The tops of 2009 at ncpr.org

Google Analytics, NCPR’s virtual bean-counting software, gives a quirky picture of the year’s news features. The most visited story of 2009 was a Heard Up North feature about the Bombshells Calendar, a fundraiser for wounded soldiers and their families featuring scantily-clad women and serious weaponry. Number two was a special report on the meltdown of the regional retailer, Hacketts. Number three was a report on the open-burning ban that went into effect statewide this year. The fourth was a look back at the villages drowned during the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway fifty years ago. And rounding out the top five was an examination of reported sightings of cougar in the North Country.

The In Box blog also really took off this year, with almost 200,000 page views in 2009, quadruple the traffic rate of 2008. The top post for the year was last week’s video feature on the Crown Point bridge demolition, which can be seen here. Number two was on the impact of the Hackett’s meltdown on Dede Scozzafava’s campaign for the US House seat vacated by John McHugh. Numbers three and five also concerned the Hacketts saga. And at number four was the scahdenfreudic delight liberals were taking in the candidacy of conservative Doug Hoffman in the CD23 special election.

Most traffic, of course, does not mean best or most important stories. We’d like to see your nominations for the category, Best of 2009 from NCPR. Use the comment link below.