As I drag myself out of bed, I browse the daily news on my computer's homepage -- the Toronto Star. The biggest headline, "Racism Behind Angler Attacks," greets me good morning. When browsing through stories, I usually look at a window displaying the "most read" items of the day. While I tend to wish news were all hard journalism, new policies, and investigative features, this list reminds me of the importance of soft writing.
These were the most hit stories around 9 a.m. this morning:

The most popular story of the day was from CP, and follows a father who auctioned off a copy of the Wii game, Guitar Hero III on eBay that was meant as a gift for his son before catching him smoking pot at home. Honestly, this story was a funny read, despite its bare bones quality. The story is featured on the "first page" of the online edition, which from a journalistic stance doesn't make much sense. However, based on it being the most hit story of the day, the online editors made the right choice.

The second most popular link was for the daily horoscopes. Apparently, if I were like most of the other Torontonians who got their news from the internet, I would rather know that Jupiter has been working over the past year on redirecting me toward an easier path in life, than I would about which hospital I'm most likely to die at.

I was surprised to see that a story revealing that Humber hospital receives the highest death rate in the GTA, by my former teacher Rob Cribb, was nowhere on the top list, despite its presence on the front page.

The third most popular story this morning was a steroid scandal that has been engulfing the Roger Clemens and the Jays, another link from the day's headlines.

Newspapers are a business, and if soft news and horoscopes attract more readers than hard journalism, then they are an integral part of the publication. As it gets closer to noon, the top list changes, knocking out the horoscopes and steroids story, and replacing them with articles on the slaying of a Mississauga teen and how Hilary Clinton's aide recently quit. Perhaps people are more inclined to soft journalism in the morning. Murder and corruption don't go well with coffee and bagels.