Sex, particularly involving youngsters, the abduction of a Maltese citizen in Libya, The Malta Independent's exclusive report on San Blas and former minister Manuel Mallia dominated the news on our portal last year.
It was a successful 2014 for www.independent.com.mt, as the number of unique visitors, total visitors and page views nearly doubled over the results obtained in 2013. This has placed The Malta Independent firmly in second place as the most popular website on the island.
Its popularity has continued to grow even after, last October, we shifted from the version created in November 2014 - which in itself had brought us the initial success - to the present endless format, which enables our readers to flow across the presentation of our home page in search of stories that capture their interest. Since October, time spent on our site by readers has nearly trebled and, in a fast world with people having little patience, this is an achievement in itself.
But, apart from the fresh, original and dynamic presentation - and there are more initiatives coming up for our followers in the weeks and months to come - what makes a news portal successful is the news that it offers. Once again, The Malta Independent has been in the forefront in presenting a wide array of news stories that have generated interest. It is not a surprise that, as the numbers consistently grew in the second half of the year, 21 of the top 30 stories listed below were uploaded from July onwards.
It is natural that stories that were exclusive to this portal - and which were either before or after carried in The Malta Independent Daily, The Malta Independent on Sunday and The Malta Business Weekly - were among the most popular with our readers.
And it is therefore no surprise that many of them ended up as being among the most read stories of the year, and were later picked up by other sections of the media.
Fr Charles Fenech sex allegations
Top of the list is the sworn statement given by a woman who is alleging that she was sexually abused by Dominican friar Fr Charles Fenech. In October, The Malta Independent was the first to name the priest - long before he made his first appearance in court over the allegations. The case had been known to the Order he belongs to for years but it was only after his name was made public that he was removed from the post of director at the Kerygma Movement.
After missing out on the first three hearings of the case against him, the publication of the name - on 29 October, and this was the seventh most read story of the year - as well as the reaction that followed forced the auxiliary bishop to publicly state that Fr Fenech should go to court to defend himself, and this is what actually happened on 16 December. The hearings will continue in the New Year.
This top story dealt with the account given by this woman of the alleged abuse she suffered, as she gave details of the relationship she had with Fr Fenech.
Teenagers and sex
In second place, not far behind the top story, was the investigative report on how four 15-year-old girls dared each other to get pregnant by the same man. It was a story that shocked many of our readers, but gave an insight to what some of our youngsters are up to in this modern day and age.
Mosta animal killer
Very early in the year, The Malta Independent news portal was the first to show exclusive footage of the man who was later charged with killing cats in Mosta. The footage, captured from CCTV, was also the most watched video that was uploaded on the portal during the whole year. This story came in third in the list of most read stories on the portal.
Dutch rape case
Sex, of a different kind, comes up again in the fourth top story of the year, when The Malta Independent reported that a Dutch rapist who was the subject of a nation-wide manhunt in his country, surfaced in Malta. This story later continued with interviews and in-depth reporting and the case is still being heard in the Maltese courts.
Abduction of Martin Galea
Another story that made the headlines was the abduction of a Maltese citizen in Libya in the middle of summer. After his safe return to Malta, Martin Galea gave an exclusive interview to The Malta Independent's Rachel Attard and Neil Camilleri, and its publication on the portal attracted thousands of readers who could see and hear about the ordeal that Mr Galea went through in the hands of his captors. The video of his interview, published in instalments on the portal, was widely viewed too.
The part of the interview entitled "I prayed for a quick death" was the fifth most read story on the website, and another part of the interview, in which he speaks about the important role that was played by Marisa Farrugia, Malta's consul to Libya, finished in 17th place.
San Blasted
The Malta Independent had another exclusive story in the heart of summer, that concerning development that was taking place in the picturesque bay at San Blas. Aptly named "San Blasted", this story attracted a wide following to finish in sixth place.
EP elections
The first political story in the list was the election for Malta's representatives in the European Parliament, in 10th place. Although the Labour Party won the election handsomely, in similar fashion to the general election a year earlier, our electoral system still allowed for a tight race for the sixth seat. The counting of the votes took between Saturday night and early Tuesday morning to be concluded, and this kept the people on tenterhooks right until the very last. In the end, it was the Nationalist Party which grabbed it for a 3-3 draw in terms of seats won, but Labour's huge victory consolidated what had been achieved in March 2013.
50th anniversary of independence
The story about the 50th anniversary of Independence, including the visit by Prince William who replaced his wife the Duchess of Cambridge at the last minute because of her difficulties in the early stages of her second pregnancy, finished in 11th place followed by the first story in which former Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia was involved.
