Published December 23, 2010
The readers of wbur.org determined the most viewed WBUR stories of 2010. Here they are.
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10: Brown, And His Church, Don’t Wear Religion On Their Sleeve
The exterior of the New England Chapel in Franklin, Sen. Scott Brown's church, is spare. (Bianca Vazquez Toness/WBUR)
Massachusetts has more Catholics than any other state in the nation, and religion has always played a significant role in politics. But very little is known about Sen. Scott Brown’s religious beliefs. He belongs to the New England Chapel, a member of Christian Reformed Church in North America, which is of a Protestant Christian denomination and follows a conversational version of the Bible called “The Message.”
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9: Teen Suicide Sheds Light On New Era Of Bullying
South Hadley High School freshman Phoebe Prince, 15, killed herself after enduring harassment by her classmates at school and online.
The January suicide of a 15-year-old girl in South Hadley raised questions throughout Massachusetts about what schools should do about teen bullying. With bullies now more likely to be on the computer than in the school yard, a lot of taunting is happening on the screen. Some parents and teenagers say it’s time to clearly define — and deal with — a new era of bullying.
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8: My Quest For Pain-Free Sex, Part II
By Rachel Zimmerman (CommonHealth)
In this video still taken from YouTube, women practice pelvic floor therapy for painful sex.
“Does your pain occur with ‘deep penetration,’ or is it more like a ‘ring of fire,’ at the opening?” This is the kind of question you get upon entering the world of pelvic floor physical therapy. That is, if you’re lucky enough to find out that the therapy even exists.
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7: New Artistic Director Named For Williamstown Theatre Festival
By Andrea Shea
'62 Center for Theatre and Dance, Williams College (Adam Grosswirth/Flickr)
Western Massachusetts’ Williamstown Theatre Festival announced in May it was bringing on a new artistic director, Jenny Gersten.
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6: A New Editor At The Boston Herald
By Ted Siefer (Radio Boston)
Joe Sciacca (Boston Herald)
Joe Sciacca, a veteran scribe and editor at the Boston Herald, took the reins as editor in chief. As the newspaper business grapples with plunging revenue and circulation, we talked to Sciacca about what’s next for the scrappy tabloid and Boston’s increasingly rare status as a two-newspaper town.
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5: The Great Tampon Mystery: Where Have All The o.b.’s Gone?
By Carey Goldberg (CommonHealth)
o.b. tampons (Q-BEE/Flickr)
In drugstores around Boston — and apparently around the country — the shelves that normally hold o.b.’s, the no-applicator tampons, were suddenly empty.
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4: Challenger Bielat Holds His Own Against U.S. Rep. Frank
By Fred Thys
Candidates for Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Rep. Barney Frank, left, and Republican challenger Sean Bielat, center, debated on NECN. (AP)
Rep. Barney Frank faced his most serious challenger in years in the 2012 election. Marine reservist Sean Bielat showed he could survive going on television against the congressman famous for his gift with words.
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3: Schizophrenia Might Not Just Be In The Brain
By Jessica Alpert (Radio Boston)
The mitochondria in a patient with schizophrenia is clumped together. (Courtesy of Lynda M. Cutrell)
A team of scientists, physicians and researchers at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital say they have found evidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in parts of the body besides the brain. They hope one day to diagnose illnesses earlier as well as improve existing treatments for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
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2: Smoke From Quebec Fires Wafts Over Boston
By Jess Bidgood
In May, the Boston skyline was obscured by the smoky haze from wildfires in Canada. (Jess Bidgood for WBUR)
Eastern Massachusetts was put under an air quality alert in May as smoke from almost 60 wildfires in Quebec drifted down the Eastern seaboard and blanketed the Boston skyline.
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1: Stomach Virus Surges In Boston
This negative-stain transmission electron microscopy image, provided by the EPA, shows a norovirus. Norovirus is a genus of viruses of the family Caliciviridae. (Via AP)
In early 2010, the Boston area saw a surge in an extremely contagious stomach flu, called norovirus, including a new strain that comes with the usual symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
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- 11: A Visual History Of Boston’s Combat Zone
- 12: Connecticut Wiped Off New England Map
- 13: Dems Ask Why Brown Is Gaining On Coakley
- 14: Finding A Way Along Route 9
- 15: Dear Brookline: I’m Leaving You
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The Methodology
This list includes stories with WBUR bylines from the newsroom, the blogs and Radio Boston published in 2010. Stories from NPR, The Associated Press and WBUR’s national programs are not included. “Most viewed” is determined by unique visitors.