Today the guys over at CQN have produced their latest analysis of the national press and the challenges facing it.
David at CQN has been doing this a while, and his work is invaluable.
You can read the article by clicking on this link.
Print media is in freefall. Everyone knows that. The internet is one of the reasons why, but that, in itself, is a multi-faceted thing. Part of it is that advertising is drifting this way, as anyone who ever complained about the number of them on this site knows full well.
People have stopped buying newspapers.
Why would they, when many of the national titles they used to buy are now available in online editions, many of which are free? News aggregator sites have opened up many more options to those looking for stories. And then, of course, are the blogs. Many of the blogs offer better quality writing than the tabloids – it wouldn’t be difficult – and if you’re going to read biased writing better it comes from your own side.
Because that’s the real reason the Scottish media is dying.
People don’t trust these folk anymore.
We know what we are reading is biased, just as we know the editorial line and the political slant of every single red top. Most people want to read intelligent analysis, not something clearly filtered through a PR firm or handed to the hacks on a plate by a club. Our hacks pat themselves on the back and hand each other awards although every major story of the last five years or more has been broken by amateurs.
We know these people pursue agendas that have nothing to do with the truth; on the contrary, much of their output is designed to conceal that. People expect better and when the blogs are producing good work and the writers and contributors out there doing digging and the research the hacks can’t be bothered to it’s obvious where readers will go.
Those who sit in the editorial offices at the mainstream titles abrogated their responsibilities long ago and treat their readers like idiot children. But people are better informed than they’ve ever been and know the red tops produce sub-standard fare at best. With more choices than ever before, The Record and The Sun and others are near the bottom of the list.
They refuse to see it. Like the fans of the club they most promote, they live in a bubble. They sneer at the bloggers and you, the readers, for turning away from them not realising that attitude is but a small part of the reason why.
They don’t tell the truth, and most people now know it.
And that’s killing them … and they deserve it.