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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/28/has-sydneys-daily-telegraph-lost-touch-with-its-readers
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Has Sydney's Daily Telegraph lost touch with its readers? | Has Sydney's Daily Telegraph lost touch with its readers? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Every newspaper editor | Every newspaper editor |
| since the days of horsewhips and publish-and-be-damned has claimed to be a | since the days of horsewhips and publish-and-be-damned has claimed to be a |
| servant of the needs and desires of the audience. | servant of the needs and desires of the audience. |
| At its best, this | At its best, this |
| imperative is what divides journalism from public relations and spin – and for | imperative is what divides journalism from public relations and spin – and for |
| that matter, from most other kinds of communication. All of the various | that matter, from most other kinds of communication. All of the various |
| inquiries and textbooks, press council guidelines and codes of ethics come | |
| back to the same thing: the first duty of journalism is to the public. | back to the same thing: the first duty of journalism is to the public. |
| The claim can also be | The claim can also be |
| both arrogant and dishonest, used to avoid accountability for editorial | both arrogant and dishonest, used to avoid accountability for editorial |
| judgments about which of the public's many concerns should be amplified. Commercial imperatives | judgments about which of the public's many concerns should be amplified. Commercial imperatives |
| might normally be assumed to exercise a rough accountability measure on | might normally be assumed to exercise a rough accountability measure on |
| editors' tendencies to amplify their own prejudices, but not always. | editors' tendencies to amplify their own prejudices, but not always. |
| Case study: News | Case study: News |
| Corporation's the Daily Telegraph, Sydney's dominant tabloid and Australia's shrillest | |
| newspaper. Over the past few months, repeated front pages have left media | |
| watchers wondering who the Telegraph conceives its audience to be. | |
| There was the vehement | There was the vehement |
| campaign against Labor in the last federal election. One News Corp insider has told me he expects the Tele | |
| lost audience as a result. Many of its readers are traditional Labor voters. | lost audience as a result. Many of its readers are traditional Labor voters. |
| Then, in the past couple | |
| of weeks, we have had front pages ridiculing those who are unhappy with the | of weeks, we have had front pages ridiculing those who are unhappy with the |
| budget – which we know includes a substantial majority of Australians. We also | budget – which we know includes a substantial majority of Australians. We also |
| know the budget hits middle Australia and less well-off disproportionately hard, | know the budget hits middle Australia and less well-off disproportionately hard, |
| including Tele readers. | including Tele readers. |
| Against this apparent | Against this apparent |
| evidence of a widening divide between audience and editorial line we might put | |
| the continuing campaign against cyclists. It's class war. Inner urban ABC | the continuing campaign against cyclists. It's class war. Inner urban ABC |
| watchers might be assumed to be more likely to cycle to work than Tele-reading commuters cursed with a | |
| long commute. | long commute. |
| So too the campaign for | So too the campaign for |
| better infrastructure and services for Sydney's western suburbs – credited by | better infrastructure and services for Sydney's western suburbs – credited by |
| some with helping to get political commitment to Sydney's second airport at | some with helping to get political commitment to Sydney's second airport at |
| Badgerys Creek – although that is surely giving more credit than is due, given | Badgerys Creek – although that is surely giving more credit than is due, given |
| that it's been on the cards for almost half a century. | that it's been on the cards for almost half a century. |
| Last October News | |
| Corp's group editorial director, Campbell Reid, appealed to the | |
| "serving the audience" rubric when describing why the Tele was so shrill. It was all about the character of Sydney, he | |
| told a forum organised by the media newsletter Mumbrella. | told a forum organised by the media newsletter Mumbrella. |
| "Sydney has been described as a | "Sydney has been described as a |
| loud, hungry and vicious, sometimes aggressive place and therefore you get the | loud, hungry and vicious, sometimes aggressive place and therefore you get the |
| Daily Telegraph," he said. Adelaide, on the other hand was "much quieter, more | Daily Telegraph," he said. Adelaide, on the other hand was "much quieter, more |
| conservative" and that was why the Adelaide Advertiser, also owned by News Corp, had been less strident | |
| in campaigning against Labor. | in campaigning against Labor. |
| How that translates to Brisbane, where News | How that translates to Brisbane, where News |
| Corp's Courier-Mail was at least as vehement as the Tele, or to Hobart and Melbourne, where the tabloids were more | |
