I read this little slice of bullshit at work today. Here’s what I find wrong about this story in this free “newspaper”… First, they claim to have the widest spread of any paper in Halifax. Here’s what is so wrong with that statement: it’s free and handed out to anyone who gets off a bus in the morning. It’s like saying air has the widest use of any inhaled substance. It’s ubiquity, coupled with the fact that it’s free means it’s gonna have that sort of readership. Secondly, and finally, they make the wild conclusion that the newspaper industry is stronger than ever. Apparently 69% of Canadians read a newspaper each day. Again, ubiquity would lend to that statistic. The reason why it annoys me so much is that the entire article reads like a giant advert for Metro. It’s not news to tout your own newspaper on the front page, especially when it ends in a line like this: “Readers and advertisers alike turn to Metro first every day for information, ideas and inspiration.”. But, I read the paper, and that makes me just a another numb-skull that reads Metro and lends to the so-called thriving newspaper business. What a load.
—Halifax Hates Its Daily Metro Fix
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2009.
ahhhh the power of marketing. Didn’t mom tell you not to believe everything you read?
Sadly, this business model is the future of printed news methinks. Of course, it could just be trying to delude itself out of business too, hard to say.
Meh,I don’t mind my news all fluffy and compressed if it comes with a side of free. I quite like it in fact. Also, your argument about air doesn’t quite hold up – air does not require promotion and manuel distribution; newspapers do. Give credit where credit is due.
If the goddam paper is free then let it sit in a bin, like the Coast, so if anyone wants it they can pick it up. I am getting fed up with people waving the shit in my face or getting on my bus in the morning and delaying the route. Oh, and the rag is a piece of shit. If you don’t agree check out their “entertainment” section. It reads like the National Enquirer.
Metro sucks. I liked what it was before. All I read now are the horoscopes.
Why was my post deleted?
Maybe Tim just doesn’t like you.
I haven’t deleted anything today.
Haw, I love how the ‘hates’ in the title was changed to ‘loves’. Owned.
When something is free, it’s going to be taken, whether the person taking it wants it or not. To brag that they’re widely read, is just PR. If they put a small fee on the paper, even as little as a quarter, I bet they wouldn’t be so widespread. To use that paper as a news source is really limiting. It’s just meant to be read in a hurry while on the bus or during your coffee break. If it were on tv, those stories would be considered soundbites.
In a similar story, the Herald is claiming it’s the most widely read paper in the region. No? You think? Maybe because it has no competition. The Metro certainly isn’t competition. They’re not even remotely on the same level of providing news.
Gotta love self promotion. Newspapers have the amazing ability to spin something positive out of nothing.