Comments on: Newspapers need to win readers, not awards

By: Marc Matteo

Marc Matteo — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:50:43 +0000

Zac what we need to do is explain why Iraq or the city council meeting is important — why/how it impacts your life, all that Journ 101 stuff — using good writing and (possibly) multimedia. We need to cover what you need to know in a way that you find interesting. That’s what that whole fourth estate bit is all about.

If you are trying to attract people with puppy stories, then that’s great, but mark my words you’ll ultimately do fewer and fewer “Iraq” stories because it won’t make financial sense. At that point I have no doubt you’ll be wildly successful, but you won’t be practicing journalism.

By: contentious.com - links for 2008-02-11

contentious.com - links for 2008-02-11 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:21:01 +0000

[...] The Journalism Iconoclast » Newspapers need to win readers, not awards AMEN!!!! “A fundamental disconnect between journalists and readers for years. Journalists far too often cover stories because they think those stories will do well in competitions or because those stories matter to the journalist but not the readers.” (tags: journalism community culture priorities conflict business problems tidbits+fodder) [...]

By: Zac Echola

Zac Echola — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:52:51 +0000

First: Slippery slope is not argument. It is fallacy.

People also care about local crime and controversy and those stories win local readers through local search terms. Yet those stories are buried.

People care about their kids sports teams, but if you’re lucky you get a score in 6 pt. font.

I don’t think we should chuck Iraq out the window but Zell is right. Target your biggest markets then take on riskier content. Basic business.

Lastly you have to pitch your content. If it isn’t relevent it isn’t important even though it should be.

By: Marc Matteo

Marc Matteo — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:39:09 +0000

While newspapers clearly need to stop writing for award boards, this notion of “give readers what they want” is to me a really steep slippery slope.

Readers want dirt, they want the dirt on who’s doing what to whom. They want Britney especially sans panties. What they don’t really care for is “Fourth Estate journalism” because, frankly that’s boring.

A local paper recently ran a video that did record traffic, “Cheerleaders Suspended for Inappropriate Cheer”. Now why do you suppose all those folks clicked on it? What it out of concern for the standards the school boards are maintaining in the area? Or was it something else?

So I’m thinking that if you really want to make money start running “Page 2 girls”. Or here’s an idea, drop the pretense entirely and just open up a pr0n site on the side and then you can use that money to cover “puppies and Iraq”.

Now those of you scoffing, “That’s stupid, we have *standards*”

Do you?

By: TeachJ

TeachJ — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:10:41 +0000

This stuff – winning awards journalism – starts right from the start. In high schools we set them on the road to “winning awards” instead of caring about their school. Too many don’t give a darn about covering the school. That is so boring. They want to break the big story, cause the controversy. They want to work for a rag or a TV infotainment show. Journalism is too hard, they’d rather just report glam and gossip. More fun, less work. If they can’t do that, then they want to win pulitzers, local stories be darned.