July 23, 2008
the changing face of the american newspaper
It has fewer pages than three years ago, the paper stock is thinner, and the stories are shorter. There is less foreign and national news, less space devoted to science, the arts, features and a range of specialized subjects. Business coverage is either packaged in an increasingly thin stand-alone section or collapsed into another part of the paper. The crossword puzzle has shrunk, the TV listings and stock tables may have disappeared, but coverage of some local issues has strengthened and investigative reporting remains highly valued.
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3 Responses to “the changing face of the american newspaper”
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A symptom of the times. The attention span of the average American is much shorter than an average European. Americans tend to like things reduced into short segments with little in depth coverage. Just compare CNN with the BBC.
There is also the fact that Americans are not interested in the world outside of their borders, whether that is County, State or Country borders.
In the past six months (more or less less since Sam Zell bought the Tribune Company), the Chicago Tribune has gone from marginal to barely readable. Strange as it may seem, I still find the Los Angeles Times one of the better US papers.
There is also the fact that Americans are not interested in the world outside of their borders, whether that is County, State or Country borders.
Good point, Michael.
Whenever I look at my site’s stats I am endlessly fascinated by the volume of visitors I get from foreign countries — even when an article’s topic is firmly provincial. Why would residents of New Zealand or Venezuela give a hoot about American political scandals or TV news broadcasters?
Oooh, look. Funny monkeys. I like monkeys.
What was the question?