Top 10 Canadian Stories of 2010

At the end of each year many news broadcasters list their top 10 news stories of the year. These stories are considered the most captivating, shocking and intriguing by the public over the million of other stories broadcasted during the year. This trend of listing the top newsworthy stories reminds me of the lecture about horrible crimes and what was considered ‘newsworthy’. The list from CBC goes as follows:

1. Vancouver Olympics

2. Issues of Afghanistan

3. Economic recovery

4. Russell Williams

5. G20 cost/riots

6. New mayor in Toronto and Calgary

7. Haiti

8. Justin Beiber

9. Khadar family Trials

10. Toyota Recall

What surprised me the most (other than Justin Beiber making this list!!!!), was how many of these stories had negative undertones to them. Out of the 10 stories, 70% of them dealt with negative issues. Professor Kalmar mentioned that ordinary occurrences are not considerer news but rather the most shocking of things which interfere with our reality. Looking that this list, this is clearly evident. The Vancouver Olympics was ranked as one of the most fascinating story to Canadians. Not only was the rarity of hosting the games intriguing but also its revolutionary towards Canadian culture. During the weeks of the events, many retailers sold merchandise relating to the games such as the iconic red Olympics mitts, Canadian flags and posters of famous athletes. National athletes became national heroes, such as Alex Bilidou, and sport bars and event areas became packed with people watching the games. With all the new social changes, the Olympics erupted the reality of Canadian life dramatically.

What is also evident from the list is the amount of stories, which involved national ‘Moral Panic’. Issues such as Afghanistan, Russell Williams, the G20 Summit and Khadar Trials all involved social anxiety and the pressures for political action. These stories shocked viewers and caused a fear of the unknown. The war of Afghanistan is an example of this as the realities of war disturbed individual and made them questioned their own security. The fear of reality becoming disturbed was also evident with the G20 summit, when many people became outraged with the cost and physically violence that occurred close to home. The disturbance of reality also occurred when people acted out of the ordinary. In the case of Russell Williams and the Khadar family, people became alarmed when normal individuals who lived and functioned in their own backyards became affiliated with actions of violence and terrorism. This is because it reminds of the fragility of reality and impose of the real , state which cannot be obtained or controlled. We fear the real but we are still fascinated with issue, which relate back to it. Regardless of which story you focused on, each held the trend of ordinary life becoming disturbed.