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Friday, October 22, 2010
USAT | Is this a front page for older readers?
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33 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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So let me get this straight.
ReplyDeleteFirst he says he wants to "de-emphasize" print. Now he says he wants to go back to older readers.
Can we PLEASE keep this guy away from speaking to the media? Every time he does, it's a disaster.
Like Taylor Swift says: 'Fearless.'
ReplyDeleteI'm "old", but I'd look at a photo of Taylor Swift before anything else, HAH!
ReplyDeleteIf an "old" parent buys a copy of USA TODAY to give to his daughter because Taylor Swift is on the front page, it's a win-win. A very big win-win.
ReplyDeleteNothing is terribly wrong with any of this stuff being on 1A. The bigger crime is in what is NOT on this page.
ReplyDeleteI would have an economic story on page 1 almost every day, and particularly in the weekend edition. Forget the 9.6 percent unemployment rate we all read about constantly. It's much higher when you factor in all the data that the government doesn't want you to see. With one job open for ever six people looking, there is a huge problem in this country that is getting worse by the month and may eventually compromise our entire way of life and even our national security. In some shape of form, this is what concerns most mature readers. We understand the significance of this moment in time. All of the basketball star stories in the world aren't going to change that or feel compelling to read. I want to know, as a reader, how we're going to get out of this mess and what is going to happen to people in their 50s and 60s if they can never return to work.
USA Today, like other papers, tends to be drawn to the flavor of the day, the sensational, the entertaining. Thinking people see that stuff as
more appropriate for the back page than the front. Even when serious news breaks, the media is often slow to react and incapable of digging beneath the surface facts because of the lack of will and/or resources. The BP oil disaster was a good example of that. Y'all missed the boat on that, just as you did on the Nashville flood, the lack of nukes in Iraq and a host of other important news. You were late to the party and didn't provide much context until weeks or months after the fact. People will not pay for shallow or late coverage of life-altering events. At least not the people I know. We want to read more about why our politicians can't get anything done and why our brothers and sisters, sons and daughters are fighting in a war few believe in. Our system is broken, yet from reading this front page, you'd never know it.
I remember a stretch of time when USA Today was obsessed with American Idol. That's all fine and well, but don't expect me to put my quarters into a machine to read a paper with priorities that don't match mine.
I have also read on this blog where USA Today has gotten rid of many of its older newsroom employees. I suspect USAT isn't alone in that travesty. I am also guessing that whatever remaining guard exists there probably feels pressure to run the "popular" stuff on 1A because they want to appear contemporary. Well, I will take smart and insightful over trendy any day of the week. I can get all of that other stuff in People or Sports Illustrated magazines. But I can't get insightful analysis and watchdog journalism in those publications or from the TV news. You're missing out on a huge market.
USA Today, you have to decide what you want to be. For awhile, it seemed like you were becoming a more serious paper. But in the last five years, wow, what a change. Sure, the goofy little graphics, color type and silly briefs have always existed, but so did an effort to do deeper journalism in all forms - words and visuals. The old USA Today would have been on top of big stories from day one. It would have multiple stories and intelligent graphics from the start. Often, the paper was ahead of the news. I don't see much of that anymore.
That's my two cents. If USAT wants to appeal to people like me, I would advise them to hire people who understand the scope of the mess we're in as a society and who want to be part of the solution rather than just another rag trying to hang on by running sexy pictures of entertainers on page 1. You may lose some audience, as America becomes more stupid by the day, but you will also gain the respect of readers looking for something a bit more elevated in their daily paper. And just to be clear, there are younger people, too, who would appreciate a smarter approach to the news.
One more thing, get ads off of page 1!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI'm 57 and it all interests me. I think it is right on. The diabetes story is custom to that readership group, as is the type/font issue. And everything else is of interest. And while it isn't specifically my thing, celebrity news scores as high as any category with boomer readers – as it does with Xers and Ys. (And we don't want to read only about boomer celebrities.)
ReplyDeleteI'd have housing and economic stuff on A1. That news crosses generations. In fact, I'd put only news, not content or ads on the front page.
ReplyDeleteThe long post by 2:09 p.m. is uncommonly thoughtful and sensible. I pretty much subscribe to what he or she says, with the exception of the last sentence. That ship has sailed and need not be an impediment to the quality reporting he or she suggests.
ReplyDeleteJim: It's too bad your blog software doesn't have a ranking system similar to the "star" rating system available for users of the Yahoo! stock bulletin boards. There is a way in which posts on this blog are all "leveled." That is to say, the foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Gannetters who have little of real value to say (though they may have legitimate reason to feel wounded by the company) and the thoughtful posters who truly add value to an important discussion are all leveled together, when the fact is they don't all occupy the same plane. But I know -- you didn't write the software, you just use it.
The bottom story is the most relevant to baby boomers, since the rationale behind the FHWA's change is about older people. However, the story neglects a major detail: Not only do the new regulations mandate mixed-case street signs, the font on those signs is also being changed.
