Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-12-04/Traffic report

Summary: Doctor Who nearly got cancelled in its first week because its premiere was swamped by coverage of the JFK assassination, which happened the same day. Thankfully, producers saw fit to rerun it the next day, which is now its official anniversary date. With the two events locked in tandem forever, their respective 50th anniversaries were bound to compete for our attention. But which would swamp which this time? Well, while the Doctor may have the highest rated individual article, he was crushed in terms of view numbers, as the assassination drew 5 articles into the top 10, totaling nearly 4 million views. And those wishing ill on Doctor Who can relax in the knowledge that its 50th anniversary special was beaten in the ratings by Strictly Come Dancing.

NOTE: a contentious #1 was removed from this top 10, because I wasn't sure if it should be included and there was no way it could be discussed neutrally. It is still in the top 25, however.

For the week of 17 to 23 November, the 10 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most trafficked pages* were:


 * {| class="wikitable"

! Rank ! Article ! Class ! Views ! Image ! Notes
 * 1
 * Doctor Who
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|1,435,415
 * The longest-running science fiction television series in history celebrated its 50th anniversary with a barreling barrage of coverage; beyond the mandatory feature length episode, there have been documentaries, radio serials, lost episodes making sudden appearances, even a docudrama about its creation starring David Bradley as William Hartnell. And of course, that surefire guarantor of high Wiki views, an interactive Google Doodle.
 * 2
 * John F. Kennedy
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 1,034,731
 * John F. Kennedy, White House color photo portrait.jpg
 * The ever-popular, ever-tragic 35th US President surged during the 50th anniversary of his assassination on 22 November. His lack of a Google Doodle is probably the reason he stands below the good Doctor in popularity this week.
 * 3
 * Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 806,828
 * Jackieowedding.jpg
 * The epitome of '60s glamour who saw her husband die in front of her got many sympathy votes this week.
 * 4
 * Assassination of John F. Kennedy
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 737,126
 * JFK limousine.png
 * Three shots ring out in the Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, and history is made.
 * 5
 * Lee Harvey Oswald
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 661,246
 * The assassin of President Kennedy of course got attention on the 50th anniversary.
 * 6
 * Sachin Tendulkar
 * Symbol c class.svg
 * align="right"| 873,040
 * Sachin at Castrol Golden Spanner Awards (crop).jpg
 * The highest scoring international cricketer in history retired last week after a 24-year career, during which he scored 18,426 runs in one day internationals and 15,470 runs in test matches (both all-time records) and was the only person ever to score a hundred hundreds internationally. His fans declare him the God of the religion of cricket; the devout Hindu wishes they would not.
 * 7
 * Children's Day
 * Symbol start class.svg
 * align="right"| 637,074
 * The day established by the UN to honour the children of the world fell on November 20th and was honoured itself by a Google Doodle.
 * 8
 * Jack Ruby
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"|553,276
 * CE5301C.jpg
 * The assassin of the assassin of President Kennedy also holds the distinction of having committed a murder on live television.
 * 9
 * Facebook
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 509,242
 * Ad-tech London 2010 (5).JPG
 * A perennially popular article
 * 10
 * United States
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 488,855
 * Flag of the United States.svg
 * The 3rd most popular Wikipedia article between 2010 and 2012, and a perpetual bubble-under-er. Not really surprising that the country with by far the most English speakers would be the most popular on the English Wikipedia.
 * }
 * Facebook
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 509,242
 * Ad-tech London 2010 (5).JPG
 * A perennially popular article
 * 10
 * United States
 * Symbol b class.svg
 * align="right"| 488,855
 * Flag of the United States.svg
 * The 3rd most popular Wikipedia article between 2010 and 2012, and a perpetual bubble-under-er. Not really surprising that the country with by far the most English speakers would be the most popular on the English Wikipedia.
 * }
 * }