Mallia sacking
That was the report of the press conference given by the Prime Minister after he sacked Dr Mallia after the latter's driver was involved in a shooting incident in Gzira. In it, the Prime Minister says he does not exclude giving Dr Mallia another role during this legislature. The Manuel Mallia saga finds itself in other stories that ended up in the top 30 of the year.
Death by appointment
The foreign news story that was read the most on the website was the "death by appointment" of a lawyer in the United States. Brittany Maynard chose the date when she would die after she was told that she had an incurable disease. This story was the 15th most read on the website.
Air disasters
With regard to foreign news, the most followed stories were the stand-off between Russia and Ukraine, the Malaysia airplane that went missing and another that was shot down over Ukraine, and the canonisation of two popes in one day.
Those that did not make the top list
There were other major stories during the year which, perhaps surprisingly for some, did not make it in the higher rungs of popularity. The citizenship for sale stories, the ones about the civil union legislation and the resignation of the archbishop were all important events that occurred during the year, but from the feedback received it is clear that they were not among the most followed.
Nico and the World Cup
On a lighter note, in 2014 we also had the football World Cup, which was won by Germany, and www.independent.com.mt undertook a daily exercise to "predict" the scores of the matches, using a parrot named Nico to pick the flag of the winners. Many times he was right, at other times he was wrong. But his name became quite popular during that month.
1 - 2 November - I went to Fr Charles to adopt. He told me to leave my husband. Later he tried to kiss me - Rachel Attard
2 - 7 May - Four 15-year-olds dared each other to get pregnant by same man - Neil Camilleri
3 - 5 February - Exclusive: The Malta Independent Mosta animal killer footage - Neil Camilleri
4 - 28 September - Dutch rapist, subject of nation-wide manhunt, surfaces in Malta - Jacob Borg
5 - 31 July - TMI Exclusive: I prayed for a quick death - Martin Galea - Neil Camilleri and Rachel Attard
6 - 30 June - Exclusive: San Blasted - Rachel Attard
7 - 29 October - Prominent priest who worked with young people for years facing charges of sex abuse - Rachel Attard
8 - 15 November - Man who went for Chinese massage in Bugibba gets more than he bargained for - Jacob Borg
9 - 8 September - Shocking: Horse set on fire for not winning races - Neil Camilleri
10 - 27 May - Sixth MEP seat race goes to the wire - newsroom
11 - 21 September - 50th anniversary of Independence - One nation, one celebration - newsroom
12 - 9 December: Prime Minister does not exclude future role for dismissed Minister Mallia - Neil Camilleri
13 - 8 August: Provoked teachers: Teenage girls remove underwear in class; boys speak of hand-jobs - Therese Bonnici
14 - 24 August - Gozo priest 'touched a girl in front of her mother' - Neil Camilleri
15 - 3 November: Appointment with death: Terminally ill death with dignity advocate dies - Associated Press
16 - 1 August: TMI Exclusive: 'When I heard Marisa's voice it was like an angel's' - Martin Galea - Neil Camilleri, Rachel Attard
17 - 31 July - The 'sock gang' targets Sliema, St Julian's and Qawra - Therese Bonnici
18 - 2 August: Man hopes Roberta Metsola is gang-raped by immigrants - Jacob Borg
19 - 18 August - Man arrested and sent to Mount Carmel after peaceful protest outside PM's office - Jacob Borg
20 - 19 October - Sextortion: Maltese being blackmailed by Africans after stripping down on webcam - Kevin Schembri Orland
21 - 13 March - At Mater Dei Hospital: Teenager snaps out of coma after nine months - Duncan Barry
22 - 14 October - Man linked with disappearance of Madeleine McCann found in Gozo, to be extradited to the UK - Jacob Borg
23 - 8 December - Minister's driver shoots while on phone with HQ, says minister with him - newsroom
24 - 4 February - Mosta animal killer caught on camera - Neil Camilleri
25 - 25 May - Massive win for Labour, sixth seat still wide open - newsroom
26 - 20 November - Minister's driver had been found guilty of disobeying police orders issued by his superiors - Jacob Borg
27 - 30 March - Troubled teenager Lisa Marie Zahra tormented on Ask.fm - Neil Camilleri
28 - 14 May - Our Maltese Conchitas - find out who they are - newsroom
29 - 15 October - PL MEP candidate Cyrus Engerer and partner Randolph Debattista land Brussels top jobs - newsroom
30 - 9 October: One year after Nirvana Azzopardi's death: Open letter from father says 'hurt gets more intense' - newsroom