ReplyDeleteThe diabetes story qualifies, but I agree with a couple of posters above who want to have some sort of economic story on the front page. It's not just USA Today, but other papers have also really underplayed the jobless problem and the economy, although the public seems to know what is going on and will register their feelings in a very few days.
ReplyDeleteThat brings up another issue. Where are the election stories? This has been one of the most interesting mid-term elections I have seen in a while, and certainly the most quirky with some of these Republican victors. Maria Shriver doesn't quite do it for me.
2:58
ReplyDeleteJust curious....which "plane" would your posts fall into?
I swear that every month I look at USA Today, I am convinced we are moving towards becoming a supermarket tabloid. Taylor speaks...yes, to hicks and rednecks.
ReplyDeleteReply to 2:58: My post would occupy a place somewhere on the mezzanine -- above the woe-is-us-and-did-I-mention-that-GCI sux? stuff that brings this blog down after two solid years of such posts but below the upper floor occupied by an insightful and thoughtful post like that of 2:09. And thank you for asking.
ReplyDelete2:09 is right on the mark.
ReplyDeleteIronic that Gannett has systematically eliminated its veteran employees, and now asks the gen x and y who remain (good people by the way) to come up with a product that will appeal to those same boomers who walked the plank.
The great sin of Gannett corporate leadership is that at its core it disrespects its customers and its employees.
I'm a long time Gannettblog reader. It amazes me that the disrepectful talk about "old people" and "geezers" hasn't been around as much since that initiative to target the chronologically gifted came out. I sure hope work conditions for the 40+ crowd improves. I know how very miserable it was for me to work in an ageist work environment.
ReplyDeleteNow, there's ageism everywhere. I'm used to it. But it can not be allowed in the workplace since it impacts a persons ability to make a living.
2:09pm and what followed by 2:58pm were some of the best comments I've ever read on this blog. People are starving for relevance, and news people can provide that with intelligent, in-depth, no holds-barred reporting that elevates discussion, makes us think and sometimes even act. The example given about the state of employment is dead-on. When our media feeds us fluff and no substance that's what we all become. Where are stories about toxins in our food, sanctioned by the government? Even a presidential panel recently warned Americans to stop eating foods or using health products laced with anti-biotics, growth-hormones, pesticides, sulfates, chloro hydrates, and dozens of chemicals we can't even pronounce, all scientifically linked to disease. I want my media to dig for facts and give them to me so that I can make informed choices. And what about the human and capital cost of spending $2.4 billion a week on the Afghan war while our schools and infrastructure crumble, and as the ranks of poor Americans grow larger and more desperate? And guess what, young people know bogus when they smell it and that's why they shun mainstream media and our newspapers. They don't buy what we're selling but they would if we just stopped being robotic and programmed about what's happening around us and to us.
ReplyDeleteI'm a boomer with a facebook page, an iphone, ipod (no ipad, too costly right now), a yammer account and Skype on my home pc. Tweeting doesn't turn me on, yet. Newspapers need to stop trying to typecast readers. Like the guy on the old Dragnet tv show used to say, "just the facts Mam". Youngsters don't remember that show or comment but they definitely get the meaning. Now let me preface what I'm about to say with this, I'm not a nutcase but did you know if you type the web address - itanimulli, which is the word "illuminati" spelled backwards, that you get our government's official website for the National Security Agency? No joke, try it, so WTF is that about?? A college educated 20 somthing brought this to my attention, someone drawn like most of their age group to alternative sources of news and information. Who doesn't want to know the NSC's explanation for having secured THAT domain name?
Look it, I'm just hoping those providing our daily news will finally "get it" too. The publisher who does is going to make copious amounts of cash.
Thanks 2:09pm for giving Jim's readers (hoping that includes Gannett leadership) what sounds to me like such a clear way forward for journalism (on any platform) AND the bottomline.
just posted the lengthy comment including the "itanimulli" reference. don't forget to type in .com after the entry. i still can't believe this
ReplyDeleteI understand the next move toward older readers will be to hire Garrett Morris and have him read the news via the web. "Today's top story! Generalissimo Francisco Franco still dead!"
ReplyDeleteThey may not be on this front page, but all the topics mentioned in those thoughtful postings above, including politics and the economy, have been thoroughly covered in USA Today and continue to be.
ReplyDeleteWhether USA Today does it as well as others is a valid point.
But the coverage is there. As for the front page shown, that looks like a totally professional and quite appealing newspaper page. It should sell very well, even beyond the "hicks" some clueless jerk mentioned above.
Who let a NYT editor in here? 2:09 writes 700+ big fancy words in a blog comment. Wants USAT to run 1A econ stories every day and get ads off 1A. Thinks USAT should shun such unworthy topics as sports and entertainment. Thinks America becomes more stupid each day, and USAT should hire people "who want to be part of the solution" to reach readers who want something "a bit more elevated." Wow. How deliciously unreconstructed.
