Metro Newspaper Continues to Wear the Dunce Cap

[Michael Hardner]

Most media knows better than to confuse correlation and causation, yet today the Metro newspaper again showed why they give it away for free:

Today's Metro

Study TV doesn’t just turn kids into couch potatoes — it also makes them poorer math students and less interested in school, says a long-term study on the toll of the tube on children.

I'm pretty sure they didn't establish a causal relationship here. The CBC Story describes a link - which seems to be more correct.

[Edward]

The Metro article doesn't really get at the complexity of the issue, does it? Heh. Weak.

[Shwa]

Nothing beats 'The Central' where the editor - when he is actually editing for spelling, typos, etc. - is known to drop some choice words into his editorials. I beleive one time he actually printed the f-bomb to get his point across. This rag is about 90% advertising (see the 'personals' section in the classifieds) and uncredited news stories. There is the odd original story.

http://www.ocentral.com/newspaper/index.html

What kills me is the level of advertising in this newspaper. I doubt that any of the advertisers actually read The Central. But it is "Durham's Most Trusted Name in News"

[M.Dancer]

Nothing beats 'The Central' where the editor - when he is actually editing for spelling, typos, etc. - is known to drop some choice words into his editorials. I beleive one time he actually printed the f-bomb to get his point across. This rag is about 90% advertising (see the 'personals' section in the classifieds) and uncredited news stories. There is the odd original story.

http://www.ocentral.com/newspaper/index.html

What kills me is the level of advertising in this newspaper. I doubt that any of the advertisers actually read The Central. But it is "Durham's Most Trusted Name in News"

That's one ugly newspaper. Looks like they still do paste ups on flats...

In the business, that kind of paper is called a shopper. Read as much for the ads as for the news...it carries just enough editorial so that it isn't a flyer and can get the postal subsidy...it serves a purpose though...without vehicles like that small local businesses would have no place to advertise efficiently...and many, many newspapers reporters got their first opportunity to write in things like that...

[Shwa]

That's one ugly newspaper. Looks like they still do paste ups on flats...

In the business, that kind of paper is called a shopper. Read as much for the ads as for the news...it carries just enough editorial so that it isn't a flyer and can get the postal subsidy...it serves a purpose though...without vehicles like that small local businesses would have no place to advertise efficiently...and many, many newspapers reporters got their first opportunity to write in things like that...

But one would think that advertising efficiently would not include paying for an ad that nobody will read. But it must have some readership or the editor/owner has deep pockets. It is a baffling existence. I am hoping the tenderfoot reporters get all they can out of it before flying the coop for better journalistic pastures.

The other local chain in the Durham Region is the 'This Week' brand of newspapers which are exactly as you say above. The paper comes in at a few pounds per issue with a few ounces of news. Somedays the flyers are thicker than the entire weeks worth of news. But it is Metroland so they got big bucks behind them...