the guardian's dying

Muffin`

Muffin`

Muffin`

Caporegime
Joined
21 Apr 2004
Posts
33,231
Location
Bristol
http://order-order.com/2012/09/24/guardian-wants-broadband-poll-tax-bailout/
icon14.gif


What an unfortunate set of circumstances for the guardian. With the heavily left leaning New Statesman having to move back to the centre it's got no choice but to use it's power and influence and lobby the government for a helping hand..
 
While it might be fun to watch the Guardian squirm if you're taking a slightly longer term view I don't think this is a good thing - it tends to be better if there's a variety of opinions across the political spectrum available. I don't much care whether you like right or left leaning papers or something else entirely but a lack of competition will usually lead to poorer quality available to customers - you might think that the options are poor now but they're only likely to get worse where there's less choice to keep them honest (for want of a better phrase) and standards will probably slip across the board.

As for £2 surcharge for the broadband providers - it's not something that would bother me terribly, if it goes towards supporting journalism then fine. I would however hope that it would come with some conditions for funding that would mean fewer adverts and if possible more investigative pieces (for instance) rather than having it just diverted to paying for paparazzi pictures of some D-lister with her top off.

UncleRuckus said:
Surely that nobody is buying it would indicate that there's a strong correlation that it is indeed; crap?
Click to expand...

If popularity is a measure of quality then X-Factor has to be good by that metric? I'd argue it's dross designed to appeal to a mass-market while having the benefits of being cheap to produce and the ability to derive multiple additional revenue streams but then again - what do I know?
 
Let me get this right, they want me to pay more for my internet so I can help out a newspaper I don't purchase? Why don't they just go the route of the FT and charge for access to their website.

A company can go bankrupt for only 2 reasons, either they're under bad management or their product line is simply not wanted.
 
Yeah I think this is a bad idea, if they can't adapt their business model to meet a growing online customer base in contrast to their declining print media then tough titties frankly.
 
RomanNose said:
Not a good idea, how can we be so sure that the internet is to blame? Couldn't it be that fewer people care about the news?
Click to expand...

It could be, but only in the same way people using horses for transport going down after the invention of the motor car 'could be' down to fewer people caring about horses. :D
 
Reuters is where you go for news, Guardian, DM, and RT are the places you got for biased speculation and opinion. They all serve a purpose.
 
semi-pro waster said:
While it might be fun to watch the Guardian squirm if you're taking a slightly longer term view I don't think this is a good thing - it tends to be better if there's a variety of opinions across the political spectrum available. I don't much care whether you like right or left leaning papers or something else entirely but a lack of competition will usually lead to poorer quality available to customers - you might think that the options are poor now but they're only likely to get worse where there's less choice to keep them honest (for want of a better phrase) and standards will probably slip across the board.
Click to expand...

A drop in revenue is indicative of a falling readers, this is because people are getting their news elsewhere. I do not think it's a financial issue for its readers, all papers are competitively priced and their website is still free and just as easy to access. I think the fall is due to the opinions the paper pushes, it's no longer the liberal paper it once was and I can't give it the same credit for it's rational. I think it's sanctimonious of it's critisim of soceity and the world.

The UK propping up failing businesses when consumers have gone elsewhere is a line we do not want to go down again. The world is changing, it needs to change with it. If people don't buy your paper because you're vilifying bankers and tax dodgers (whilst parting in it yourself no less) whilst defending the dregs and Socialist Dinosaurs then it's time to change your opinion if you want to stay in business.
 
Muffin` said:
The UK propping up failing businesses when consumers have gone elsewhere is a line we do not want to go down again. The world is changing, it needs to change with it. If people don't buy your paper because you're vilifying bankers and tax dodgers (whilst parting in it yourself no less) whilst defending the dregs and Socialist Dinosaurs then it's time to change your opinion if you want to stay in business.
Click to expand...

It is evident that circulation of both sides of the press sponsored political spectrum are in decline, from papers on the left and right.

It's printed media, not just that of one political persuation or leaning.
 
semi-pro waster said:
If popularity is a measure of quality then X-Factor has to be good by that metric? I'd argue it's dross designed to appeal to a mass-market while having the benefits of being cheap to produce and the ability to derive multiple additional revenue streams but then again - what do I know?
Click to expand...

I actually agree with you about the X-factor, it is also a very nice way for them to bleed naturally talented people and throw them in the rubbish when they have finished gnawing on their bones.

What I previously said was actually a loaded question. ;)

The guardian supports education for all, even when the price of this was lowering standards; so nobody would feel bad about not getting good grades. Now we're in a situation where the mass population enjoys rotting their brains with garbage; I find this rather delicious that the Guardian is now struggling.
 
Whilst I can't comment on the guardian specifically, most big news papers will have celebrity writers (or whatever they call them) and a ton of well paid employees. I dare say theres a lot of fat to be trimmed before they even consider being given any Government handouts. If they're receiving handouts, they should be doing it on the basis that they'll be Government owned and should publish where their money is being spent, but generally I am against Government funding on this sort of thing. All those £2 a months add up.
 
I am all for a big shake up of the media industry. If it means that we will have to see some losers then I don't have a problem with that. They are still running on old business models. They could probably modernise their business model and downsize their operations and turn a profit quite easily, they not exactly struggling when there offices look like this:

http://goo.gl/maps/nPBxK

I do hate to see 100+ year old papers fail. But this is 2012 and they need to start pushing the boundaries of reporting again, become real journalists again and start breaking new ground or they are going to fail.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom