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Gutierrez 'not guilty' verdict tops KUAM.COM's most popular stories of 2004
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by Jason Salas, KUAM News
Thursday, December 30, 2004
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The last twelve months have been, to say the very least, memorable for us at KUAM. We were literally swamped with work from an entire slew of activities planned for 2004, like our 50th anniversary gala, this summer's Olympic Games and the Decision 2004 election season. We likewise were inundated with work covering news events we could have never predicted, such as several high-profile trials, indictments, acts of nature, and on a more personal note, the sudden and untimely passing of our beloved owner, Eddie Calvo.
And through it all, we brought you the stories, people, images and soundbytes that shaped our culture and made this a truly unforgettable year.
While we continue to grow, expand and revamp KUAM.COM, maintaining our position as the region's largest and most visited web site, I take note of the most popular stories that we've got in cyberspace, as determined by the number of times they've been read by you. And admittedly, some of the results were surprising.
Even though I spend every day on our site, it still amazes me what you get out of it. Here are some many things we've been able to accomplish for the way people have used KUAM.COM over the last year. We've expanded our viewership by 15%, to serve more than 3.1 million page views per week, and we've published more news articles over the last year than in the previous three years - combined. Bring a printable medium, KUAM.COM is among the region's most-read publications. Many of the articles that are hit consistently are older stories, accessed by lawyers, teachers, students and family members doing research on various ongoing storylines. And thousands of people use our search and archival tools everyday to find stories, discovering other related items that interest them.
We've also been extremely successful at changing the way people get their news. Technology is progressive, and tragic are those local news outlets that don't keep up with it, as they're doing you an injustice as a consumer by not making their content available to you over multiple platforms and on multiple types of devices. Thankfully, we're not in that bunch. You shouldn't be forced to sit at a stationary PC to get your news fix - you have to be able to listen, watch, be on the go, and be doing other things while getting informed. And we've got you covered.
People have really latched on to accessing KUAM.COM from our portable headlines, our syndicated content feed for use in newsreaders and RSS aggregators, breaking news alerts over SMS and e-mail, daily e-mail headlines, KUAM Wireless Access, our MSNBC data channel, our PDA channel for Palm-brand mobile devices (PalmPilots, Blackberries, etc.), and our streaming video and audio webcasts. In fact, a significant amount of the daily traffic to KUAM.COM is generated from people reading our stories, watching our streaming newscasts, and then listening to our radio programming - at the same time!
Also, it's interesting to see what types of stories people have gravitated towards. Some are obvious, some might surprise you.
Stories where government officials made assertions or otherwise tasty comments about themselves or others were quite popular (i.e., Governor Felix Camacho's "There's a new sheriff in town" claim, or the AG's " Yippee-ki-Yay, Governor!" rebuttal), as were trials and continuing coverage (the AG's personal criminal case, the Urunao trial)
Human interest events continue to captivate our audiences, still proving people's genuine fascination with extraordinary human experiences. This was most evident in our coverage of Guamanians abroad doing great things - and conversely, so was human tragedy. The capper was Mindy Fothergill's Personal Journey to Korea, in which she documented her meeting her biological mother for the first time in 21 years (easily the year's biggest tearjerker).
In like fashion, stories featuring outlandish situations brought on by a lack of basic common sense attracts viewers. People not only enjoy reading about the (mis)fortune of their neighbors, but also about the moments in life when people exercise questionable judgment. Two "shining" examples are stories of a mother stabbing her son after quarrel over what food he bought at the market; and one cousin stabbed another after they argued who could drink more alcohol.
So enough with the theory and broadcast analysis. Have a looksie for yourself, at the thirty-one most-read stories on KUAM.COM of 2004, as determined .
31. Mother charged with stabbing her son after quarrel over food (October 7)
30. Camacho sends pair of Moylan's staffers packing (March 25)
29. Reactions to first screening of "The Passion of The Christ" (March 3)
28. Hope is gone - no chance for peaceful conflict resolution (April 20)
27. Attorney General's Office says investigation is not retaliation (May 24)
26. 23-year-old stabs cousin after argument over who could drink the most (August 18)
25. EITC recipient says he was told to keep quiet about payment (June 11)
24. AG Moylan plans to publish names of petition signers (August 7)
23. Search crews discover body in waters off Piti (August 1)
22. Sweet talk: Aguon says promotional re-election candy bars aren't on your dime (August 31)
21. Guam braces for Typhoon Chaba's northern passage (August 22)
20. Eyewitnesses recall Mangilao skydiving accident (August 10)
19. Sexual assault/sexual harassment complaint filed against Navy HC-5 officers (September 23)
18. It's Your Money: mayor uses government resources to fund son's wedding (September 24)
17. Missing money: Governor's chief of staff moves millions into special account (November 19)
16. Tingting's closest approach projected as 8AM Monday (June 27)
15. KUAM Personal Journeys: Finding My Roots, Part 5 (October 21)
14. Guam Seawalker Tours issues statement regarding missing kayakers (June 30)
13. Local resident files petition to recall Attorney General Moylan (July 2)
12. KUAM owner Edward M. Calvo dies after battle with cancer (September 15)
11. Moylan: "Yippee-ki-Yay, Governor!" (July 8)
10. AG to Governor: "Put up or shut up" (July 2)
9. Much ado about nothing? Ishizaki calls press conference regarding polygraph test (October 29)
8. Camacho and Moylan (supposedly) break silence (April 2)
7. Bertha Duenas reinstated as head of Guam State Clearinghouse following Supreme Court ruling (March 22)
6. Shipped out to Urunao: staffers allege forced work at Gutierrez ranch (April 1)
5. AG Moylan says petty politics drive actions against him (May 22)
4. Typhoon Nock-Ten creeps towards Guam (October 18)
3. Voter turnout for General much stronger than Primary (November 2)
2. Governor's Office strongly denies AG's allegations of Camacho having a mistress (May 23)
1. Jury finds Gutierrez, Shinohara, Yingling not guilty on all corruption charges in Urunao trial (July 20)
Needless to say, the year kept us on our toes. I'm very glad you responded as positively as you did to our coverage, as likewise grateful for those of you who submitted comments about how we might get better as we roll into 2005. Obviously, we've got several more events planned after the New Year, and we're still in the middle of several ongoing coverage pieces. And of course, news events will come up that will force us to modify and/or suspend our plans to accommodate them. That's the nature of news.
And throughout it all you'll be able to read, listen, watch and interact with us. That's the nature of how we do things at KUAM.
We'll happily see you next year!
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