| moderate in tone, Reid did not detail. | moderate in tone, Reid did not detail. |
| News Corp insiders know that it is | |
| really the choice of editors that determines tone. The particular culture of | really the choice of editors that determines tone. The particular culture of |
| News Corp Australia makes editors the most powerful people in the | |
| organisation. | organisation. |
| Paul Whittaker, the editor of the Daily Telegraph, and Chris Mitchell, | |
| his mate and editor-in-chief of the | |
| Australian, are the most influential editors in the News Corp Australian pack. Both live in Sydney, and cut their journalistic teeth in | |
| Queensland. | Queensland. |
| Brisbane and Sydney are the cities in Australia where the News | Brisbane and Sydney are the cities in Australia where the News |
| Corp culture plays out most strongly. In both cities, editors who did not fit the | |
| culture have found their tenures unceremoniously cut short in recent years. | culture have found their tenures unceremoniously cut short in recent years. |
| How does this relate to commercial imperatives? | How does this relate to commercial imperatives? |
| Not much, although the general disruption in the industry makes evidence hard | Not much, although the general disruption in the industry makes evidence hard |
| to find. | to find. |
| The | The |
| Daily Telegraph suffered an | Daily Telegraph suffered an |
| 11% fall in circulation year-on-year for the audit period that | |
| ended shortly before last year's federal election. But it is impossible to draw | ended shortly before last year's federal election. But it is impossible to draw |
| the conclusion that Labor-voting readers were turning away. The Herald | |
| Sun was down almost as much – 10%. The Courier-Mail had a smaller fall of 9% and the supposedly genteel Advertiser 10%. | |
| Meanwhile, Fairfax Media titles sank a bone-crushing 17% for the Sydney | |
| Morning Herald, and 16% for the | |
| Age – admittedly partly as a result of a deliberate move away from larding | Age – admittedly partly as a result of a deliberate move away from larding |
| the figures with cheap bulk deals and unprofitable sales. | the figures with cheap bulk deals and unprofitable sales. |
| Print circulation is down in double digits | Print circulation is down in double digits |
| more or less across the board, with the industry claiming this is more than compensated | more or less across the board, with the industry claiming this is more than compensated |
| by digital uptake. | by digital uptake. |
| That's a two-edged sword for the "serving | That's a two-edged sword for the "serving |
| the audience" mantra at News Corp, because the industry's | |
| new Enhanced Media Metrics Australia measurement for reporting on the total | |
| audience across platforms has repeatedly shown that the best-read newspaper in | |
| the country is the liberal and moderately toned Sydney Morning Herald. All these figures should be taken with a | the country is the liberal and moderately toned Sydney Morning Herald. All these figures should be taken with a |
| bucket of salt. The perfect measure of media reach has yet to be devised. | bucket of salt. The perfect measure of media reach has yet to be devised. |
| Another measure of newspaper influence is in political outcomes. In the last federal election, the Daily Telegraph in NSW and the | |
| Courier-Mail in Queensland campaigned hard against the Labor government. | |
| These were the newspapers that ran headlines about clowns, and "kick this | These were the newspapers that ran headlines about clowns, and "kick this |
| mob out". The Adelaide Advertiser, the Hobart Mercury and the Herald | |
| Sun had their moments, but played it comparatively straight in an | Sun had their moments, but played it comparatively straight in an |
| atmosphere in which Labor was clearly on the nose with voters. | atmosphere in which Labor was clearly on the nose with voters. |
| Yet when polling day came, it became apparent | Yet when polling day came, it became apparent |
| that Labor's defeat was built on a huge swing to the Coalition in Tasmania, and | that Labor's defeat was built on a huge swing to the Coalition in Tasmania, and |
| a huge surge of support in Victoria. Voters in NSW and Queensland were less | a huge surge of support in Victoria. Voters in NSW and Queensland were less |
| inclined to switch governments. | inclined to switch governments. |
| Doubtless many factors, including the quality | Doubtless many factors, including the quality |
| of the candidates, came in to play – but there is nothing in these figures to | of the candidates, came in to play – but there is nothing in these figures to |
| support the idea that News Corp telling voters in NSW and Queensland | |
| what to think and how to vote actually worked. | what to think and how to vote actually worked. |
| It is, I think, the first time in which a | It is, I think, the first time in which a |
| strong News Corp campaign against a sitting government has failed to | |
| have any discernible impact whatsoever. If I were Rupert Murdoch, that would worry me. | have any discernible impact whatsoever. If I were Rupert Murdoch, that would worry me. |