Reader-Dominated Papers Irk Purists
Just once, I would like to read a newspaper that did not mention Sylvester Stallone, Madonna or O.J. Simpson. Oh, I’m certain there are some, but I just haven’t seen any.
Each morning, as I read through my morning paper, I am fed a generous helping of celebrity droppings that carries with it the same savory flavor of the creamed beef chips on toast that are, or were, doled out at dawn in Army mess halls.
Taking advantage of the availability of newspaper library computer searches, I sought to find out how many times Sylvester Stallone’s name had appeared in my local newspaper since the start of this year.
It came to 142 times through the middle of last week, or a little less than once every two days. In contrast, the name Jesus Christ appeared but 106 times in the same newspaper over the same period - and most of those references had to do with churches whose name included the name of Jesus.
This is not to infer that the newspaper is anti-religion, or that I believe newspapers ought to be writing more about Jesus, but Evander Holyfield evoked that name more times in just the first five minutes after dispatching Mike Tyson in the ring the other night.
And how about Madonna? Well, she topped Stallone; made it into the local paper just about daily. Albert Einstein showed up 35 times, but there’s a good excuse for that: he’s dead. So is Beethoven (99 times).
O.J. is running on a daily basis as well, and he figures to for a long time. So is Princess Diana.
Indeed, newspapers find a need to be more lively because surveys show that’s what the readers want. Circulation figures show it as well. Just check out the circulation numbers for those supermarket shoppers, or the TV ratings for the numerous celebrity shows that fill up time slots in the late afternoon and early evening. That’s what the readers and viewers seems to want, so why not keep serving it up?
That newspaper content is becoming more dominated by reader likes and dislikes is bothersome to the purist journalist who really believe his or her role in life is to inform, expose and explain, but on a scale slightly higher than the details of Madonna’s eccentric personal life.
But bottom lines speak, and newspapers today find it imperative to meet reader interests. Thus, we find daily stories about life with Sylvester or Princess Di and far less about the humdrum workaday issues such as what really is done with your tax money, or how and why your congress person or state legislator voted on an issue.
Perhaps the most disliked chore of newspaper editorial boards is to interview what may amount to hundreds of political candidates for the purpose of endorsing some.
Routinely, the public asks why the newspaper should be telling them how to vote.
This is the same public that reads the Princess Di stories but will not read one line of a story in which the candidates’s view on issues are explored. These are the same people who stay glued to their sets watching “Married With Children” instead of tuning into their public TV station or cable access channel to listen to a debate among school board candidates.
Recently, the local newspaper ran an investigative piece about a significant community problem. It began on the front page and jumped inside to take up a full page. When I asked a friend if he read the piece, he complained that it was too long and he didn’t have the time to read it.
But on Sunday, he had time to stay glued to his TV set from 1 p.m. until 7:12 p.m. watching NFL football.
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Howard Kleinberg Cox News Service