When LSU President F. King Alexander broke his silence earlier this month on the university’s decision to retain Les Miles as the Tigers’ football coach, Daily Report’s exclusive interview with Alexander over how the deal went down quickly became the publication’s most read story of the year.
Aside from the behind-the-scenes business dealings of the LSU Tigers, Daily Report readers were most interested in a record home sale that was completed this year and Todd Graves’ appearance on the Treehouse Masters reality TV show, according to internal analytics.
Daily Report broke news in June of the $6 million sale of the Paula Pennington de la Bretonne estate on Highland Road, and the report was second most read story of the year. The estate, which sits on 12.5 acres, was sold for one-third of the original asking price to Dr. Andre Bruni and his wife, Dr. Jessica Bruni.
Daily Report was also the first to report in February on Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves’ eventual appearance on Animal Planet’s Treehouse Masters, and the scoop proved to be the third most read story of the year. The fourth most read story of the year came in June, shortly after Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a law capping the state’s film credits tax at $180 million, when Celtic Studios Executive Director Patrick Mulhearn told Daily Report that Disney/ABC had issued a moratorium on sending new film projects to Louisiana.
As further evidence of their love of LSU football, Daily Report readers back in March made a study by LSU economics professor Sudipta Sarangi—which claimed to prove that LSU is the 32nd most hated team in college football—the fifth most read story of the year.
Cristo Rey’s announcement in August that it would lease the former Redemptorist High School campus was the sixth most read story of 2015, while a report in October on developer Mike Hogstrom’s purchase of the Old Goodwood Plantation and his plans to develop an upscale residential neighborhood called Adelia at Old Goodwood scored the seventh most clicks.
A dispute over parking in the Acadian-Perkins Plaza shopping center boiled over in August between Juban’s Restaurant and center owner Jon Claitor, and it produced Daily Report’s eighth most read story. When news broke in March—again by Daily Report—that Drago’s Seafood was considering opening a Baton Rouge location at a Highland Road lot that sold for $2.85 million, it became the ninth most read story. Since then, however, Drago’s has confirmed it is interested in the Baton Rouge market, but has not announced any concrete plans to open a restaurant here.
Daily Report broke the news in June that Albemarle was considering moving its corporate headquarters outside of Baton Rouge, and the story ended up tied for the 10th most read article of the year. The report was published nearly two months before Albemarle confirmed it will relocate its headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Also tied for 10th on the list was a report in September about Sammy Nagem’s plans to open a new incarnation of the popular Sammy’s Grill at The Oasis development planned on Burbank Drive.
