It was an eventful year for Halogen TV viewers and online readers. Here’s what garnered the most attention during the past 12 months.

1. TOMS Unveils New Product

When TOMS Shoes unveiled a new product in May, sunglasses, the online community was buzzing. The latest offering from the “buy one, give one” social good company had many people wondering about how the folks at Warby Parker felt about it. Warby Parker, a “buy one, give one” eyeglass company also had plans to launch a sunglass line in June. We had an exclusive interview with Neil Blumenthal, a Warby Parker co-founder, that ended up being our second highest visited article on our site for the year.

2. The Freedom Awards

Halogen TV aired The Freedom Awards, a celebration of anti-slavery movement, for the first time on television. The broadcast on-air and online featured host Sir Ken Robinson, performances by Grammy-winning singer Jason Mraz and appearances by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, making it one of the most sought-after events of the year. Our evening of special programming, dubbed Slavery Sucks, included the documentary CALL+RESPONSE and the world premiere of a new Halogen original series about sex trafficking in the U.S. called “Tainted Love.”

3. Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

Although half a world away, images from the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami gripped the hearts of millions in the U.S. One of our top visited pages was a listing of organizations poised to respond to the disaster.

4. Tom Shadyac & Invisible Children on Oprah

Although 2011 saw the farewell season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” we’re glad Oprah included some special guests before departing. Tom Shadyac, who we interviewed on our site, was a guest on the show and brought along the guys who started Invisible Children. Halogen TV is preparing the 2012 premiere of “Roadworthy,” an original series following Invisible Children’s roadies as they travel across the U.S. to raise awareness and support to help end the longest running war in Africa.

5. Tom Davis & the Death Penalty

September 2010 saw the controversial execution of death row inmate Troy Davis, convicted of killing a Georgia police officer Mark MacPhail in 1989. One of our top articles of the year was an editorial “4 Things You Didn’t Know About the Death Penalty,” written by Chris Opfer after Illinois lawmakers voted to ban the death penalty. Several high profile executions continued to stir moral debate about the state of capital punishment in the United States.

6. Susan G. Komen Sues for the Cure

Earlier in the year we reported on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization, which spent more than $1 million on lawsuits against more than 100 tiny charities, including Kites for a Cure, Par for The Cure, Surfing for a Cure and Cupcakes for a Cure for trademark infringement. The act drummed up quite a bit of negative publicity, as comedians like Stephen Colbert offered some satirical context.

7. Joplin Tornado

It was a spring full of disastrous weather in the United States, including multiple tornadoes that devastated the South and Midwest and claimed hundreds of lives. Halogen TV show host and storm chaser George Kourounis was very near Joplin when the tornado hit and offered a firsthand report.

8. New York Fashion Week

New York’s famous Fashion Week, which happens twice a year, staged a big emphasis on ethical fashion and we had extensive coverage, including profiles on designers including Nicole Bridger, Peridot Kiss, STAY by MAR, John Patrick, Prophetik and Jedidiah Clothing.

9. Halogen TV’s NYC Debate: Can Television Spark Social Good?

Halogen TV partnered with Q Ideas to stage a debate in NYC between the Harvard and Columbia debate teams on the subject of reality television. Asking if reality TV does more harm than good, the two teams duked it out mentioning everything from the role of “Snookie” & “The Situation” from MTV’s reality show, “The Jersey Shore” to discussing the importance of exposing societal issues in other series such as TLC’s show “Hoarding.” The event was covered in a column in The New York Times, and the full debate is available for viewing on our website.

10. Celebrity Photographer Dominates Twitchange Auction

It’s been a good year for Jeremy Cowart. The celebrity photographer moved from his hometown of Nashville, Tenn., to Los Angeles where he continues to photograph some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. He also released a DVD called Lifefinder that showcases his creative process and the humanitarian photography that fuels his passion for his work. In the spring he reluctantly joined the lineup for TwitChange, an eBay auction for charity founded by Shaun King, offering his services as a photographer. To his surprise, Cowart topped the bids, beating out Kim Kardashian, Zachary Levi, Eva Longoria and others.