“Buy a slice of history!’ The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age flooded the streets with old fashioned paper boys and girls recently to exploit the novelty of these long established broadsheets making the transition to tabloid (‘compact’ in Fairfax-speak).
“The compact print edition launch is a significant moment in the history of Fairfax Media, enabling readers to engage with both mastheads in a more user-friendly print format,” the company quaintly trumpeted in a news release which hailed a “new era” in newspaper publishing.
Pardon my cynicism, but flogging a shrunken newspaper as a great innovation in an age of global digital real-time information networks is rather like someone back in 1982 trying to sell you eight-track cartridges just as compact discs were first becoming available.
Being a retired hack, I was naturally asked by friends and colleagues what I thought of this startling innovation by Fairfax. To be frank, I find it hard to have a strong opinion. It is like asking me whether I prefer to drink beer out of a bottle or a can. It’s just a container after all. The important stuff is what’s inside.
Of course, the transition to tabloid is just one part of Fairfax’s reinvention. It’s also made a huge effort in developing its masthead websites, mobile sites and tablet editions. As someone who no longer buys newspapers, I believe it’s here where their money is best invested (even if the profit margins are still better in print). I’m not sure how they’ll monetise it, but I wish them well.
Like a lot of people, I don’t have any allegiance to a particular newspaper. Instead, I gravitate to certain writers whom I trust – either in dead tree media or new media – like Laura Tingle at the AFR, Nicholas Gruen at Club Troppo, John Quiggin at his blog, and Peter Martin and Ross Gittins at the SMH/Age (interestingly, in his first two tabloid pieces, Ross came over all Akermanish).
A lot of other good writers have left the industry or gone out on their own – like David Marr and Melissa Sweet (Australia’s best health writer) and, most recently, Adele Horin, who has a new blog called Coming of Age, which tackles the distinctly unfashionable (but distinctly relevant) issues around getting older.What matters ultimately are the ideas, not the delivery mechanism.
For me, local metro newspapers’ role as a filter is redundant. RSS and Twitter feeds give me the best of the world from The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Economist. Twitter lets me know if there is anything on the local radar worth looking into. And Facebook keeps me up to date on the lives of friends around the world.
Like many people, I’m overwhelmed with information and news. I know what is happening. What’s often missing is good explanation and background and context and analysis that is something more than a quick call around the usual suspects for quotes an hour before deadline. That sort of perspective takes experience and judgement and an eye for something other than a quick splash.
In that context, whether the Herald is broadsheet or tabloid is irrelevant. It’s yesterday’s news served up on dead trees.
8 Comments
bandicoot · March 8, 2013 at 12:20 AM
Almost a full week of Tabloid Age (New Age? Age Rebooted? The Sage?) now, and its reporting actually seems a bit better.
This may be the result of holding back some stuff from the broadssheet, in which case it will deline rapidly, or there's a refocus on reporting.
Also, fewer dingus headed op pieces and emails-to-granny pieces( you know, the dog is so cute, I had keen-o-wa for breakfast, kids have gone to school what a relief, make mine a lar-tay).
While it still has the social pages sh*t, Loonie cartoons, and obvious editorials, its even broken a few stories!
Steve 1 · March 8, 2013 at 2:01 AM
This is Melissa Fyffe in the Age today 8/3/2013, talking about the demise of Ted Baillieu.
“Another time The Age hosted Baillieu at a lunch of senior editors and reporters. This was a chance to tell one of the city's major news organisations about his vision. But, according to many of those present, he talked constantly of Labor corruption and offered little in terms of a vision for the state. He had no message.”
The message was negativity- Labor is corrupt – but I have no plan for the future.
And the reason they were unable to grasp the story.
“Press gallery journalists were so busy shoving a microphone under Brumby's nose every day – travelling from Horsham to Healesville to Heidelberg – they barely had time to do proper journalism.”
The reason people have stopped reading the age is not because it is a broadsheet, but because it is crap!
Phil Picone · March 8, 2013 at 7:37 AM
Paper newsparers will soon be gone, about the only one that may remain will be a weekend edition with a summary of the weeks news, althought I am not sure who would buy that either
Phil
Linda C. · March 8, 2013 at 11:50 PM
Couldnt agree more, you've summarised exactly my attitiude & response to the new landscape. From a 40 year habit of 2 x print dailies, to zilch purchase of dead tree media.
What I find hardest to understand is how / why the print media dont see this, especially Fairfax. They've been talking the talk for years, but havent changed basic approach at all.
The smarter journos certainly realise that the days of prints role as “news breaker” is largely gone, and can see that – as you say – “often missing is good explanation and background and context and analysis that is something more than a quick call around the usual suspects for quotes.”
But they seem powerless in face of managerial…what is it exactly? ineptitude? death wish? lack of imagination? ossified brains? i just find it inexplicable.
Its even crossed my mind that some decision makers are moles planted to run down the asset so it can be bought even more cheaply; thats how odd it seems that they can miss the mark so completely.
Andrew Elder · March 9, 2013 at 3:01 AM
The second-last par is important.
When it came to the replacement of the Victorian Premier this week, I had a full run-down of the facts of the matter by the time I went to bed on Wednesday night. The background that has come out over the last few days has shown the value of good journalism. It has shown the sheer poverty of having Michael Kroger on TV, spouting self-serving nonsense in the name of dispassionate analysis (a bit like having Graham Richardson commentating on all matters Labor).
Two events from the journosphere were telling.
I agree with Steve 1, the Fyfe article was hilarious: Baillieu clearly lives a full life where speaking to journalists is not quite the highlight of his day. Fyfe finds this puzzling. If I were her editor I would interpret the tone of her article as a sign that she needs a holiday.
Press gallery journalist Frances Bell complained that Geoff Shaw walked straight past journalists without speaking to them. For >2 years, the Narrative on Shaw has been that he is a fool and possibly a crook; this week he brought down a Premier. He doesn't need to speak to journalists, and all journalists are culpable of creating a situation (The Narrative) where none of them could get the story on what Shaw was thinking, before/during/after the event.
Anonymous · March 9, 2013 at 6:41 AM
Always enjoy your work.
Thanks for the links in this – you have introduced me to a couple of good people i haven't come across before.
Anonymous · March 12, 2013 at 6:19 AM
I haven't bought pulped forest format news for at least 3 years, so I am completely nonplussed about the switch to tablo… “compact” format. It seems Failfax also changed their online format at the same time – for much the worse IMO. SMH online isn't just a mess, it's a hopelessly messy derivative of something like news.com.au or yahoo/7. I visited twice last week and I won't be going back.
Anonymous (aka fractious)
Anonymous · March 13, 2013 at 3:59 PM
Whilst I agree that newspapers are becoming less relevant, they are still out there, doing their worst. They are also providing the electronic media with their copy (shame on you Aunty). So how do we fight it? Who's out there with the ability? How can I help?