Browsing articles from "December, 2011"

Report: Bing publishes most-searched news stories of this year

Dec 1, 2011   //   by admin   //   Blog  //  No Comments

by Andrew Moran (Guest contributor/Digital Journalist)

From the acquittal of Casey Anthony to the death of Osama bin Laden to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the year 2011 had quite a year when it came to the news.  Bing recently released the top most-searched news stories of 2011.

What a year. North American media outlets had quite a year when it came to producing news stories. Americans were closely following two high-profiled murder trials, natural disasters, tragic anniversaries and the deaths of famous and infamous people.

Bing.com released figures highlighting the most-searched news story of 2011. Sifting through billions of search queries, the website published the top people, sports stars, television shows, movies, celebrity events and musicians of this year.

The top 10 news stories of 2011:

10) Haiti Anniversary – More than 316,000 people lost their lives in Haiti’s devastating earthquake. More than one million people are homeless and another 800,000 still remain in makeshift tent cities. The first anniversary brought worldwide attention to Port-au-Prince.

9) Republican Presidential Candidates Herman Cain & Rick Perry – The top-tiers of the GOP presidential candidates have been a rollercoaster. At the start of the GOP primary season, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was the frontrunner. Following a close victory at the Ames, Iowa straw poll with Congressman Ron Paul, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was the favorite.  After Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the race, he became the leader of the pack. About a month later, he lost his momentum and businessman Herman Cain became the leader.

Herman Cain a GOP presidential candiate With more than a month away until the first primary, the top-tier, according to the latest poll, is Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Ron Paul. Unfortunately for Cain, he has been plagued with sexual harassment allegations and accusations of infidelity.  Although this has not happened to Perry, he has suffered from blunders in debates and during speeches.

8) 9/11 10-year anniversary – It has been 10 years since the tragic Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. More than 3,000 Americans were killed, and this attack led to the global War on Terror, later named Overseas Contingency Operations. The whole country honored the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

7) Conrad Murray Trial – Doctor of the cultural icon Michael Jackson, Conrad Murray wassentenced to four years in prison after he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of Jackson.

6) Joplin Tornado – At the end of May, a strong EF5 multiple-vortex tornado struck the town of Joplin, Missouri. It killed at least 159 people and caused more than $2.8 billion in damages. It became the seventh-deadliest tornado in U.S. history and 27th-deadliest internationally.

5) Amy Winehouse Death – The world was shocked when 27-year-old singer, songwriter Amy Winehouse passed away from alcohol poisoning. The award-winning star was found dead in her London home on July 23.

4) Japan Earthquake & Tsunami – In March, an overwhelming 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan, which led to a devastating tsunami, landslides, intense flooding, severe damage to the country’s infrastructure and several nuclear incidents. Nearly 16,000 have lost their lives, 6,000 have been injured and close to 4,000 are still missing. Damages have amounted to approximately $300 billion, and the Bank of Japan has so far offered to provide $183 billion.

The earthquake was so strong that it shifted the planet’s axis by at least four inches (10 cm), shortened the Earth’s day and moved Honshu by eight feet (2.4 m).

3) Hurricane Irene – Hurricane Irene was a Category 3 hurricane that traveled through the Caribbean, the east coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada.  It left 56 people dead and caused more than $10 billion in damages.

2) The Death of Osama bin Laden – After many years of attempting to capture and kill Osama bin Laden, a team of Navy SEALs initiated Operation Neptune Spear and was ordered to kill bin Laden in Pakistan on May 3. Although it was a controversial move to some, thousands of Americans celebrated in the streets. The entire setup was criticized by Congressman Ron Paul, but much of the U.S. government, including Republicans, applauded President Barack Obama for his actions.

Osama Bin Laden watches television in a video released on May 7 2011 provided by the U.S. Departme...

1) The Casey Anthony Trial – Digital Journal provided in-depth coverage of the Casey Anthony trial. Although Casey Anthony was acquitted of first degree murder of her two-year-old trial, Caylee Marie Anthony, there was strong sentiment across the U.S. and much of the world that viewed Anthony as guilty.This was the most-searched news story of the year.

For other top 2011, please view the rest of the Bing.com list.

This article was originally published on Digital Journal [Link]

Photo courtesy of DVIDSHUB

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