News.com.au Announces Most Popular News Stories of 2008

News.com.au Announces Most Popular News Stories of 2008

 Heath Ledger, Stephanie Rice and the iPhone in top 10

The editor of national news website news.com.au, David Higgins, today announced the most popular stories of 2008 ranked by the number of clicks on news.com.au.

 In order, the 20 most-clicked stories of 2008 on news.com.au were:

(Please note, for links to these stories refer to the media release appendix)

1. Heath Ledger dead of 'drug overdose'
2. Woman's fishy-smelling mystery solved
3. Cut-price 3G iPhone in Australia by July 11
4. Reporter Hannah Hodson faces sack over Pink interview 
5. Stephanie Rice's wild side emerges on Facebook
6. Patrick Swayze 'says goodbye as cancer spreads'
7. Bigfoot body 'found and put in freezer'
8. 'Alien' creature creates monster stir
9. Giant spider snapped eating bird in backyard near Cairns
10. Brendan David Dennison remanded in custody over Waterloo balcony death
11. The Veronicas' Jess Origliasso caught in porn storm
12. First picture of son leaves mum horrified
13. Google unveils Street View across Australia
14. The secret life of a call girl
15. Big Brother's Rima in porn shock
16. Man 'had sex with girl in Perth, mum made video' 
17. Man's penis stuck in park bench
18. Ex-Idol Paula Goodspeed found dead outside judge Paula Abdul's home
19. YouTube-style porn threatens studios
20. All Saints actor Mark Priestley found dead

Mr Higgins said that it’s not just the big stories that receive the most clicks.

 “In 2008, Australia and the world experienced landmark events. We welcomed youth from all around the world into our country to celebrate World Youth Day; stood united cheering on the Aussie athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; came together to help battle a deep financial crisis and followed the historic journey of America’s first African American President-elect.

“Still, it is the stories of tragedy, curiosity and world-first technology that had Australians clicking online.

“The death of iconic Australian actor Heath Ledger shocked Australia and it is no surprise that he was the number one story of 2008 on news.com.au.

“Then we had a quirky story – a woman finally figuring out just what that fishy-smelling mystery of hers was. We definitely found that Australians were hooked on weird and quirky stories. These stories aren’t usually told in other forms of mainstream media, so they have come to news.com.au to read about them.

 “The iPhone story at number three is also no surprise. This gadget took the world by storm and the Apple team did a great job in building speculation and hype.” Mr Higgins said that in the online medium, stories had to be truly extraordinary to be popular.

 “What we have found is that stories that push human emotion to extremes - whether through drama or comedy – draw audiences again and again.”

To view the 100 most popular stories of the year as well as the top 20 galleries, visit: http://www.news.com.au.

1. Heath Ledger dead of 'drug overdose' - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,,23095558-5013852,00.html

2. Woman's fishy-smelling mystery solved - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,24520524-13762,00.html

3. Cut-price 3G iPhone in Australia by July 11 - http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23839650-5016091,00.html

4. Reporter Hannah Hodson faces sack over Pink interview - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24593398-7484,00.html

5. Stephanie Rice's wild side emerges on Facebook - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23458202-2,00.html

6. Patrick Swayze 'says goodbye as cancer spreads' - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24719398-7485,00.html

7. Bigfoot body 'found and put in freezer' - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24179242-2,00.html

8. 'Alien' creature creates monster stir - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24105658-13762,00.html

9. Giant spider snapped eating bird in backyard near Cairns - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,24540399-2,00.html

10. Brendan David Dennison remanded in custody over Waterloo balcony death - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24575381-421,00.html

11. The Veronicas' Jess Origliasso caught in porn storm - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24108742-7484,00.html

 12. First picture of son leaves mum horrified - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23420677-2,00.html

13. Google unveils Street View across Australia - http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24130293-5014108,00.html

 14. The secret life of a call girl - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,24261718-2,00.html

15. Big Brother's Rima in porn shock - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,23616886-10388,00.html

16. Man 'had sex with girl in Perth, mum made video' - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24685132-29277,00.html

17. Man's penis stuck in park bench - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24174888-23109,00.html

18. Ex-Idol Paula Goodspeed found dead outside judge Paula Abdul's home - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,26278,24644884-5016681,00.html

 19. YouTube-style porn threatens studios - http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,23048519-5014108,00.html

 20. All Saints actor Mark Priestley found dead - http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24254098-421,00.html