SPECIAL REPORT

Since going live in June 2009, Armenia Online (armenia.com.au) has established itself as the most wide-reaching medium in the Armenian-Australian community - communicating local and Armenian news to thousands on a weekly basis.

Over the last six months, the website - www.armenia.com.au - has attracted over 16,000 visits and over 60,000 pages viewed.

Armenia Online's email database numbers at over 3,000 subscribers, who receive Armenia Online's weekly newsletter 'Armenia Weekly' in their email inboxes every Tuesday (subscribe your friends by clicking here).

We at Armenia Online thought a good way to end 2009 is to reveal to you - our readers - which stories interested you and your community most.

PRESENTING, the Armenia Online stories of the year, based on official readership figures compiled since June 2009.

TOP STORY OF THE YEAR

The overall most read news item on Armenia Online in 2009 was one titled 'SYDNEY PROTEST: Over 600 say 'NO' to Protocols' (click here to view).

The story covered the Sydney-Armenian protest against the Armenia-Turkey Protocols in Ryde on the eve of the signing by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey.

The story featured video footage and pictures from the protest, which clearly added value for visitors.

RUNNER-UP: The story covering the tragic deaths of Sydney Armenian teenagers Arin and Ani Apcarian titled 'Sydney's Apcarian family mourns loss of children' (click here to view) attracted thousands of visitors.

ARMENIAN LANGUAGE STORY OF THE YEAR

Armenia Online covers news in both English and Armenian.

The overall most viewed Armenian-language story on Armenia Online in 2009 was one covering the 60,000-person protest against the Protocols in Yerevan, titled 'Երեւան. 60,000 Մարդ Բողոքի Երթով <Ոչ> Ըսաւ Արձանագրութիւններուն' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: The second-most popular Armenian-language news item on Armenia Online in 2009 was another covering a protest against the Protocols, but this time it was the protest in Paris where a video featuring an organiser facing up to President Serzh Sargsyan featured. The story was titled 'Փարիզահայերու Ցոյցը Զսպելու Փորձը Կը Հանդիպի Ընդդիմութեան' (click here to view).

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

The Armenia Online Multimedia section displayed a wide array of videos throughout 2009, covering Sports, News, Community, Comedy, Music and much more.

The overall most viewed video on Armenia Online in 2009 was titled 'Mass Wedding in Nagorno Karabakh' (click here to view).

The video covered a sponsored wedding of 700 couples in Nagorno Karabakh by businessman Levon Ayrapetyan. His aim was to encourage population growth in the region.

RUNNER-UP: The second-most popular video on Armenia Online in 2009 was a promotional video by ANC Australia, titled 'With your support, we are ANC' (click here to view).

POLITICAL STORY OF THE YEAR

The winner of this category is the same as the winner of the TOP Story of The Year, titled 'SYDNEY PROTEST: Over 600 say 'NO' to Protocols' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: A series of correspondence between ANC Austrealia and Federal Member for Bennelong Maxine McKew caught the imagination of visitors, with the story earning runner-up honours in the Political category being titled 'Maxine McKew responds to ANC Australia' (click here to view).

EDUCATION STORY OF THE YEAR

Galstaun College announced that a large government grant had been acquired to construct a new multi-purpose building, and the story and pictures covering that was the most popular story in Education in 2009. It was titled 'Galstaun College announces new Indoor Sports & Performance Centre' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: Runner-up story was also from Galstaun College, and covered Primary School concert 'Trip to Armenia'. The story was titled 'Standing ovation for Galstaun College Primary talent' (click here to view).

BUSINESS STORY OF THE YEAR

The top Business story of 2009 on Armenia Online covered the rise of Sydney-Armenian businessperson Sidney Minassian with his new American-based company 'Liaise'. The story was titled 'Armenian-Australian Sidney Minassian's Silicon Valley Success' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: Runner-up in the Business category was news that Sydney property fund Hyecorp had received approval for their next major project. The story was titledel 'HYECORP's latest devopment receives approval' (click here to view).

SPORTS STORY OF THE YEAR

Winning the Sports categories with most reads in 2009 from an Armenia Online audience was the recent story (featuring video) covering boxer Vic Darchinyan's successful title defence, titled 'Darchinyan wins to keep world titles' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: The runner-up sports story was the finals edition of the Homenetmen Antranig Sports Wrap, appropriately titled 'HMEM Antranig Weekly Sports Wrap - FINALS' (click here to view).

EVENT STORY OF THE YEAR

There was one event in 2009 which included a video snapshot, and it obviously won this category considering the love of visuals by the Armenia Online audience. The event was the ANC Australia Banquet and the story was titled 'Atkinson, Papian guests at ANC Australia night of nights' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: The runner-up was Galstaun College's Carols event earlier this month, and the story was titled 'Community flocks to Galstaun Carols at the Carnival' (click here to view).

FEATURE STORY OF THE YEAR

The most widely-read Feature in 2009 on Armenia Online was 'COMMENT: Lessons from Zurich' (click here to view).

RUNNER-UP: The runner-up was an interview with Galstaun College Principal Kaylar Michaelian and Head of College Carolyn Blanden, conducted by Garoon Monthly. The story was titled 'Interview with Mr Michaelian and Mrs Blanden of Galstaun College' (click here to view).

MOST SEARCHED TERMS ON ARMENIA ONLINE

Finally, we conclude this review by revealing the 10 most searched terms on Armenia Online in 2009:

galstaun college
darchinyan
apcarian family
armenia-turkey
protocols
kim kardashian
nalbandian
armenian-australian
anc
berejiklian