The bad-idea filter was clearly not fully engaged when the yahoos at Dose, 24 Hours and Metro decided to launch daily newspapers in Vancouver.
I fall into the demographic slot of 18-34 years old. The target demographic for all three newspapers. I've read the first editons of Metro and Dose. I haven't tried to find 24 Hours, but their orange boxes litter the landscape. Metro, by the way, let's me download a PDF of the day's edition. I hate PDF.
[ADDITION: Why do these sites not offer e-mail news alerts or RSS? I get the feeds from CBC and the Globe and Mail. I want content on my terms not theirs. Metro tells me at the bottom of their pages "This site is updated regularly, so check back often." Good luck with that.]
My first reaction to these papers, F-sharp!@#
Dose is pleased to inform me that their marketing department "tells" them the target is 18-34. They've written that in the damn paper, and the publisher or editor interviewed on CBC chirped away the exact same phrase. Essentially, here's the nice little, multi-layered box we'd like to slot you into. Step inside, the marketing department has clearly labelled the way.
To me, this is worst than some advertiser deciding women are the target market for their new chainsaw. Does it have smaller handles, it is easier to use? No, but we coloured it pink and put "For Women" on the packaging. Great.
My second reaction is how many trees is this exercise for my attention consuming?
Here's my question for all three papers. Are you using 100% post-consumer recycled paper? Because if you're not, I have no interest in supporting you.
What's the print run and circulation of your paper? How many get thrown out each day? Are the leftovers recycled to make the paper for tomorrow's rag or are they sitting in land fills.
[ADDITION: and if the target audience is commuting, what are they doing with those papers once they're done? Are recycle bins littering the downtown core? No. So if I want to read your paper, first I have to get it the way you want, then I have to be mindful and recycle it. And no, I do not want to check your website daily.]
Forget the sustainability of your target audience and your advertising revenues. Tell me your plan for the sustainability of the planet.
Posted by monique at April 4, 2005 10:24 PMI've been meaning to blog about Dose, but I think it's considerably better than the other two. It's still not something I'd read, but I was impressed by:
* Only one page of celebrity news
* Almost every story written by a staffer
* The best design of the three, by a signficant margin. Also the webbiest of the three designs.
Personally, I found it refreshing that they talked about demographics. After all, the other two newspapers are doing the same thing--Dose is just saying it out-loud.
Posted by: Darren at April 4, 2005 11:48 PMI agree with Darren that the content of Dose was more interesting than Metro, and I applaud the fact that it isn't just news feeds. Design-wise, it's different. I felt like I was reading a map. Web-wise, they're offering blogs, so why didn't they think about offering RSS or at least an e-mail news alert with headlines and summaries?
Posted by: Monique at April 5, 2005 07:41 AMI've taken a quick look at Metro and Dose, but I'm not much of a newspaper reader. In fact, the only time I really read the paper is when I'm relaxing at a coffee shop or eating in some hole-in-the-wall diner.
The form factor of the new dailies is perfectly suited for this type of reading: there aren't many pages and the dimensions are nice and small.
As for the design, Dose has an interesting approach, which really sets it apart from all of the others. It's similar in spirit to a university paper, without all the engineering jokes.
Of the three, I imagine Dose will be the only one I watch, their music section looks like it may have some interesting stuff.
Posted by: Jason at April 6, 2005 03:46 PM