Pandemic drives surge in demand for lighter news
COVID-19 may have dominated the headlines through 2020, but audiences tired of the doom and gloom have also been craving some light relief
In the 12 months to December, sales and downloads of lighter content surged by nearly 9% over the previous year as media outlets moved to provide their readers and viewers with funny and entertaining content. Among the most popular were a magnetic man, football-playing goldfish and a pianist playing while dangling from a crane 40m in the air.
“The challenges everyone faced from Covid-19 made it all the more important for people to find escape, by focusing on the interesting, the absurd, and the other spectacular things that are still happening in the world,” says Matt Tabaccos, Chief Commercial Officer for Ruptly.
“While Covid-19 was clearly the headline event last year, and probably for this year too, our clients reported there was a real need to balance that out with more positive, upbeat stories, and we had to make sure this was reflected in the breadth and the depth of our coverage. Sourcing such stories was obviously difficult given the reporting and travel restrictions across the planet, so we’re very proud we were able to answer the demand.”
In 2020, Ruptly’s top lighter news stories* were:
1. Sticking it to the man - Iranian man with more than just a magnetic personality
This 51-year-old Iranian man claims he can make anything stick to him – be it a car bonnet, a soft toy, or cutlery – using only the power of his mind.
2. Football? More like fin-ball - Chinese goldfish owner trains fish to play football
With the football season globally disrupted by the pandemic, this video shows how Yang Tianxin used food as an incentive to teach his goldfish how to enjoy the beautiful game.
3. High in the sky! Swiss pianist performs upside-down suspended 40 metres above ground in Nantes
Alain Roche’s unusual concert appealed to audiences on-site and online. Over 100 people sat in deckchairs watching him play, listening to the music through headphones in what one participant called “urban poetry”.
4. Breathtaking double-deck bridge becomes hot Chinese tourist attraction
This newly opened glass bridge in the mountains near Shenxianju, Zheijiang Province, China, is 140 metres above the ground.
5. Russia: Giant Motherland Calls monument caught in stunning drone footage
Clouds and fog swirl around the colossal monument built in 1967 in memory of those killed in the Battle of Stalingrad.
6. Let's Meow! App aims to TRANSLATE cat sounds into human words
7. Creepy or cool? Japanese shop 'buys' real faces and turn them into masks
8. Frost pancakes! Rare ice formations adorn Volga river in Russia
9. You won't be caught with your pants down in Tokyo's see-through smartglass toilets
10. Colombian cliff face hostel offers visitors vertiginous views
The top serious news stories beyond Covid-19 in 2020 brought human and environmental suffering to the fore. From the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the devastating wildfires in the US and Australia, the emotion of the global BLM protests, and the impact and aftermath of one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history in Beirut – demand for hard-hitting news persisted in 2020. Top stories ranked as below:
1. Nagorno-Karabakh: Azeri-Armenian clashes hit Martuninsky district
Military clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. This uptick in violence has involved some of the heaviest clashes since 2016.
2. Australia: At least 28 missing as Victoria fires continue raging
Footage shows fires in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Bushfires ravaged the nation from September 2019 to March 2020, covering over 17 million hectares and causing the deaths of 33 people.
As leaders sign a ceasefire to end the most intense fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh since 2016, protestors target an Armenian government building.
4. Lebanon: Destruction left by deadly Beirut blast revealed in drone footage
A drone’s-eye view of the devastation at the port in Beirut following the massive explosion.
5. Nagorno-Karabakh: Fighting continues for third day despite global calls for ceasefire
6. Lebanon: Drone footage shows devastation of Beirut blast
7. Iran: Devastating scene at Ukrainian airlines crash site
8. Russia: State of emergency declared in Krasnoyarsk region after massive diesel leak
9. Lebanon: 'It felt like an earthquake' - Survivors recount Beirut explosions *GRAPHIC*
10. USA: Minneapolis police precinct set on fire during protest over George Floyd's death
*rankings were calculated on the basis of number of times the video was deployed by a client.
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