The most popular articles on CalCoastNews

June 21, 2010

We had a staff meeting the other day and the question popped up–What are the the articles on our site getting the most attention, the most “hits?”

We already know that the typical CalCoastNews reader is smarter, better read, and more politically active than your average newspaper reader. You’re concerned about your community and you want to know what’s happening in local government and other institutions.

But you also don’t turn away from a good-looking woman in a bikini.

So we ran some numbers and did some comparisons. Here are the Top Five Most Popular articles for CalCoastNews readers in the last few weeks:

In 5th place, was the sad and still mysterious death of Santa Margarita woman Janet Lucille McCarthy who died as she was preparing to leave town with her children for an extended trip back to the Midwest. Police are still investigating.

In 4th place, was the story that Karen Velie has made her own since rumors of trouble within the Cal Poly College of Engineering first began to surface.  It appears that Dean Mohammad Noori is being eased out by college officials after one brushfire too many.

In 3rd place, a surprise, because it’s not really a local story, but we had a tsunami of attention on our little News Brief about state Senator Roy Ashburn (finally) talking about his sexuality openly on the Senate floor. To us, that’s a real Profile in Courage.

In 2nd place, is a story that continues to generate heat–and controversy–among our readers: The so-called secret life of newly-appointed Arroyo Grande City Council member Caren Ray and her association with the Hash House Harriers. Let’s just say Councilwoman Ray gives new meaning to “running for office.”

And in 1st place….um…uh…well…oh…um. We were hoping it would be our analysis of Blakeslee vs.Laird, or Rob Bryn calling Joe Cortez supporters “Commies” on Facebook. Nope. Instead, the clear winner, with a stratospheric hit count from all of you, um..um..involves women in lingerie.

But thanks for making our new “Eye on the Coast” feature so popular!

Finally, it’s clear you really enjoyed our live blogging on Primary Election Night. We’re not aware of any other local media outlet that attempted to give you some spontaneous (and snarky) comments as the results rolled in.

Keep on reading. Keep local investigative journalism alive.