnArbor.com stories in 2010
Residents look at the damage caused by a tornado in June in Dundee.
AP photo
From a controversy over just which students should go on a field trip to FBI raids on a militia group with local ties, AnnArbor.com covered a wide range of news in 2010.
Here's a list of the 10 most-viewed stories on our site this calendar year.
10. Ann Arbor mom, daughter killed in crash in Virginia
Tragedy struck in June, when an SUV carrying an Ann Arbor family was struck by another vehicle. A woman and her daughter died.
9. Ann Arbor credit union robbed
Bank robberies dominated the news in mid-October. This robbery, of the Lake Trust Credit Union on Packard, was the second bank in that area to robbed within a week.
8. Former University of Michigan football player charged in attempted robbery, larcenies
The downward spiral of Boubacar Cissoko continued. The former Michigan cornerback was kicked off the team in October 2009 and then charged in April with robbery and larceny.
7. Andrew Shirvell fired from job at Michigan Attorney General's Office
After several months of controversy, U-M alumnus Andrew Shirvell was fired from his job as an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan. Shirvell had been in the national news all fall after he targeted U-M student body President Chris Armstrong with blog posts and in person visits because of what he called Armstrong's "radical homosexual agenda."
6. Mega-guide: Complete Nov. 2 election results
Readers closely followed the race for governor between Ann Arbor area resident Rick Snyder and Lansing mayor Virg Bernero. This guide provided links to all our coverage the day after the Nov. 2 election.
Rick Snyder greets residents during a town hall in Chelsea during this year's campaign.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
5. FBI raids in Washtenaw, Lenawee counties tied to Michigan militia group
A week after AnnArbor.com reporter Lee Higgins wrote about local militias, federal authorities arrested several members of the Hutaree militia group and charged them with multiple crimes.
4. Shots fired during robbery at Bank of America in Ann Arbor, police say
The first of two bank robberies in October was the most daring, featuring gunfire inside the bank.
3. Tornado touches down in Dundee overnight; Ann Arbor hit with 2 inches of rain
Massive storms in early June slammed the area, hitting Dundee the hardest.
2. Police warn of pop bottle bombs left in yards in York Township
In early April, police found two pop bottle bombs left in York Township yards and issued warnings to residents to exercise caution if they found any bottles left in their yards.
1. Field trip for black students sparks controversy at Ann Arbor elementary school
This story about Dicken Elementary School Principal Mike Madison's decision to send black students only on a field trip to hear a black rocket scientist speak was picked up by the Drudge Report and quickly exploded into a national story about how to address gaps in achievement between black and white students.
Comments
Ann English
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 8:17 p.m.
It didn't make the list, and I'm not even sure it was written about, but we got rain last January, early in the month. I don't remember that ever happening before in my lifetime. Looks like it'll happen this January, too. I remember last January's rain because it and the tornados in Dundee and New Boston were extremely infrequent weather occurrences for our area.
MjC
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 4:42 p.m.
Stefanie - Yes, I meant reader comments when I used the word "blogger posts" and thanks for the response! I'm looking forward to seeing the changes coming in January. By the way, Happy New Year to all the folks of AnnArbor.com!
AlphaAlpha
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 3:11 p.m.
Ms. Murray - Thank you for trying. Macabre Sunset - Spot on; the growing lack of skeptical journalists is especially worrisome with the rise in plutocracy and corporate socialism. Speechless - glad you oppose bigotry.
Speechless
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 1:33 p.m.
Most viewed news article #1 had its surge in readership driven by mentions at Drudge Report and elsewhere, causing this site to slow down almost to the point where it became nonfunctional. Legions of wingnuts arriving in waves challenged the technical limits of this news blog and its server. The background for that story had its fair share of contested gray areas, allowing room for different nuances in interpretation. Into this context entered many an all-knowing commenter, who eagerly offered their clear, righteous certainty and sweeping condemnation. Given that few of them had a close relationship to a specific set of events in a single classroom at Dicken School, such responses were certainly impressive, at least from a curious, sociological standpoint. A fair number of hypersensitive folks were quick to express shrill outrage upon sniffing the slightest hint of reverse discrimination. Yet they typically comprised the same crowd who will gladly counsel minorities, women and gays to just "get a tougher skin" and learn to roll with the punches, so that they might stop "whining" in the face of discrimination. Of course, those self-appointed counselors cannot imagine ever having to heed their own advice.
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 1:14 p.m.
Of course, you have to balance the extra hits on the fluff that people can get anywhere against the investigative piece they will remember and might get you bookmarked for the long-term. It is the hallmark of the modern business world that companies are more than willing to self-destruct over the equivalent of a few more page views in the near future. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the newspaper industry, where investigative pieces (and, let's face it, you guys don't have the financial ability to dedicate a reporter to a real investigative piece for a month or so, and, I'm guessing from the standards here, you lack the journalistic ability anyway) are all but dead, and the result is the printed equivalent of Nancy Grace.
AlphaAlpha
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 11:44 a.m.
"I'll see if that is a list we can pull - I'm not sure it's possible with our current system and will look into it. " And those features with the most comments removed? Both with, and especially without any attribution...
AlphaAlpha
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 11:41 a.m.
"It may make advertisers happy to see page view statistics, but it is not indicative of a high quality news organization. " It's worth remembering that news organizations exist to make a profit. Quality work is nice, but without profit, there is no organization. This applies to all news organizations - even 'non-profits'.
MjC
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 11:11 a.m.
Reviewing my own most recent comments, the article that was hit with the most comments (266) was the "Emotional Rich Rod..." story. What happens to all the blogger posts? Are these archived or deleted for all enternity?
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 10:23 a.m.
I'm betting, aside from a couple of political items and the Dicken mess, that our endless argument over whether Rich Rodriguez should be fired occupies at least five places on that list.
crayzee
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 9:50 a.m.
This list serves as a pointed reminder that "most viewed" does NOT equal "most important news" or "best journalism" It may make advertisers happy to see page view statistics, but it is not indicative of a high quality news organization. These days it is all about the attention-grabbing headline and visible placement on the web page.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Dec 31, 2010 : 7:48 a.m.
Can we have the same list fir most commented?