ReplyDeleteCome on 12:45am. No one's suggesting USAT should shun sports or entertainment, just do it better. Do it ALL better. And sadly America is becoming more stupid each day. Look around 'cause we're in deep trouble, unless your vision has been skewed by those rose colored glasses. Can we agree on this, people want good journalism on any platform. And I don't take issue with front page ads. This is a business, honorable and even noble. Those ads positioned with compelling coverage about our government, health issues, schools, football, Lindsay Lohan (that one does hurt a bit) or whatever would give the yearning masses what they long for, reporting that doesn't pander to cynicism but instead seeks to inform, enlighten and make a difference.
ReplyDeleteItanimulli.com is a prank by some kid in Provo, Utah. It's a simple redirect to the NSA site.
ReplyDelete>>> if you type the web address - itanimulli, which is the word "illuminati" spelled backwards, that you get our government's official website for the National Security Agency? No joke, try it, so WTF is that about??<<<
ReplyDeleteAny upright carbon-based life form can purchase a domain name (illuminati in this case), host it and forward that audience to almost any URL through their server's control panel (to NSA.gov, JustinBeiber.com). In this case, owned by a John Fenley, a cyber squatter who may own 160 more domain names. Or not.
Re: itanimulli / illuminati / NSA -
ReplyDeleteIf you'd have Googled that word instead of listening to some college-educated 20something, you'd have very quickly learned that it's a redirect site. The NSA has nothing to do with it.
In other words, moron, you got rickrolled.
See http://arthurgoldwag.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/itanimulli/
I got Thursday's paper in Phoenix - 3 hours behind the east coast. It didn't even have Wednesday night's Yankees/Rangers final score in it.
ReplyDeleteOh - & as far as yesterday's front page, don't forget, it has to be on the newsstands for three days so Friday's front pages have always been a little innocuous.
At least with the photo of Taylor Swift on yesterday's cover, the front page editor more or less was in keeping with Al's old admonition: "Keep the tits above the fold!"
Gath
As soon as he posted, they put a phony redirect on itanimulli.com to fool everyone into believing it's some kid's prank. The NSA has ears everywhere.
ReplyDeleteSome quick points after reading all of these comments about page 1... "Selling well" doesn't always equal quality... Don't think anyone is saying keep sports and entertainment totally off of front; most just want more balance and less tabloidish stuff... If you look at where we're ranked educationally, you'd see America is more stupid today than 25 years ago...The NYT actually has some very fine editors who I doubt bother with this blog...USAT has some fine editors, too, but they aren't allowed to do their jobs the way they want... "Thoroughly covering" a topic doesn't mean one or two big splashes and then relinquishing the stories to inside pages later on - it means thoughtful persistence and insistence on not getting pushed off 1A by a constant stream of overblown promos and ads... Almost everything from the birth of insane politicians, to joblessness to the wars abroad is related to the economy, therefore it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an economic story or analysis on page 1 on most days, and particularly in the weekend edition... If the goal is to attract a loyal, thoughtful and somewhat affluent readership that will sustain itself for more than a couple of years, than USAT is on the wrong track. If the goal is to sell as many papers as possible in order to prop up digital initiatives, than USAT should just start publishing naked celebrities and jackass pictures on page 1.
ReplyDelete7:39 The next time you are at a news stand Saturday, take a look at the new weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. It's softer than the NYT, but harder than USA Today. The USA Today, which has been around since Friday, is looking a little old if you go every day.
ReplyDeleteI think we are giving up the weekend franchise. It obviously would be expensive to put out a real weekend edition, and given the current state of the company, it would require funding from the community papers.
I always thought Saturday papers were the most unprofitable of the week, but Rupert seems to feel differently or he wouldn't be doing this.
To 9:44am "a moron", not quite, just not as tech savvy as you but thanks anyway for the explanation about an NSC website redirect. I only hope you paid as much attention to my other comments and that you didn't find those equally moronic. I know this is off-topic but anonymity on this blog allows for boorish behaviour by some who are fairly messed-up to start. Maybe that describes you, maybe not but someone who adopts a civil tone while preening superiority comes across with more intellect, grace and class.
ReplyDelete8:24, Rupert understands that if you want a strong reputation in this or any similar industry, its necessary to provide fresh product.
ReplyDeleteRupert understands that readers have emotional relationships with products -- and its necessary to woo readers with different packaging and styles, just like any other product relationship.
Rupert understands Marketing 101. USAT does not.
Please - no more posts attacking Murdoch. The man is almost single-handidly sending this once great brand into oblivion. Murdoch gets it....and he has the stones to follow through. We still operate like a small newspaper in Rochester. We're like the big bully on the block. We can beat up our employees, but when the kid from around the corner challenges us, we chicken out.
ReplyDeleteIf an "old" parent buys a copy of USA TODAY to give to his daughter because Taylor Swift is on the front page, it's a win-win. A very big win-win.
ReplyDelete