January 2, 2006

What readers are really interested in.

Slate.com lists its Top 10 most read articles of 2005. My eyes are glazing over just glancing at the titles.

During 2005, Slate covered the war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, and the future of the Supreme Court, but our most popular stories were, for the most part, about dogs, beer, celebrities, and naked ladies. Below you'll find a list of the 10 pieces that attracted the most readers this year.


1) Dog Day Afternoon
When summer fashions go bad.

2) When Tush Comes to Dove
Real women. Real curves. Really smart ad campaign.


3) Crazy for You
How Michael Jackson got off.


4) Do Dogs Think?
Owners assume their pet's brain works like their own. That's a big mistake.


5) Top Dog
Why Americans love Labrador retrievers.


6) Kate Moss
The ironies of her downfall.


7) The Murder of Emmett Till
The 49-year-old story of the crime and how it came to be told.

8) Rachael Ray
Why food snobs should quit picking on her.


9) Welcome to Miller Time, Loser
The great American beer crisis.


10) Pity the Poor Prince
Charles is atoning for the sins of rich, middle-aged men everywhere.

I presume that Slate, like almost all journals with a public affairs orientation, has a majority male readership, but its female readers apparently flock to the fluff, thus this dismal list of most popular articles.

Have I mentioned lately that women readers are the bane of serious journalism? Especially because women are more desirable targets for advertisers because men in this country transfer about one trillion dollars per year of their earnings to women to spend?


My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer

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