I love my newspaper. I get it delivered to my home every day. In fact, I'd have a hard time doing without it. I love everything the newspaper represents: The sense of community, the local flavor and its connection with people who live in its delivery area.Today's newspaper included the usual Parade magazine, which I'm surprised anyone reads. Does anyone read it? I'd be surprised.
They're doing the usual "Year-end wrap-up," which is the journalistic equivalent of phoning it in. Nevertheless, we're stuck with it. Newspapers are dying. Does anyone wonder why?
When I saw the cover, I threw up in my mouth. I thought we were through with this horrible woman and her ideals. I suppose not. There she was, pointing her finger at me and I could hear that voice, don'tcha know, as though I'm an idiot for not seeing what a regular gal she is. It's Palin redux. Or maybe it's Tina Fey?
Best or worst? You can answer the question on your own: I think it's "worst" because she represents everything that's wrong with this country and it's politics. Form over substance. We were supposed to fall for the "hot mom" - sorry - hot hockey mom, and her fashion-statement glasses and her Midwestern accent and her ... oh, I don't know ... we were supposed to fall for it. She's just like us. Sure, she is.
Fortunately for us and humanity in general, we were spared the McCain/Palin ticket, although it looked rather dicey for a while. After all, this is a country that elected George W. Bush twice. Can you blame me for being frightened?
Yet, there she was on the cover of my newspaper's magazine. Included with the Ask Marilyn column where Marilyn vos Savant, the fraud "genius" answer column. "Why isn't hypnosis used more as a weight loss tool?" (Actual question) Seriously, I'd like to be able to write a column in a national weekly magazine where I got to (a) choose which questions I answer and (b) make it appear as though I was a genius because the column said I was. Marilyn is a member of MENSA. Really? So is my cat, if I gave him a test. Where's his column? What's the next number in this sequence? 1 ... 3 ... 5 ... 7 ... ? Give me a break.
This is also the magazine that runs the Walter Scott's Personality Parade, which is mostly a shill for whichever celebrity has something to promote under the guise of real people asking real questions. "When will we see Clive Owen romancing again onscreen?" - was this week's question from a Karen Friese in Milwaukee. Hey, here's news: He has a new film opening in February and another in March! Wow, what a coincidence! Do you talk about Clive Owen around the coffee machine at work? I didn't think so. Spare me, Walt.
Then, on the back page we're treated to James Brady's In Step With, which is another shill for a celebrity with a project to hype. This week, it's Lisa Kudrow, who most people would have preferred to forget about, but she's "busy with three new films" so her agent called James and asked him to write 600 words about her failing career. He couldn't have been happier. He probably even got a nice lunch out of the deal.
Many years ago (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) the Philadelphia Inquirer had a Sunday magazine called Inquirer Magazine (go figure) that discussed issues relevant to the community and of interest to the readers. Imagine that. A Sunday magazine insert that discussed interesting issues that their readers may also find interesting.
The Sunday paper is $1.50 now, and the daily is 75 cents. It seems that the more it costs, the less "community" we get. We're getting more national news and more stories from Associated Press writers and more things that are bylined "For the Inquirer." I suppose that saves money, since they don't have to pay benefits for stringers or provide Blackberries, but there is something lost in the dilution of the product. The more that is lost, the more it costs us, in more ways than one.
Most, if not all of the country is wired for Internet access now, and the stories that are nationally run are accessible to everybody, so why do we have to read them in the newspaper? I want local news and the local angle. I like Inga Saffron's stories about the local architecture, Bob Ford's sports columns, Dan Rubin and Monica Yant-Kinney's columns about local issues and Tony Auth's political cartoons. I like reading the editorial page when it is written by local writers. If I want the national slant, I can watch CNN or Yahoo News.
Stop charging me for things I can get for free. Newspapers across the country are failing and they continue to look for ways to cut costs, but the cost-cutting is taking away from the things that make local newspapers unique.
The more homogeneous things become, the less interesting they are to the people they're targeting. It only makes sense. They are selling a Philadelphia newspaper to Philadelphians, yet they try to save money by nationalizing the content. We don't need Hollywood news or something that we're going to see on "Entertainment Tonight." It's the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I like the Philadelphia part.
8 comments:
Our local newspaper went "online" so now if you want to read the daily you have to subscribe to it online. I guess employing 12 year olds to deliver the newspaper is outdated.
I honestly haven't read a newspaper here in the five years I've lived. I think that's because I know nothing about the place I live. Sadly, if I read the big paper (Columbus Dispatch) I'm sure I'd know my community a little bit better. Our old newspaper in our old town I knew everyone so when I'd open the OBITS I'd see (sadly) a familiar name or face that had passed.
If I want Hollywood news I read TMZ or the Superficial online.
Another astute post. I worked for 7 and a half years for a media company, working my way up in the newsroom. One of the reasons I was made redundant was my beat was moved to another wire service ,it was cheaper in the long run to have a wire service provide content in addition to the content I was providing. Such is life.
I love newspapers, I love the feel of them in my hands, reading them. The cat dive bombs me when I have it up. She likes the crinkly sound it makes.
I am on a fixed income, but have a subscription to the Star Ledger, and Sunday NY Times.
It is a sad state of affairs when all the major papers are laying off people right and left , not making a profit, cannot get advertisers and the best and the brightest in the field cannot find jobs in the field they love and have to go to things like PR writing to put food on the table.
Anthony, don't know what you do for a living, but if you are ever without a job, you should write a book.
And yes, all cats belong to Mensa.
Oh McNabb came through. YOu must be over the moon.
:-)
I still might manage to do that book. Thanks to the Internet, anyone can publish a book.
The football game was pretty good. I didn't care for McNabb's post-game comments, though. He's still playing the martyr, and it's a tough sell after a win.
The local Metro paper, which is really owned by a nationally organization, has the highest readership of a local paper. More than half the pages are ads, the top half national news. Sure it's free, and ask anyone they read it over the Inquirer. People don't really want the news, they just want something to pass the time.
I read the Metro when I'm on the train. It is a time-passer, which is exactly the point.
I'm such a purist with stuff like newspapers, I hate to see them in the state they're in.
Between advertisers, readers and the paper itself, I think there's enough blame to go around.
9!!! its 9!!
Can I be in MENSA now? :D
Here it is a little paper called the Canton Repository, cantonrep.com but you can also have it delivered in all its finger staining glory... ahhh smell the wonderful smell of news print and coffee.... gonna be a good day.
xoxoxox
It's important to remember that the news business makes it's money by selling advertising space. Commercial advertising is most effective when the audience feels more than it thinks. Local news attracts a local audience that spends too much time thinking. National or international news provides entertainment for a much larger audience that needs entertainment more than it needs news about local events. Those who need entertainment feel more than they think and consequently make a better audience for commercial advertisers.
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