Sick of bad news? Feeling all credit crunched? The Yellow Advertiser, a free, twice-weekly, independent newspaper in Essex, has a solution: it will publish only “good news” stories in its print edition, leaving all the negative stuff for its website. Editor Greg Fidgeon tells HTFP the edition will carry only “uplifting” stories about new jobs, new investment in schools and so on. He claims it’s never been done. In fact, many local papers have banished negative news from their pages over the years to counter accusations — from readers and advertisers — that they focus too heavily on misfortune.
It’s a ridiculous stunt that raises a serious point: why is online regarded as a second-rate home of news for local papers? Fidgeon says, “of course, we cannot say bad news will not happen this week. But those wishing to read it will have to do so on our website, because it will not appear in print.” With many newspapers’ websites still regarded the poor cousin of once profitable print editions, large and small newspaper companies have paid only lip service to the idea of a digital future while apparently hoping the cars, homes and job ads will magically return to print. The suggestion that print readers deserve to be shielded from reality but online readers somehow do not is just another example of how far away many titles are from an integrated, sustainable publishing model.
(Photo Credit: Dan4th)
Update: This could be something of a trend: independent publishing company Big Spark is launching two free, weekly “soft news” papers in Greater Manchester, according to How-Do. The Bury Independent and The Bolton Independent will be launched in the next two months with initial circulations of 10,000 each and follow the launch of the Cheshire Independent in January. Here’s how that paper describes its editorial mission: “It seems like whenever you switch on your TV or open a paper, there’s doom and gloom everywhere. Well not here! Not with your upbeat Cheshire Independent…”
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2009\/03\/31\/419-local-paper-prints-good-news-only-edition-bad-news-goes-online\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_76a9ec2ddb21dc09942cedd4bc63fdda","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}