My Top 10 News Stories of 2008
The “top news stories” for 2008 are starting to appear on many of the local and national news sites. Here is my own list of the top 10 news stories for the last 12 months:
10. The Curious Case of Sarah Palin (National)
9. Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike
8. Earthquake in China & Cyclone in Myranmar (Global)
7. Iowan Shawn Johnson wins Olympic Gold (National)
6. Parkersburg EF5 Tornado (Local) & Boy Scouts killed by Tornado (Local)
5. $4.00 to $5.00 per Gallon Gasoline (National)
4. The Harsh Winter of 2008 (National)
3. The Iowa Floods of 2008 (Statewide)
2. The Election of Barak Obama (National)
1. The Worldwide Economic Crash (Global)
There is nothing magical about “top 10” lists of news stories. In putting together my list, I tried to place value on historical significance and news worthiness. While watching Shawn Johnson win Olympic gold, for example, is probably not on the same level of historical significance as the election of Barak Obama, it certainly consumed a lot of media time in Des Moines.
Historically, I believe the economic collapse will prove to be the story of the next several years. It will, I believe, define Barak Obama’s presidency; that is why I placed his election as second on the list.
Interestingly, five of the top 10 news stories were weather-related disasters. In Iowa, for example, we witnessed a hard winter, devastating tornadoes, historic flooding, and the start to another hard winter.
Here are some links to web sites with similar top news stories: