Local vs. National: Which brand will be able to withstand the fight of the dying newspaper industry?

When I think of newspapers I think of Sunday mornings on the way to church, fighting with my sister over who was going to hand the brave man standing on the corner bearing his highlighter yellow shirt advertising the sunday edition of The Baltimore Sun the dollar that my mom and grandmother gave us. To think that the only recollection I have of any newspaper stems from years ago is sad to say the least, but who honestly can remember the last time they picked up a newspaper? As sad as it may seem - to some - can you honestly blame us? Our ever changing modern world is beginning to slowly diminish the physical edition of our favorite newspapers. From the internet, to the production of tablets and iPads, the accessibility of both local and national news has become much easier than what it once was before. With change comes a sacrifice of some sort. And with our world becoming more and more digitalized the use of certain things has began to deteriorate. Things that used to be a basic necessity have some how turned into something short of a hobby. As generations begin to change, the perspectives on different issues and things change as well. Who can honestly say that they would handle something the same way their grandparents or someone from any different generation would for that matter. As times change, you have to learn how to adapt and grow with the way things are, and I believe that thinking to be true with the newspaper industry.

When we think of the types of newspapers we have so many we can choose from.... From local ones, to regional ones to national ones. Though it may seem merely impossible to compare them, if you had to choose which one were to win in the battle of extinction which one would you pick to win and which one would you pick to lose.....? The obvious choice to win would probably be national news right,  leaving the local news to crumble away to pieces. But why? Though the choices may seem obvious are the answers to the choices that we made going to be that simple as well? Probably so, but lets take a closer look as to why .

When we think of the term  National  we probably think something of that appeals to a broader demographic, something that can reach people in almost every area of the country - or world for that matter- and something that is probably read by a more diverse audience. Like for example the USA Today Newspaper , a newspaper that is known for its diversity on controversial topics. Where as with a term like  Local  we probably think of something more restricted, something that probably won't reach a broader audience, something that will probably only be seen on heard by those that are in that designated area, like The Dundalk Eagle, a newspaper that is prominently known within the dundalk area.

When we hear about newspapers such as USA Today what makes it stand a fighting chance in our digitalized society? If you ask me I think its simply because of the demographic that it targets, as some would say "Its the best of both worlds" .  It has the right mixture of pop culture and politically correct or incorrect issues, it's controversial yet at the same time still playfully cynical. Its a "trending" newspaper, and that unfortunately is the type of society that we now live in. We live in a world that is not just subjective to one type of structure or order. We wanna keep up on whats in and whats relevant..  We can go from wanting to read about the latest celebrity gossip, to who won lasts nights sports event to the latest news on apple products. They manage to make their old school newspaper mentality trendy and somehow a cool thing to do.

On the other hand when hear about The Dundalk Eagle , the first thing that probably comes to mind is what the hell is that? At least that's what I thought anyway, which is probably

why they are on the losing end of the battle... Not only  is it specified for one specific area, if you are not from or at least familiar with the Dundalk area you probably wouldn't read something along the lines of this. I also believe that with newspapers that are locally based you get  a different audience that reads that newspaper as well. When you tap into local newspapers you really have to tap into the essence of what makes that community thrive and who lives in the area as well, its a lot more "traditional" based than what a USA Today would ever be. Dundalk, like any other area in Baltimore has its youthful aspects to it, but the root of it steams from a much older generation. Would you read The Dundalk Eagle to find out the latest gossip on keeping up with the Kardashians? Probably not.. Most locally based newspapers thrive on the response from the people in the area, and depending on the area, that can pretty much dictate the type of things you are allowed to do.


In closing, to be able to compete in this modern world I truly believe that you have to find a balance between whats modern and whats also traditional. Still keeping the integrity of your work while still tweaking it and making it appear to a much broader audience. And I believe that is what newspapers such as USA Today has learned to do, still keeping its integrity as a well established newspaper while appealing to the demands of our ever changing society.

Magazines in the checkout line: Airbrush Much ?

In walking down the checkout aisle of my moms favorite store and browsing the crappy magazine selection I couldn't help but notice the not so subtle images and news titles that were plastered all across the magazines. It seems as though if you aren't breaking up or secretly sleeping with someone else or handing out weight loss tips to women under 120 pounds you aren't popular.  Which brought about the question in my mind of the types of images that our society has to uphold in order to stay some-what relevant , and wether our perceptions of what is really real and what is ultimately not real truly tainted....

After looking at the magazines I really wondered if people actually bought these things or if they are just a quick grab to read while standing in the checkout lines.  All of the magazines were terrible in my opinion. With the blink of an eye you can literally go from racy political magazines, to boring time magazines , to the latest issues of vogue. None of the images are flattering nor do they portray an honest image of beauty or lifestyle choices. If pencil thin models and get rich schemes are not relatable to the general public how is it that magazine publications somehow manage to stay relevant? Though we hate to admit it these provocative and not so subtle magazine covers somehow manage to persuade us into thinking that this is the norm. In living in a society that is so centered around image and obtaining wealth and finding out the latest information on who's popular and not popular its no wonder why these magazines manage to stay on the shelves.
 

Though we may not physically purchase them and take them home with us and store them into our collections , they still manage to make it into our minds and homes . I can definitely attest to looking at an image of one of my favorite celebrities and going home to do a google search on the latest gossip blogs/websites to find out more.  And for some individuals it is much more than that, the images that we are presented with are not only of our favorite celebrities, but to some, our idols and the people that we aspire to be and essentially look up to. But are our favorite celebs and stars really selling us the truth? We as fans get so caught up in the image and look that our favorite artist or celebrity has to uphold, however is this a true portrayal the people that they actually are? In a business that is driven on looks it truly hard to distinguish between what is true raw natural beauty, and what is actually fake. And in browsing the magazines in the checkout aisle I noticed that more than half of the images on the magazines were sexually based. Women posing in underwear and guys with nothing but jeans on. Is this truly an accurate portrayal of beauty?

Though we may forget it the magazine world is nothing more than a business. A gimmick centered around selling false hopes and expectations of things that we seem to forget are not real. In a business where perception and truth seem to be so tainted it amazes me how they manage to stick around. But until we can separate the false advertisement of what beauty and life is like from the actual truth I believe that the magazine world will continue to thrive. Though statistics may show a decrease in magazine sales, I believe they profit off something much more. We as consumers have to remember that perception is reality and that what we ultimately think of ourselves won’t be altered by the images or articles that we come across.

Additional Articles: 

http://www.beautyredefined.net/photoshopping-altering-images-and-our-minds/

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/03/the-truth-about-beauty/305620/