With more than 1.7 million stories reported in Québec alone, 2005 was a particularly full year from a news perspective. Between the sponsorship scandal, the death of the Pope and the post-tsunami response, it is not hard to understand why.

In order to rank the various stories in terms of importance, Influence evaluated the media prominence score of each over a seven-day period.

It is important to bear in mind that a news item is considered to be significant when it achieves an overall media prominence score (newspaper, television, radio) of 1%. A score of 5% indicates high media exposure and is generally associated with scandals or election campaigns.

The results show, among other things, that the sponsorship scandal occupies three top spots in the list, for the release of the first report, the testimony of Jean Brault and the work of the Gomery Commission. On a specific day in April 2005, the publication of Jean Brault's testimony and the appointment of Pope Benedict XVI together accounted for an incredible 21.67% of all of the news coverage in Québec that day.

Following the tsunami and hurricanes Katrina and Rita, there was a noticeable scaling-down in natural disaster coverage. The earthquake in Pakistan, for example, received less media attention than did the arrest of Anne-Marie Péladeau.

A few items from the world of arts and culture made their way to the top 20 in 2005, namely the Nathalie and René Simard story and the Chiasson/Filion affair.

In terms of the top newsmakers of the year, here are the 10 individuals who received the most media coverage in Québec in 2005: