Last week saw another milestone in the changing face of offline news with The Times’ big revamp. The move sees the paper continue to distance itself from its broadsheet past, but is it headed in the right direction?
From the new opinion columns on page 2 it’s obvious where the editorial direction is going. The paper is moving towards the much maligned ‘viewspaper’ model putting its writers’ opinions above its traditionally impartial news coverage.
Declining readership and consequently ad revenues continue to drive these radical newspaper overhauls in an attempt to slow this irresistible decline. The trouble is that the decline can’t be stopped and that papers might be going about this the wrong way.
The exodus of many paper readers to the internet and the wealth of opinion to be found there has made many outlets think that views are all that readers want. But it isn’t, and the consequences are bad for the health of the UK media and bad for those of us who like to make up our own minds.
Yes blogs are popular as many people love to write, hear about and debate different views but people also value unbiased and neutral coverage of the happenings of the day. People aren’t moving online because they only want opinion - it’s just the way things are going – smart phones, laptops and so on have made it much more easy to simply log on than go any buy a paper.
Rather than chasing that unachievable format that is going to reverse the offline media’s fortunes, papers must recognise there will be no return to the good ol’ days. However, they should continue to cater for those that still want a hard copy whilst respecting the fact that most still want the opportunity to make up their own minds.
Comments