Monday, October 22, 2007

The future of newspapers: Taking the news out of publishing


The tyee has put together an interesting look at the state of journalism these days, as more and more of our news providers get lumped into giant corporate entities, seemingly disinclined to provide that news stuff that gets in the way of the real gravy, the advertising.

They examine the marketing strategies of the large metropolitan papers like the Province and Sun and how if your postal code isn't in their target demographic, then they don't necessarily want you as a reader and almost go out of their way to chase you away. (Which could explain why the papers tend to get bumped as frequently as they do up here)

I used to think that was perhaps a bit of an overstatement, but then while glancing through the Weekend Vancouver Sun I couldn't help but notice the vast amount of advertisements for Vancouver's booming condo scene over the last few years.

Many of the splashy ads which seem to take up much more room than any actual news in the papers, feature properties that begin at 1.5 million dollars and go all the way up to 10 million dollars a unit. Who exactly is sitting around the kitchen thinking about plopping 10 million down on a rooftop apartment?
Surely they're not aimed at many of us in Podunk (or anywhere else for that matter)? Then again you have to wonder that if someone has ten million dollars to spend on a condo, are they really reading the Vancouver Sun or any other ink stained sheet? They most likely have people hired on to get their thumbs covered in printers ink while searching out the perfect ostentatious address.

Perhaps those glossy ads and outrageous sums being asked are just pure entertainment for the
average British Columbian, kind of looking through a window at an expensive item that you'll know you'll never be able to afford or playing the lottery with dreams of winning the ten million dollars you would need to begin to move in.



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