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Traditional newspapers are struggling to hold onto their readers thanks to the proliferation of free information. The assistant editor of one of those free media — Guardian Unlimited — believes it’s vital that we continue to pay for our news.
ou cheapskates. Once. you attached some yalue
to the news. Scotland was a country that loyed
its newspapers. eyen it the newspapers themselyes repaid that loye a hit like a troubled adolescent. lull ol‘ silly Views and dodgy antics.
The relationship ran deep: down my local newsagent in the l‘)t<0.s it wasn‘t unusual to see menl'olk picking tip two. three papers a morning. along with the cigs and the Irn Bru. Back in those days the Daily R('('(H'(/ could sell three quarters of a million copies a day and eyen that pillar of dourness. the Hem/(l could manage more than l00.000.
Yet the relationship started to sour. We can't he sure of‘ the exact date: some might say it happened in the late l‘)‘)0s. around the time the Daily R(’('()I'(/ lost its mojo with Keep the ('lause and the .S'i-ors'iiiuii lost its mind oyer the Scottish Parliament. The sure thing is it went hadly wrong; the Daily RH'HIY/ does ‘ little more than 400.000 now. the Hem/(I 70.000.
The historians might say things really hit the skids when .ili'im airiyed on the buses. It turns out. you lot didn‘t care much ahotit the exclusiyes. or who was doing the writing. or the design. You just wanted something to read. and the football scores.
'l'hat‘s not to ptit down the success of Metro. Play-it-straight news and milky hland features. nary a star columnist in sight. goes down a treat. it seems. The latest figures show I l8.l07 copies of the paper are distributed eyery' day in Scotland. and if’ you take public transport you know it‘s carefully read.
Read it and you feel you’ye got a handle on the news today something you can‘t guarantee eyen if‘ you pay. That the thing comes from the same people who bring you the rahid l)uil_\' .l’llli/ 7 Associated Newspapers makes its success eyen harder to stomach for other hacks.
But the fact is that. in a world with 24—hour rolling news. all-you-can-read news coyerage for nothing online. and a plethora of radio stations. there‘s so much of it. you people don‘t really yalue one source much oyer the other. Most of them are saying the same sltlll. anyway. right'.’ It turns out .llr'lm is priced at exactly the value its readers place on it nothing.
liollow that argument to its logical conclusion. mix in an internet lad or two. and things quickly get worse. Not content with dismantling the economic case supporting the news industry as we know it. you're going to start insisting you can do it yoursell‘.
l)lY media. otherwise known as citi/en journalism. is where you take your previously latent interest in
journalism. comhine it with hlogs and today's array of
gadgets — digital cameras. mohile phones. il’ods - and roll your own rolling news in a kind ol‘ weird hohhy.
1O if) .léili :) i(.‘l) i’iiiiti
HIST ORIANS MIGHT SAY THINGS REALLY HIT THE SKIDS WHEN METRO ARRIVED’
It‘s already huge in the States. where they're getting hyperlocal. down and dirty with the people. lot“ the community hy the community. bypassing the ’MSM‘ (mainstream media) and. sisters. doing it l‘or themselyes. ()nly. without the manky' ollicCs. layish expense accounts or personal issue a\'oitlancc disguised as long working hours that mark otit the real thing.
It sounds like an information superhighway to hell. 'l'ltis sitlc ol- the Atlantic. we‘ll see one ol- two outcomes.
()ption one comes from the truth that the keenest hohhyists always end up trying to take their hohhy full time. Thus. we‘ll see the citi/en journalism handwagon gain such momentum that some hright spark will propose. a couple of‘ years down the line. training. codes ol ethics and hey 'how ahout paying eyeryonc'." 'l‘hc citi/en business managers will moye in. suggest taking adyenising. and the entire moyement will disappear tip its own l‘undament as it discusses its prolcssionalisation.
()ption two comes from the truth that l’l‘V spoils eyerything. giyen time. Thus. cue a staggerineg long run of You. The .lli'r/iii Star. a cross hetween The X l'tlt‘lUl' and What .\'o/ to llk'ui‘. where the network‘s 'iew signings Andrew .\'eil and 'l‘rinny
Iones to show the amateurs how to snatch witnesses to the local 'I‘rayelodge and grah their tltlolcs. .-\nd look simply sensational while doing it.
Sounds grim'.’ Well. then. don‘t whateyer you do
View your daily 20/30/60/70p as merely a means of
getting ink on your hands and finding out some of what happened yesterday. .\'o. \‘lc‘W it as a modest price to pay an insurance policy. it you will the most irritating media characters yet to he inycnted out ol‘ existence. ('heap at the price. and you know it.
Disagree? Email your views to editor@list.co.uk. Neil McIntosh blogs at completetosh.com.
Woodhall helicopter in to disaster
to keep some ol'
PLUCKING FRUITS FROM THE CULTURAL BUSH
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