Newspapers: Hard or Fluffy?

In reading The Provo Herald, I find that about half of the cover section is hard news and half is soft news. The front page, however, is mostly human interest stories of local people, very soft news, with only a little blurb of real hard news, about a democratic leader, and a small article on a new local elementary school. The real hard national news about oil prices and politics was found deeper in the A section of the newspaper.

The sports section was basically purely hard news, with stats and game reports all the way thru. There was very little extra commentary, just cold hard facts.

The Lifestyle section was basically pure soft news. It was magazine-esque in it's content; there was no real news to report, just tips and style ideas.

Is the Newspaper still the "watchdog" for the public? I think that depends on who you are. In my hometown, Bozeman Montana, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle was remarkably liberal and biased, and many conservatives in that area didn't feel a connection with it. I know I certainly was rubbed the wrong way. But to some people, the newspaper served to inform them and confirm their beliefs. The paper certainly exposes crime and lets people know what is going on, but I think Muckraking has gone by the wayside and become the job of documentary film makers and novel writers: eg. "Fast Food Nation," "Nickeled and Dimed," "Press for the Truth" and "Supersize Me." So the newspaper is less of a watchdog now, and more of a secretary. There is no real muckraking, but much informing and keeping up to date of citizenry.

Chapter 6: Radio Stations

Here is a brief outline of five Utah radio stations:

KHTB 94.9 FM
FORMAT: "Hot 94.9 The Blaze - Utah's Hottest Rock Station" (Rock)
ADVERTISING: Dollar Loan, Tela Performance, Del Taco. general local offers.
TARGET AUDIENCE: People of any age who like rock music. (I called and asked)
WHY IS IT SUCCESSFUL: This station plays very current, popular songs, such as "Womanizer" by Brittany Spears, "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, and "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. These are big sellers on Itunes right now, and people like this kind of music. I would listen to this radio station, because it plays songs I know and like. Other popular singers this station is playing today include Chris Brown, Christina Aguillera, and Nickelback. It's successful because it is just plain good music! Also there was hardly any advertising, mostly just music.



KENZ 107.5 FM
FORMAT:107.5 FM The End (Adult Album Alternative/Old time Country)
ADVERTISING: Karl Malone Toyota, Best Deal Spring, Chevrolet (Mostly Auto)
TARGET AUDIENCE: Oldish Adults who like old time country
WHY IS IT SUCCESSFUL: This is fun, quirky country and music that would appeal to an older crowd. This could be a nice background music for a office. They played Instrumental guitar music, and "Lay You Down." This did not appeal to me at all. But I can see how old, rural, adults would like to listen to this music and reminisce about the old days. They keep this station alive. There was very little advertising, mostly just solid music, which appeals to music listeners. Ads tend to turn listeners off.


FM 104.3 "The Cowboy"
FORMAT: Country Music
ADVERTISING: Dodge trucks, Jewerly, Medicine, Peppermill Concert Hall, etc. (Adult to college student content)
TARGET AUDIENCE: College students and older who like Country
WHY IS IT SUCCESSFUL: Country is popular with many people, especially in Utah. It's fun music to listen to. The music is the appeal, I believe. There were a significant number of advertisements, but they were interesting and fun to listen to advertisements, so they were tolerable between songs. Songs such as "Young" and "Start a Band" are popular and appealing. Good music and a country audience keeps this radio station alive, because advertisers see how many people tune in.

AM 1160 KSL
FORMAT: This is talk radio, with Sean Hannity and others
ADVERTISING: Legal Zoom.com, Geico, Medicines, Mitsubishi sales
TARGET AUDIENCE: Conservative listeners. A liberal would never want to listen to this. :)
WHY IS IT SUCCESSFUL: It resonates so powerfully with conservative listeners! I got riled up listening to the outrages of liberals while listening. I felt my own personal political views validated. This is one of the only media which has a blatantly conservative perspective. Where else would conservatives go to have a pat on the back?

