The unrelated killings of two young men, two state government controversies, election developments and a multi-fatality car crash made up the top 10 Florida news stories of 2012, according to an Associated Press survey of newspaper editors.
The number one story, the editors decided, was the killing of Trayvon Martin and the examination it caused of Florida's stand-your-ground self-defense law and the role of guns in modern society.
The other top-of-the-news death was that of Robert Champion, the Florida A&M University drum major who was fatally beaten during a hazing ritual involving the famous Marching 100 band. The death occurred in 2011 but it became a 2012 top story when charges were filed this year against 13 band members.
The number 6 story of the year, the AP said, was a foggy weather pile-up on I-75 near Gainesville in early January. Eleven people died.
Most of the other stories in the top 10 were election-related, including the long lines on election day, the Republican convention in Tampa and President Obama's winning Florida's 29 electoral votes.
Click here for AP's discussion of these top stories of 2012:
- Trayvon Martin
- Election day delays
- Charges filed in Florida A&M hazing death
- Republican National Convention in Tampa
- Obama wins Florida's 29 electoral votes
- Eleven-death pile-up on I-75
- U. S. Supreme Court rejects Florida appeal and upholds Obamacare
- Florida's jobs agency chief Hunting Deutsch resigns after admitting he abused the system
- A legislative committee approves privatizing medical care in Florida prisons
