Breaking news, sports among top draws for 2015 video

New media is changing journalism all the time.

In 2015, the Centre Daily Times continued efforts to present news not just in words and pictures, but through video.

Staff photographers presented the online audience with a wide variety of video experiences.

There were the kind that had some real production behind them, like the blind taste test pitting Penn State Berkey Creamery scoops against the ice cream at Meyer Dairy.

There were the ones where readers got involved, sending us video that complemented content, like the Star Wars Christmas lights that a local homeowner put up just in time for the highly anticipated movie release.

But when it comes to the top videos of 2015, the ones that generally gained the most viewers came in two categories: sports and news.

Weekly videos of press conferences with Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin were frequent top views, like his remarks on new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. In October he had some heated things to say after the narrow win over Army.

Another sports moment put Nittany Lions fans into the training room with the team as they walked through their strength and conditioning program in March.

In February, viewers came along for a somber moment as the Centre Region, and law enforcement and first responders from across the state, said a final goodbye to State College police Officer Bob Bradley, who died on duty.

The highest views of the year came for a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 when 12 tractor trailers and seven other vehicles stacked up in a February snow squall. Despite minor injuries, no one was seriously hurt.

Some videos just refuse to stop pulling in views, like the deer that tried to check in to the Days Inn Penn State in 2014, still one of the most successful videos the CDT has ever had.

But when it comes to what appeals to the audience with video, predicting it can be downright impossible. Few people would have thought that showing the technique for carefully inserting a full deck of cards into a glass bottle would have been a top draw. They would be wrong. Kathy Brown’s “impossible bottles” video was the third highest viewed of 2015.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Breaking news, sports among top draws for 2015 video."