Most of the New York Times’ most popular items last year weren’t news stories

Differences between the most visited Times content in 2014 and 2013 show marked differences. Many of the popular stories from this past year weren’t conventional news but a mix of contributed content, interactives, quizzes (in addition to some hard news, such as the deaths of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams, and a piece on the Ebola outbreak). “Compare that to 2013′s most popular list, which was peppered with news stories — Pope Francis’ selection, coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, and an in-depth on homelessness in New York City,” writes Benjamin Mullin.

+ Technology trends observer Amy Webb names one thing she’d change about the newspaper industry: “I’d love for newspapers to move away from responsive design as a central paradigm. Responsive design optimizes for the device, not the consumer.” (Newspaper Association of America)