The Signpost
← Back to Contents
View Latest Issue


Traffic report

Kennedy shot Who

Contribute  —  
Share this
By Serendipodous

Summary: Doctor Who nearly got cancelled in its first week because its premiere was swamped by coverage of the JFK assassination, which happened the same day. Thankfully, producers saw fit to rerun it the next day, which is now its official anniversary date. With the two events locked in tandem forever, their respective 50th anniversaries were bound to compete for our attention. But which would swamp which this time? Well, while the Doctor may have the highest rated individual article, he was crushed in terms of view numbers, as the assassination drew 5 articles into the top 10, totaling nearly 4 million views. And those wishing ill on Doctor Who can relax in the knowledge that its 50th anniversary special was beaten in the ratings by Strictly Come Dancing.

NOTE: a contentious #1 was removed from this top 10, because I wasn't sure if it should be included and there was no way it could be discussed neutrally. It is still in the top 25, however.

For the week of 17 to 23 November, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most trafficked pages* were:

Rank Article Class Views Image Notes
1 Doctor Who C-Class 1,435,415 The longest-running science fiction television series in history celebrated its 50th anniversary with a barreling barrage of coverage; beyond the mandatory feature length episode, there have been documentaries, radio serials, lost episodes making sudden appearances, even a docudrama about its creation starring David Bradley as William Hartnell. And of course, that surefire guarantor of high Wiki views, an interactive Google Doodle.
2 John F. Kennedy B-class 1,034,731
The ever-popular, ever-tragic 35th US President surged during the 50th anniversary of his assassination on 22 November. His lack of a Google Doodle is probably the reason he stands below the good Doctor in popularity this week.
3 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis B-class 806,828
The epitome of '60s glamour who saw her husband die in front of her got many sympathy votes this week.
4 Assassination of John F. Kennedy B-class 737,126
Three shots ring out in the Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, and history is made.
5 Lee Harvey Oswald B-class 661,246 The assassin of President Kennedy of course got attention on the 50th anniversary.
6 Sachin Tendulkar C-Class 873,040
The highest scoring international cricketer in history retired last week after a 24-year career, during which he scored 18,426 runs in one day internationals and 15,470 runs in test matches (both all-time records) and was the only person ever to score a hundred hundreds internationally. His fans declare him the God of the religion of cricket; the devout Hindu wishes they would not.
7 Children's Day Start-class 637,074 The day established by the UN to honour the children of the world fell on November 20th and was honoured itself by a Google Doodle.
8 Jack Ruby B-class 553,276
The assassin of the assassin of President Kennedy also holds the distinction of having committed a murder on live television.
9 Facebook B-class 509,242
A perennially popular article
10 United States B-Class 488,855
The 3rd most popular Wikipedia article between 2010 and 2012, and a perpetual bubble-under-er. Not really surprising that the country with by far the most English speakers would be the most popular on the English Wikipedia.
← Previous "Traffic report"
Next "Traffic report" →
S
In this issue
4 December 2013 (all comments)
  • Traffic report
  • Recent research
  • Discussion report
  • News and notes
  • WikiProject report
  • Featured content
  • Arbitration report
    • + Add a comment

    Discuss this story

    These comments are automatically transcluded from this article's talk page. To follow comments, add the page to your watchlist. If your comment has not appeared here, you can try purging the cache.

    Who is writing, editing and ultimately taking responsibility for these? Thanksgiving is completely not OK, and the description for Tendulkar is not anywhere near 'good' either. NW (Talk) 07:12, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

    You can direct any comments at me. It would be nice if you could be more specific. It's also important not to confuse the Signpost, which is in the mainspace and thus subject to Wikipedia rules on neutrality, with the Top 25 report, which isn't. Serendipodous 08:30, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    No one was saying it wasn't meant to be neutral. But referring to a functional Native American genocide as "long, tempestuous and occasionally abusive relationship with its native population" is incredibly diminishing. It isn't funny and serves no productive purpose. NW (Talk) 17:47, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    The Signpost most certainly isn't in the main space, nor is it required (unless by its own policies) to be neutral. If this page is meant to be neutral, it isn't doing a very good job. J Milburn (talk) 08:51, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    (edit conflict) Not to nitpick or get away from the discussion at hand, but the Signpost isn't in mainspace, nor is it subject to WP:NPOV. I assume the point you're trying to make is that the Signpost aims to maintain journalistic objectivity and professionalism, while WP:TOP25 is a less formal endeavor. — PinkAmpers&(Je vous invite à me parler) 08:52, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Er, yeah. That. To be honest I wasn't the one who decided to make this a Signpost article, and I've never been particularly keen on writing it. I think "journalistic objectivity" is absolute bollocks and any attempt to attain it is just stifling free speech. In this era of Fox News and Conservapedia, when reality itself has become a topic of political debate, I don't see what the value is in maintaining a middle ground. So I've always had a problem adapting the list for this page. If someone else wants to have a go, they're welcome. Serendipodous 08:58, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Keep doing what you're doing, Serendipodous! I look forward to your reports every week. ;-) Liz Read! Talk! 14:03, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • I think what NuclearWarfare is taking issue with, and what I've taken issue with for a while (but have been biting my tongue because, frankly, the Signpost has bigger issues) is the lack of professionalism on this page. There is going to be, of course, a difference of opinion as to how serious this page needs to be, but I find that the bad (bad as in not actually funny) jokes and casual tone do a disservice to the Signpost, which otherwise generally tries to be serious. Sven Manguard Wha? 16:56, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    I agree that sometimes Signpost comments intended to be funny have been controversial and generally should be avoided. Instead of discussing this here I suggest Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/Newsroom since it's relevant to multiple Signpost publications. --Pine✉ 06:25, 6 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

    Fair enough. I don't really want to do this anyway. close it down. Serendipodous 17:02, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

    Argh. Another cool part of Wikipedia dies. Just so you know, I've always enjoyed the traffic report, mainly for its tone and style. It was a bit of relief from the generally crusty, way-too-literal tone that dominates Wikipedia. Bobnorwal (talk) 20:34, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    It's rarely a good idea to end anything on the say-so of a small number of vocal opponents. Powers T 21:34, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Not what I wanted, but that's your choice to make. I long ago stopped contributing to the Signpost because I stopped finding doing so enjoyable. Sven Manguard Wha? 23:46, 5 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Serendipodous I hope you continue to write this report. It's good to know what articles interest our readers and I like reading your comments about what might have made the world interested in particular articles each week. I appreciate your work. --Pine✉ 06:15, 6 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    Want the latest Signpost delivered to your talk page each month?

















    Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-12-04/Traffic_report