(this is annie)

It is painful to watch newspapers die, not only because they're dying, but because they're dying so awkwardly. Readers aren't picking up the newspaper anymore, so what does the Chronicle do? It adds more colored ink — not more relevant, localized reporting — to its pages and makes that the big selling point. That's akin to NBC rolling out a set of commercials touting its color teevee. (Would have been smarter to invest in revamping the 2001-era style website in the way the NYT has created a fantastic online presence.)

And then, in a facepalm marketing moment, the paper does a big ad campaign featuring "full, vibrant color" photos of its... white columnists. When I look at the ad, I see more of the same yawn-inducing, passionless, who-cares headlines that keep me reading the NYT instead of local newspapers. (It's also an ineffective ad because those headlines are obtuse. Nothing about "For a good time, skip the first item" commands attention or explains what the column is about.) I also see a bunch of white, middle-class people, and while there's nothing wrong with being a WMCNPerson, I keep wondering how other people see themselves and their experiences reflected in the paper.

Sometimes when I can't sleep, I think about what I'd do if I were in charge of a newspaper. Right after shitting my pants in fear, I'd make radical editorial changes. Here's the thing: The people who don't buy newspapers are not going to buy newspapers. The people who do buy newspapers do so for the news. So why do many papers go after the American Idol crowd instead of going after the NPR crowd? It makes no sense. Pour fewer assets into celebrity "news" and hire smart, hungry reporters who crave community-focused journalism. Hire highly opinionated, love-them-or-hate-them columnists. (It's not expensive. Journalists are paid a pittance.)

If you have fascinating stories, relevant articles, must-read op-eds, then the readers will come. Maybe even some of the Idol crowd, if you're good at it. When your paper is dying, you might as well set it on fire. I understand the daunting situation editors and publishers are in, but I don't understand why more don't take risks as their product suffers. Playing it safe hasn't worked. Time to rage against the dying of the light. (Yes, I know I'm rambling.)

Labels: doom