Is The Herald Getting Worse?
Oct 12th, 2008 by Ben
I snapped a screenshot on Friday of the the row of photo-lead stories highlighted on the SMH site. Here are three of the five:
These didn’t appear in that order, I joined them, but they were all there at the same time in the five photo-lead stories above the fold.
I think it’s disgusting. Playboy, lesbianism and porn, right in your face.
It seems to me the site is including more and more sexual content. If there’s a story on a formula 1 driver, they’ll have the headline link next to a photo of some of those formula 1 models in tight shorts. The models don’t have anything to do with the story, but the smh people know that they’ll get lots more clicks if they show some (-one elses) T & A.
Stories with sexual content are big attractors, and the nature of online presentation means that Fairfax can get instant data on how many people are clicking through to various stories. The temptation to do a disproportionate number of stories with sexual content, many of them salacious, is evidently very high, in the quest for advertiser dollars.
There’s an ongoing conversation about the sexualisation of our children. I’m worried we’re sexualising ourselves.
In addition, I often feel like I’m being guided to certain stories by the site, herded toward stories where advertisers have spent big money. These are the ones with catchy content: celebrity, sexuality, controversy, along with the ubiquitous saucy picture.
I still much prefer reading the print version of the Herald, because I resent feeling shepherded when I use the online site, and the print version at least makes it feel like I’m contributing to the decision-making process.
What do you think? Is it getting worse? Are they to blame? Is there anything we can do to turn back the tide?
(Incidentally, there is a text version of the smh site, but it’s just the headlines, which makes it next to useless).
yes it is.
abc all the way!!
yep. I was thinking this very thing this morning. SMH is definitely tabloid style online. Living away from Australia I rely on the online sites for Aussie news. news.com is worse. I am not a fan of ABC website it seems to lack much in the way of interesting commentary, but maybe I need to switch.
The Australian isn’t bad. It’s a News Ltd site, but it’s a whole lot better than news.com.au, which is just the Telegraph in digital. Absolute rubbish.
Mate, repeat after me: “News is just another business. News is, and always will be about getting rich.” A few of these and you’ll feel heaps less stressed about it, but this relief is unfortunately accompanied by a suffocating sense of doom. This is planet earth, homie. Stop Joe Blow from clicking on every bikini-flirting link and stop Jane Blow from clicking on every celebrity-goss link and you’ve solved the problem. It’s not SMH that’s the problem, it’s the dude sitting next to you on the bus and (ironically) the lady behind the counter at the newsagency (is that actually ironic?). Good luck. I’ve given up on all the bastards.
PS - I get all my news from bathgates.net.
It’s a lot closer than the guy next to me on the bus, mate!
And…
PS - I get all my news from bathgates.net.
Good. Just make sure you click on the ads.
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