AM 1280-The Zone
FORMAT: Sports talk radio
ADVERTISING: Jared's Jewelery, State Farm Insurance, Noise Cancellation Headphones (genereal interest advertisements)
TARGET AUDIENCE: Sports fans
WHY IS IT SUCCESSFUL: This radio show appeals to people who love sports. They can catch up on the latest stats, hear an educated opinion about current sports, and become informed for conversations with sports friends. Sports people love this sort of thing! That audience keeps this station alive. Another fun function that makes the station popular is that it has a "whiner line," a telephone line whereon anyone can call in an complain to a public audience about something that irritates them. This not only makes for heightened listening (and thus more advertising $) but also appeals to gripers. This unique idea makes the radio program a novel and successful one.

Chapter 6: Radio: It's Personal

Radio has been described as the "most personal" of the media. I believe this is due to several factors.
For one thing, listeners have very personal control over the radio. Most people drive alone in their cars the majority of their time (who else from your family would come with you to work everyday?) As such, the lone drivers have complete control over what is played, and can decide what they want to listen to with the twist of a knob. I know of very few people who sit and watch television all alone for hours on end. It's just so lame and anti-social! In contrast, lone radio-listening in the car is perfectly socially acceptable. When you are the only person to satisfy, you have complete control over what is played.

Another factor that makes radio more personal than magazines, newspapers, or television, is that it brings a live human voice with no indicated audience right into your car or room.
For example: I turn on the Rush Limbaugh Radio Program. Rush starts ranting, telling me "Do you know what's wrong with this country? I'll tell you what's wrong with this country!" I can't see who he's looking at to see who he is addressing, but his voice is loud and clear as if he were present in my car. I feel like he is talking directly to me. Singers have the same effect. I hear "Desperado" by the Eagles, and I feel like they are playing and singing right to me, like they KNOW me. This phenomenon is not present in television, where messages come from a box, and images clearly show that the speakers are either not looking at you, or else addressing you insincerely. They don't know you! Magazines and Newspapers don't know you either, they just prepared their information for the masses. Radio, on the other hand, with it's floating and poignent voice floating out of thin air to you, feels much more personal. You can sing along to music, (most people do, I bet :) or argue with talk radio show hosts (at least I do. :) because it feels like they are right there with you in the car.

Music is an essential element of radio programming because it provides ambience in an obscure location and advertises new songs. These two functions make it appealing to listeners for several reasons. Let's take "If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback, as an example:

-SOCIAL FUNCTION: A kid turns on the radio in his car because he wants to impress his friends with his savvy "in-the-know" knowledge of music. He hears "If Everyone Cared" and remembers to ask his friends, "Have you heard Nickelbacks new song?" to boost his social status.

-ENTERTAINMENT FUNCTION: A man turns on the radio and hears Nickelback. He starts drumming on his dashboard and singing along. He enjoys the music and is entertained on an otherwise boring drive (or boring afternoon at work.)

-EMOTIONAL FUNCTION: A tired and discouraged civil rights activist hears the song on the radio and it lets out her frustration. She revels in the defiant and powerful message of the song and feels better after hearing it.

ADVERTISING FUNCTION: A producer from a record label which sponsors Nickelback wants to get their music out there and boost sales. They put it on the radio and sales go up.


Talk radio also is a popular part of radio. Why so? I personally love listening to Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage or calling in on local talk radio shows. Listening makes me feel more informed and aware of what is happening in the world. My priest quorum used to discuss stories and topics we had heard from Glenn Beck all the time. I am also entertained by these speakers, and my personal political views are vindicated on the air. Many conservatives in America don't speak out because they feel like they have a minority view. This is probably due partly to the (debatably) liberal television and print media bias. Radio is the last truly conservative media. Listening to a conservative soap-box speech from a powerful speaker is justifying and refreshing. It is also rather entertaining. For these reasons talk radio is popular and probably will continue to be so.

Popular Paper Problems

There has been a trend recently of large-scale metropolitan newspapers losing circulation, while community papers are thriving.



