David Michael Miller
We wrote a lot of articles this year, just like every other year. And while we crushed it in online content, the most popular story of all on isthmus.com in 2015 was from July 2014. Dave Cieslewicz’s opinion piece, “You thought Wisconsin losing high-speed rail was bad?,” had more than three times as many views as the second-most-viewed article for the year. In August, I asked someone on Facebook why they shared the article, and they replied, “I think this is a good article to share with people because they need to know what kind of person [Scott Walker] is. This article represents that.”
The most classic of the top classics was former Isthmus news writer Vikki Kratz’s piece on Jeff Erlanger, a local disability activist who died in 2007. The 8-year-old article saw a spike in readers in November, which is when Erlanger’s birthday is. It’s also around the time that the city seeks nominations for the Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility In Public Discourse Award.
A few more oldies but goodies crept into the most-viewed articles of 2015, with the top four oldies breaking into the top 10 overall. Here are the top five, along with their original online publication dates, on isthmus.com:
You thought Wisconsin losing high-speed rail was bad? By Dave Cieslewicz. Posted July 24, 2014.
Eight Madison brunch spots: From simple pleasures to thrilling adventures. By André Darlington. Posted March 29, 2012.
The FDA looks into Quincy Bioscience’s claims for Prevagen. By Marc Eisen. Posted December 5, 2013.
Remembering Jeff Erlanger. By Vikki Kratz. Posted June 11, 2007.
New Glarus Brewing debuts the first sour beers from its wild fruit cave. By Robin Shepard. Posted July 1, 2014.
