Our local paper is called the "Chronicle". Some of the more cynical residents of this town call it the "Chronic".It's not difficult to see why. Yesterday, for example, the headline read - Man picks bad spot for call of nature - I kid you not - look at the picture.
Apparently the editor believes that this kind of headline, appealing as it does to the lowest common denominator, increases circulation. If true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, the headset of Toowoomba residents, or at least those who buy the Chronicle, is questionable. What on earth is interesting or engaging about a story describing this level of detail about some twit's drunken behaviour?
I feel sorry for the young reporter who has her picture emblazoned under the by-line. I wonder if she had any choice in the subject matter of her story? I can imagine her going on to greater things - she obviously aspires to the same kind of churnalism as for example, Andrew Bolt.
When I was a kid in North Queensland, I occasionally went to local dances with my parents. Often there would be a "lolly scramble", when some half drunk notable would throw handfuls of sweets on the floor of the hall, and then watch whilst kids nearly killed each other in retrieving them. Lolly scrambles provide a good metaphor for this publication.
1 comment:
Yeah, it's hard to get the same effect online.
I don't know why they bother with the headlines - you are either the sort of person that buys the paper everyday to read on the bus/train/whilst having a coffee - or you're not. The content of the front page makes no difference to that decision. It's just editors trying to embiggen themselves in front of other media types.
"Phwoar, did you see the headline on the Daily Beast today?"
Post a Comment