Top news stories for 2018

The top news stories of the year were the rising fuel costs in October, and the rescue of the boys from a cave in Thailand in July.

72% of people said they followed these stories (1 and 2 on a 5-point scale), however, neither of these stories featured among the top ten new stories since 2003, the third year in a row where the list has remained unchanged. The most recent story to make the top ten since 2003 was the All Blacks Rugby World Cup in 2015 (followed by 80%).

The top political story for the year, expectedly, was the National Party scandal involving Jami-Lee Ross and Simon Bridges which was followed by 55% of respondents. Also featuring highly was Jacinda Ardern’s tour of the United States in September, and Bill English’s resignation and the subsequent leadership contest in February (49% each).

The top international story of the year was the rescue of the boys from a cave in Thailand, which as mentioned above was followed by 72% of respondents.
The most followed natural disaster story for 2018 was Cyclone Gita back in February, with 63% following the story.

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