EXAMPLES OF BAD CIRCULATION IN THE METROPOLITAN ARENA:

Paper Circulation for six months ending March 31 2008: % change vs. '07

USA Today......................................2,284,219 .........................+0.27
Wall Street Journal.......................2,069,463........................+0.35%
New York Times............................1,077,256 .........................-3.85%
Los Angeles Times..........................773,884...........................-5.13%
New York Daily News................... 703,137...........................-2.09%
New York Post............................... 702,488......................... -2.35%
Washington Post........................... 673,180.......................... -3.57%
Chicago Tribune............................ 541,663........................... -4.44%
Houston Chronicle....................... 494,131............................ -1.79%
Arizona Republic ..........................413,332........................... -4.70%
Newsday........................................ 379,613............................ -4.68%
San Francisco Chronicle............. 370,345............................. -4.20%
Dallas Morning News.................. 368,313............................-10.59%
Boston Globe................................ 350,605............................. -8.34%



(Information from http://seekingalpha.com/article/74417-newspaper-circulation-wsj-usa-today-manage-to-buck-trend)



Obviously, most of these papers haven't been doing very well. Why? I called the Provo Daily Herald circulation office and asked them that question. They confirmed what I had thought: people just don't have time to read big newspapers. Steven, the man I talked with, called it "time empoverishment." The internet is just a more convenient, inexpensive, and efficient medium for gleaning national information than a bulky and expensive newspaper. Television also provides news in a quick and efficient manner, and requires less time than tedious reading does.

Steve also told me that studies show that about 40% of people buy newspapers for the advertisements. They want the information about sales and offers, and newspaper is a way to get it. But with the development of the online media, advertisement is easier than ever. If I want to see an advertisement for paints, because I'm working on a house project, I can go look up good deals immediately on the internet. I can even request emailed advertisements. For these reasons, it makes sense that newspapers would be on the decline.



However, small community papers are bucking this trend.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle is a bit of an example. In 2008, its circulation for the third quarter was around 17,800 people. Although overall circulation went down 2% from 2007 to 2008, house delivery sales went up, as well as online subscriptions.



What can be learned from this? While people may not go out of there way to buy newspapers on the street, they do like local papers delivered to their houses or viewed online.


Why would local newspapers be doing well when metro ones are declining? I beleive (and Steve agrees) that small community newspapers are still the most effective way to get local news. National news and advertising can be found all over the internet, but local news stories--like personal profiles, city council meeting results, and events schedules--are harder to find. They exist in the far reaches of cyberspace. These small-town news stories and articles belong best being locally circulated thru newspapers. There is no discrimination between cities online. You can get info no matter where you are from. Thus, information pertinent to only your community is harder to find, because no geographic boundaries exist. For these reasons, community papers are more successful in the face of the rising online media boom.

I believe metro papers will continue to decrease in popularity, while local papers will remain an important source of local news for a very long time.

Chapter 5: Specialized Magazine Readership

I went to the local Barnes and Noble bookstore and picked up a copy of a magazine I had never seen before: Woodcarving Illustrated.

I have never been passionate about woodcarving; the extent of my carving experience was whittling with a dull knife at scoutcamp. But this magazine actually got me a little excited about the prospect of woodcarving. I think I may take it up as a hobby.

In looking for the "target audience" of this magazine, I found a helpful note from the Editor, Shannon Flowers: "With every issue, we receive emails and letters from readers commenting on the mix of carving styles we've included...Experienced carvers say we don't have enough advanced projects and others claim there aren't enough articles of beginners. For every letter I receive asking for more of a particular type of project, there is another letter requesting the opposite. Over the course of the year, you'll find the mix pretty even."

This shows that feedback comes from both expert and beginning carvers, and thus both types of woodcarvers read this magazine. There is virtually nothing of any interest in here for anyone who does not or does not desire to carve wood. All of the ads pertain to carving, to list a few: wood tool sharpeners, wood, workshop lamps, workshop sawdust collectors, carving design software, carving tools, carving Santa contests, carving books, hand forged knives, and woodburners. There were no ads that did not pertain to this topic.

