NEW YORK — The wave of sexual misconduct allegations that toppled Hollywood power brokers, politicians, media icons and many others was the top news story of 2017, according to The Associated Press’ annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.
The No. 2 story was Donald Trump’s tumultuous first year as president. A year ago, Trump’s unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential election was a near-unanimous pick for the top news story of 2016.
The first AP top-stories poll was conducted in 1936, when editors chose the abdication of Britain’s King Edward VIII as the top story.
Here are 2017’s top 10 stories, in order:
1. Sexual misconduct
Scandals involving sexual misdeeds by prominent men are nothing new in America, but there’s never been anything remotely like the deluge of allegations unleashed this year by women who were emboldened to speak out by the accusers who preceded them.