It’s not a shock the most-read story of 2024 by a huge margin is from the first half of August. But it’s not about the seemingly obvious pick of record flooding of Suicide Basin.
The most-read story is headlined “Survival of world’s oldest humpback whale, spotted in Southeast Alaska last month, is a mystery,” reprinted Aug. 14 from The New York Times (which the Empire began using as a wire service earlier this year instead of the Associated Press). The story about “Old Timer,” a male whale first photographed in 1972, was viewed by 232,889 active users during 2024, according to Google Analytics, nearly seven times as many hits as the second-ranked story on the list.
A graph shows the 10 most-read news stories at the Juneau Empire’s website in 2024. (Google Analytics)
Of the ten most-read stories, only a few are part of the annual “10 biggest local news stories” feature the Empire will publish later today. While that suggests readers have a vastly difference perspective than the newsroom, there are some qualifying factors that may account for some stories such as the flood in early August that damaged nearly 300 homes.
Ongoing live updates of that crisis and as the full text of stories, for instance, were posted on the Empire’s Facebook page to ensure people without subscriptions weren’t blocked by the paywall. Similar posts were made with some other major stories during the year.
But ultimately the numbers speak for themselves and the following are the 10 most-read news stories at juneauempire.com between Jan. 1 and Dec. 30, 2024:
1. “Survival of world’s oldest humpback whale, spotted in Southeast Alaska last month, is a mystery,” Aug. 14. (283,972 views; 232,889 active users)
2. “Sportfishers can’t keep king salmon caught in Southeast waters under emergency order starting Monday,” Aug. 24. (38,342 views; 33,622 active users)
3. “Steven Kissack, homeless resident known for canine companion Juno, killed in police confrontation downtown,” July 16. (35,044 views; 19,154 active users)
4. “Emergency order bans king salmon fishing in many Juneau waters between June 24 and Aug. 31,” June 21. (28,930 views; 23,791 active users)
5. “Suicide Basin flood tracker: Mendenhall River crests at 15.99 feet, expected to retreat rapidly,” Aug. 6. (22,771 views; 10,740 active users)
6. “First cruise ship of the season arrives to welcomes, planned protest,” April 9. (19,863 views; 16,222 active users)
7. “Cruise ships remain in Juneau overnight after canceling Southeast stops elsewhere due to storm,” Oct. 1. (18,274 views; 13,936 active users)
8. “Coast Guard suspends search for five people aboard fishing boat that reportedly capsized near Juneau,” Dec. 2. (17,468 views; 9,539 active users)
9. “Cruise ship employee arrested after stabbing multiple people aboard with scissors,” May 7. (17,250 views; 12,961 active users)
10. “Community calendar of upcoming events,” updated throughout the year. (15,915 views; 4,923 active users)
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
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