William Plasencia

atomic scribe

Personality is not opinion

I was reading Jeff Jarvis‘ take on the supposed divide between what’s presented in mainstream media as opinion and what’s presented as news. He very aptly pegs Nick Denton’s constant barrage on mainstream media as an assault “to destroy all journalism.” But the forces at work here are much more subtle and more profound.

Look, during the past few years (read: since Bush stole the election of 2000) I’ve been much more vocal about my strongly-held belief that the media is not neutral and that, especially in the case of newspapers, they perhaps shouldn’t try to be. I’m going to crib a little from Nick’s rant because he’s right about this about the New York Times:

“Everybody knows that the political bent is liberal; that the newspaper’s reporters have opinions… . None of these are crimes; they only become embarrassments because of the paper’s official position.”

I think the rise of citizen journalism, or whatever you want to call it, is driven precisely because the audience wants opinion — they just want know upfront what the writer’s slant is. And let’s not confuse opinion for personality. Another strong factor in the popularity of blogs is the persistent presentation of provocative content. Many blogs offer a reader experience that’s the antithesis of today’s mainstream newspapers, many which read as if their reporters suffered through some crucible in order to achieve the level of objectivity required by their editors, only in end producing wholly unsatisfying pablum.

And thus one of my problems with what Nick says, with Jeff’s tacit support, is that they gang up on the Times, when really they can pull the trigger on almost any major metropolitan newspaper I think I’ve ever read. [Maybe not the St. Petersburg Times, which is like the Switzerland of newspapers and, really, I've never gotten the Swiss.]

If journalists step out of their ivory towers long enough to actually talk to their audience about what they like to read and why they like it, I think they’ll find my observation isn’t off the mark. But you don’t even need to talk to a single person to find evidence that it works. Just travel to Latin America.

Say what you will about the region, but most Latin American capitals have vibrant newspaper markets. You can usually find a periodical to fit your taste and while no single one might completely satisfy you, pick up two or three and you might just get there.

My good friend Ricardo, just got back from São Paulo and brought me back a copy of the newspaper Folha and a couple of copies of the magazine Isto É, and if I had had the foresight I would have told him to bring me back a copy of O Globo and Veja. [Yes, I still like to read paper. I learn a lot from advertising, as well as editorial, and that's lacking on the Web.]

And those are just mainstream examples. There a dozens of local newspapers to fit every taste.

It used to be that way in the United States before the industry consolidated to the sorry state it’s in now. There often was an evening paper and a morning paper and one was conservative and one was more liberal, and they might have two or three counterparts that ran the gamut. But today, in Miami for example, I have to make do with the Miami Herald and if I want to supplement I have to read very targeted publications like the Daily Business Review or small-circ newspapers that are of varying quality.

So, what I’m saying is, maybe Denton and Jarvis are on to something. And maybe it’s time for media companies to wake up to the fact that one-size does not fit all for their audience. Wake up before you’re woken up.