“The case for keeping Julia” – May
COLUMNIST Robert Macklin’s argument for keeping ill-fated Prime Minister Julia Gillard in power was our clear front-runner for most popular article of 2013.
At the time, whispers about a leadership spill were becoming louder and a month later, Kevin Rudd regained Labor leadership. Some commenters were vocal in their disagreement with Macklin, while others were grateful for a pro-Gillard article in the face of the media’s overwhelming criticism of the then-PM.
“Movie returns to the scene of the crime” – February
THE 1997 murder of ANU student Joe Cinque at the hands of his girlfriend Anu Singh still continues to intrigue Canberrans and a film, set in the capital, is due to start production early this year. In February reporter Laura Edwards sat down for an exclusive interview with its director, Sotiris Dounoukos, who chatted about his fascination with this compelling case.
“Coffee comes with a warm glow” – May
WHEN it re-opened in 2013, the Civic bookshop, bar and venue Smith’s Alternative created a stir, even more so when it started “suspended coffee” – where customers elect to pay for two coffees and receive only one in return, so another customer short on change can have their free caffeine-fix. Reporter Kathryn Vukovljak discovered Canberrans are a pretty generous bunch, and after readers warmed to this story, other local cafes quickly followed suit.
“How Rudd will win the election” – July
THE Federal Election was no doubt one of the most talked about Australian news events of 2013, and in the lead-up, political columnist Michael Moore caught readers’ attention by going against favourite Tony Abbott, instead tipping dark-horse Kevin Rudd to continue leadership. Believing Abbott’s negative politics would backfire at the election, Moore obviously got it wrong in the end, but it proved a polarising piece for readers.
“The painful stories tattoos can tell” – September
TATTOOS are known to divide opinion, but our September cover story by Laura Edwards uncovered a deeper meaning behind Canberrans and their ink, thanks to photographer Daniel Spellman, who shot more than 12 inked-up locals, including our cover girl Kirsty MacKinnon, who had a memorial tattoo etched on her thigh to reflect on the deaths of people close to her.
“CityNews” columnist Wendy Johnson’s food reviews were also among the most popular stories, with reviews of new Braddon eateries 86 and Autolyse creating the most buzz.
MEANWHILE, here are the top five articles published only on citynews.com.au
Men wanted after string of Civic assaults – November
After a string of violent attacks in Civic, a group of young men caught the public’s attention when police released photos of the alleged culprits.
CCTV footage of Woden bag snatch – March
Described as a “low act” by police, this article showed a woman snatching a bag from an elderly lady, which was made more popular when the public continued to share the footage on social media.
Police concerned for teenage runaway – July
The public were clearly concerned for this 15-year-old runaway, who was luckily reunited with her family.
Police search for missing boy – August
Another popular article that showed the concern of the community was that of a missing 12-year-old autistic boy, who was also later found safe and well.
Community CPS rebrands – July
Reporter Stephen Easton’s story on Community CPS’ move to rebrand as Beyond Bank Australia proved popular online; and was the only non-crime related story in the top five.
The post The year’s top hits and clicks appeared first on Canberra CityNews.