Nick Jeremiah/SPPSThe media outside of The Holtzman Alumni Center
From the death of 13 caused by a bridge collapse in Minneapolis to the discovery of lead and other harmful materials in Chinese exports, America's government and its citizens encountered many struggles throughout 2007.
Iran and North Korea were dubbed nuclear threats, global warming caused national concern and gas prices reached new heights. But the one event that consistently turned up as the top news story of the year was the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech.
The Associated Press' annual survey of U.S. news directors and editors, which was conducted Dec. 20, revealed the Tech shootings to be the nation's biggest story of the past year. Out of 271 ballots, 82 voted the incident first-place.
"For a single day's event, it was the biggest, most shocking event of the year. It had some various threads that made it an important story more than just a sensational story," said John Affleck, the National Reporting Team Editor of the Associated Press, noting such concerns as security on campuses, mental health treatment and gun laws.
Marc Gilbert, the managing editor of the Killeen Daily Herald agreed that the ranking of the tragedy is understandable. Although the biggest news in Killeen, Texas has consistently been the war in Iraq due to its close location to Fort Hood, Gilbert said that the war's media importance has been waning in the minds of editors across the nation.
According to Mitch Weinstock, the national editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune, April 16 was definitely the biggest one-time news story of the year. He noted that it is difficult to compare such a tragedy to ongoing ordeals such as global warming.
To keep in mind the contenders for the annual vote, Affleck and a fellow reporter keep a running list of each day's top stories, also considering larger trends.
"We compile a list of stories that received a lot of attention, and we send it out in an advisory to all the news editors and news directors at newspapers and broadcast stations around the country who are members of the Associated Press," Affleck said, adding that the AP then invites those publications to compile their own top-10 list.
The Tech shootings were also reported as the most viewed story on msnbc.com. The story was the most-clicked story of 2007 on the news outlet's Web site by far.
Coming in second place was the mortgage crisis, marked by a new record for mortgage disclosures, a housing market slump, and other factors. The war in Iraq, which has been in the top three since 2002 and was voted first in 2006, moved down to third place.
The AP also listed the 2008 presidential campaign, which started unusually early this year, and the immigration issue in the top 10. The wildfires in southern California and former attorney general Alberto Gonzales' resignation were next in line for the year's top stories.
"We sort of write the first draft of history," Affleck said. "It's a moment where the editors and news directors can voice their opinions on what history will look back on and remember from this time."
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