What's in today's paper -- and do I want to buy it? Hard to tell with New Jersey's Asbury Park Sunday Press, between the spadea and "post-it" furnace ad covering much of the front page, according to a reader. (Click on the image for a bigger view.)
Circulation: weekdays, 104,582; Sunday, 157,723.
So sad. And the grayscale (!) photo on a front page is a nice touch, too -- being that the reader cannot see much of the front page at all, let's go grayscale! Oh, but, color for the horses, of course.
ReplyDeleteAnd the advertisers fall for this crap?
Said in the pitch to the advertiser: "Oh, yeah, that spadea is the first thing they'll see!"
Left out of the pitch to the advertiser: "That is, if you don't mind the fact that in our quest for your ad dollars, we've obliterated any incentive for anyone to actually buy the edition. Sorry about your shrinking customer base."
Its's all within reach...
ReplyDeleteI see a paper like that and think coupons, ads, inserts, fake paid for articles, fluff time waster articles. Barely worth a nickel.
ReplyDeleteNice try, 3:38. But when you mess up the hook, you don't have much left. I know those three-letter words are tough to spell, but you should keep trying.
ReplyDeleteCuriously enough, when you go to the web site, you are invited to critique the front page!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.app.com/interactive/article/20120304/NJNEWS/120304003/Critique-Press-s-front-page-Sunday-March-4
I actually like this. I love deals and this one shows some deals. Really like the post-in. What am I missing?
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else tired of the Jersey posters. Smallest area of the company and they continuously whine month in and month out. Shut up already. We get it you hate the papers, leadership and using the johns.
ReplyDeleteaz rep was a full page ad p1 today. at least where we live (maybe zoned?)
ReplyDeletein the digital world, we call it a homepage takeover and it gets really big bucks. hope they did. if my husband would let me, I'd cancel the darn thing. But I still get the employee discount even though they invited me out over a year ago, so he won't let me stop taking it yet ....
I wouldn't expect anything less from Hollis Towns, the exec editor. After he agreed to let the New Jersey Devils cover their own hockey games, giving away the front page isn't much of a sellout at all. Or is it possible that he fought to keep this junk out but to no avail?
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed that the spadea continues the flag and doesn't just hand over the entire space to the advertiser, as it does when we run them. Just an interesting, different way of doing things. Neat.
ReplyDeleteBW pic or not, that takes a little skill on the part of the press operators to have a spadea and a full sheet run that closely in line to each other - especially at full speed.
What I'm curious on is how the post-it is stuck so far down-page - if we fanned out the line far enough to get that much depth, we'd have to run pretty slow.
5:52, amen. The people from Jersey have the least to offer and the most to whine about.
ReplyDelete5:39, what are you missing. Journalism. No offense.
ReplyDeleteThe folks who don't like to hear from NJ can go away and start their own blog. Advertisers, not to mention readers, can only be fooled for so long. There's no content left, and they'll realize they're being milked.
ReplyDeleteArizona Republic's been doing this for years including a front page wrap that covers part of the page. This is called short term thinking with a very limited remaining life expectancy of print. Anybody working in circulation should be aggressively looking for a job.
ReplyDeleteDidn't sell many on the newsstand? Can't imagine why. But, hey, what do they need copy editors or designers for if you can't see what they do? Maybe that's the plan.
ReplyDeleteSo glad I no longer work in the APP newsroom. Sad to say, but very few talented staffers are left.
ReplyDelete1:30 a.m. I think you're on to something.
ReplyDeleteI don't see why you folks are complaining about this paper... I would buy that newspaper. Spadea overlay, in general, are very attractive to the consumer. Spadeas will always cover text, but the spadea-advertising unit is incredibly attractive to advertisers. And, both the spadea and the post-it pieces are visually interesting to consumers... There is a subconscious euphoria that the consumers experience when the product has special-wraps. These product techniques are effective when studying the psychology of advertising & consumption.
ReplyDelete1:30 AM,
ReplyDeleteYour comment is absurd. The graphic designers, editors, etc. are part of the talent base, used to create the entire newspaper. The readers are aware that the newspaper must be opened, and pages must be turned, to explore the entire contents of the newspaper. Your ignorant statement suggests that people are only interested in the front page.
How foolish and ignorant you are.
1:30 AM,
ReplyDeleteYour comment is absurd. The graphic designers, editors, etc. are part of the talent base, used to create the entire newspaper. The readers are aware that the newspaper must be opened, and pages must be turned, to explore the entire contents of the newspaper. Your ignorant statement suggests that people are only interested in the front page.
How foolish and ignorant you are.
2:50 PM,
ReplyDeleteIntersting comment about the natural position of the post-it during press-production. I think that the post-it was most likely handled and repositioned.
10:32 is the absurd comment. Clearly this person has never seen/heard the continual complaints about the spadea. It's a pain to consumers.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure advertisers like it, but that doesn't make a difference to the readers.
10:32am... spoken like a true marketer.
ReplyDeleteFrom a reader (oh, wait, "consumer") this front page is about as appealing as your pop-up ads.
10:38 p.m. must be the typical New Jersey poster -- all whine, no do.
ReplyDelete10:38/10:39 a.m. -- you could be right. But there are a number of people who believe no one looks past the front page.
Of course most people look past the front page. But when you're on the racks at the gas station in the morning, you want to appeal to the potential buyer versus the other newspapers. So the front page is tantamount to luring someone in. Personally, as a newspaper person, I wouldn't give that Asbury paper a second glance. It's butt ugly.
ReplyDeleteI would totally buy this paper. First of all the spadea is advertising a promotion for free groceries. Plus, they are advertising a coupon section valued over $350. in savings. I love when I get money back in coupons. Yes, I would totally buy that paper.
ReplyDeleteI would also take advantage of the furnace tuneup special, that is advertised on the front of the paper (post-it)... That could lead to substantial savings in heating expenses. You could save a lot of money on your normal expenses with the $2.00 newspaper. It sends a message, that it's worth buying. With my coupon cutting and shop rite grocery trips, I could probably save $75 to $100, just on groceries.
ReplyDelete12:27, you are exactly the type of person Gannett has exploited through the years. Thanks to people like you, the product and the workplace have suffered.
ReplyDeleteOkay 8"29 it says in the "journalism" book that you can't had a post it note on the front page? Even if you can easily go out of business without such things. I missing that chapter at Missouri. Sorry. I stand corrected. We should go the way of the dinosaur. Thanks.
ReplyDelete