Articles were written by and about woodcarvers. One man taught children to appreciate carving by helping them carve faces into sweet potatoes in school, and he was highlited for it. There was a how-to guide for artists to make a relief mantle piece and another on creating a house sign. These were obviously for experienced carvers, because the tools they referred to were unfamiliar to me. There were also a few articles appealing to beginners, explaining what grain is in wood and why it is important to pay attention to it. This article by Everett Ellenwood was interesting and informative to me, but I can see how it would be obvious to an expert. He had great illustrations of using grain, though, like this piece, called "One Feather."

If we look at Woodcarver's Illustrated using the "uses and gratifications" theory, it is clear that this magazine exists because it offers information and entertainment to a small group of people who don't get that kind of information any other way. I've never heard of a woodcarving channel on TV. The magazine thrives because it fills a need that no one else is filling.

Chapter 5: Impact of Internet on Magazines

Internet has been big for almost two decades now. While this new medium has impacted the magazine industry in some ways, the perseverance and popularity of magazines suggests that they still hold an important place in our society.

Electronic media make everything more readily available. Right now, I am looking at www.readersdigest.com and finding all sorts of current and applicable articles. The development of the internet might intuitively seem like an antagonist to magazine sales. The two seem to compete with eachother. In some ways, they may. Those unwilling to pay for magazines can get their information from online sources. But in other ways, the internet has helped the magazine cause. Subscribing to a magazine is now easier than ever: all you need to do you can do online in a matter of minutes. Advertising is also facilitated. Magazines can place ads anywhere on the internet to attract subscribers.

It is my opinion (and I dare say a verifiable one) that the internet will not drive magazines out of business. In high school, many of my teachers subscribed to magazines. I have a few theories as to why they are preferred:
1. The internet has a lot of information, and a lot of false information. People trust what they read in print more than they trust what they read in cyberspace.
2. There is something nice about having a tangible medium. I love holding magazines and looking at their glossy pages. Who doesn't?
3. Some magazines don't publish the same information online as they do in their publications. There were new and unique articles online at www.readersdigest.com, different from those published in the magazine. To get the good stuff, people have to subscribe.

The internet isn't changing much these days, apart from spreading in influence. I do not see it changing much in the future. A good friend of mine says, "laziness is the mother of invention."
What could change about the internet that would make it easier to use? It is so efficient, quick, and easy!! If the internet does not change, there is no reason it's current effect on magazines should change. Magazines will always be important to our society.

Chapter 4: Paper or Plastic?

For my classes, I prefer using real paper textbooks. These are the advantages I see in using them:
1. If they sit on your shelf or on your floor, they are a constant reminder that you need to study.
2. They contain quantified information. When I read a textbook, I see that it is so many inches thick, so many pages long. That makes me feel like I have a goal with an end destination; I can one day say "Ha! I have conquered you, textbook! I learned everything you threw at me!" I have looked at our chemistry textbook online, and I feel overwhelmed in doing so, because I feel like I am looking out at a vast ocean of information. The end is not in sight!
3. Computers are fickle things. They get grumpy if you glance at them wrong and catch colds and viruses very easily. When this happens, you call up your computer repair man and wait for a few days before you have internet use again. With a paper textbook, there are no such risks and delays.

The only reason I would prefer to use an online textbook would be if it has flash animation educational resources. These are helpful and available only in this medium.

I have never used an e-book, and the thought does not appeal to me. I like paperbound books for my leisure reading. Why? Several reasons come to mind:

1. If I have a paperbound book, it is mine! I can put it on my shelf to remind me I have read it. I can write notes in it if I want to, lend it to a friend, hold it, heft it, love it! I have no sense of ownership over online books. They are public property. Anyone can read them. I like paper books just like people like to own their own land. There is something gratifying about ownership and responsibility for objects.
2. I am a prime example of "online ADD." I get distracted from my goals very easily when I am online and end up in the far reaches of cyberspace reading about penguins, because I clicked on some add that looked interesting. Gmail and Facebook especially would distract me from reading an ebook, whereas a paper copy has no distractions.
3. I have heard that reading on screens is unhealthy for one's eyes. I enjoy reading paper more than looking at a bright screen.

For these reasons, I am a paper book and textbook fan.