The Sun Is Not The First Paper To Misjudge The Mood November 11, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Journalism, Newspapers, Social media.Tags: Daily Mail, The Sun
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For a newspaper that prides itself in being attuned to its readers’ sentiments, it is odd to see The Sun so out of step on the Jamie Janes affair. Odd but not unique.
Prime minister Gordon Brown may not be wildly popular across the country but many feel he is victim of a smear.
As the BBC’s Nick Robinson noted on his blog and on the Ten O’Clock News last night, it’s “clear from the phone-ins, the text messages, the blogs and the like that many share that sympathy [with Brown]“.
And that includes those who have passed judgement on The Sun’s website itself.
To take some of the most recent comments:
Asleroth: I truly am sorry for her loss. but give Brown a break, at least he went out of his way to even write a personal HAND written letter, most people would not have even done that, even the Queen does not send out hand written letters it’s all computer
jessicauk: [sic] fell sorry for the pm, seems nothing he does nowadays is right.
Jamie-101: Yes, the view that the note contains 25 spelling mistakes is clearly that of an illiterate who does not generally write by hand. Quite odd and disgusting to reduce the conflicts and the loss of life to this utterly puerile level. Brown is wrong on many things; he is honourable in writing thus.
The last time I can recall a national newspaper being so out of step with its readership (or should that be its commentariat?) was when the Daily Mail published an interview with former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Binyam Mohamed.
Here is a flavour of the reaction to a reasoned and largely sympathetic piece with Mohamed, a victim of “medieval” torture, who, let’s not forget, was not found guilty of any terrorist acts:
Ship him back to Ethiopia and stop using my taxes to house and feed him!
This man is NOT BRITISH, illegally entered the country, went to Pakistan (for help in beating his drug habit – yeah, right!) so, to be blunt – WHO CARES.
You put yourself in the Terrorist arena mate so you take the consequences of your action.
Er…. go away sunshine.
The backlash, far more predictable perhaps, has echoes of the more recent case.
But where the Daily Mail may have expected a negative reaction, The Sun is left slightly stunned.
Related:
- The Sun’s sympathy for a grieving mother… or simple exploitation?
- Daily Mail Ends Moderation. Will Anybody Notice?
Jan Moir Meet ‘The Big Gay Who Runs The Internet’ October 19, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Newspapers, Social media.Tags: Daily Mail, Jan Moir
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Lots of column (and blogosphere) inches are being written in response to the suggestion that the Jan Moir backlash was an orchestrated campaign.
And lots of it is very cogent. But perhaps this, tweeted on Friday afternoon, deals with it best. Typo and all:
Related:
- TheMediaBlog.co.uk debates Jan Moir’s Stephen Gately column on Sky News
- Is the Daily Mail in denial over Moir outrage?
- ‘Tory sleaze MP dies of cancer’: Daily Mail Finds New Ways To Offend
Telegraph And Mail Go Troughing With The Micro Pigs October 14, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Newspapers, Search.Tags: Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Google
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Further evidence that the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail are print media’s most aggressive online operators. And their latest success is all down to eight inches of bacon-busting micro pig.
Micro pigs are, apparently, the latest celebrity accessory and many of your fellow surfers have been searching for news and information about these must-have pets.
So much so that according to Hitwise, ‘micro pigs’ was the fastest moving search term in the UK last week.
Never ones to miss an opportunity, both the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph were quick out of the traps (the pen?) with some puff on the pigs.
And it’s worked a treat. As Robin Goad points out today, the Daily Mail has been the grateful recipient of one in four clicks from ‘micro pig’ search results. The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, got a very handy 13 per cent of downstream traffic.
And just like the little pigs, all the search traffic is organic.
Related:
- Is This The Ultimate Daily Mail Headline?
- Telegraph PM, Premature RIP For DIY PDF?
‘Tory sleaze MP dies of cancer’: Daily Mail Finds New Ways To Offend September 28, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Newspapers.Tags: Daily Mail
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I wrote last week about how the Sunday Times’s AA Gill had broken the unwritten obit code when dealing with the recently departed Keith Floyd.
Well, judging by this headline from the Daily Mail, it would appear that it is open season on the dead:
(Hat tip: @badjournalism)
Related:
- Is This The Ultimate Daily Mail Headline?
- Gill Breaks Obit Code, Flambés Floyd
Is This The Ultimate Daily Mail Headline? September 24, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Newspapers.Tags: Daily Mail
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The headline below doesn’t come from one of those Daily Mail headline random generators. Rather it featured in the real paper earlier this week. The online version, meanwhile, is true to the print original down to the upcapped ”HAVE” .
It’s such a perfect example of its form that it is causing waves on the other side of the Atlantic. Cory Doctrow of the crazily popular Boing Boing (tagline: A Directory of Wonderful Things) is responsible for the rather blurry image below.
Related:
- The Express Fiddles While The Mail Earns
- One Of The Best Photo Captions Ever
- Daily Mail Ends Moderation. Will Anybody Notice?
Daily Telegraph Meets Fail Whale In Case Of The Phantom Twittercrat September 4, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Newspapers, Social media.Tags: Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Twitter
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It was one of the more entertaining tit-for-tats of the week. The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Daily Express all ran stories about the government preparing to appoint a £120k-a-year ‘Twittercrat’ to teach it how to use social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Bebo.
Nice story, except it wasn’t true.
In a rebuttal far better written than the original job ad that sparked the row, the Cabinet Office set out five key inaccuracies in the papers’ reporting (“The job title is wrong. Details of the job description are wrong.” etc).
Could the Cabinet Office use those very social media tools to get its message out?
For more read my latest Journalism.co.uk column: A telling tale of the Twittercrat who wasn’t
The Express Fiddles While The Mail Earns August 17, 2009
Posted by jonbernstein in Newspapers.Tags: Daily Express, Daily Mail
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It may have passed you by but the Daily Express is redesigning its homepage. There’s an open beta for you to peruse and pass judgement on. So far the Twitterati seems unimpressed*, often for good reason.
And while the Express continues to fiddle with its weather widget, horizontal navs and news tabs, its mid-market stablemate the Daily Mail gets on with the job in hand – driving traffic.
And in at least two areas the Mail excels. A fan or otherwise, you should at least concede that:
1. It has the most grabby picture teasers of any UK newspaper site, doubtless improving its stickiness and likely encouraging repeat visits. Low rent, high impact.
2. It is the most unapologetic practitioner of the link-bait headline – often four or five decks deep, always bursting with proper nouns.
You will all have your favourites, but I was rather taken by this seven-liner from yesterday’s sports section:
One headline, 35 words, four Premier League clubs, three managers and one player. The URL is even more brazen, moving the valueless ‘What the pages say’ to the end and limiting the generic, connector words:
Laughable it may be but you can bet it’s effective.
Despite some recent doubts about the financial value of the link economy, this kind of approach is a reflection that search engines, aggregators and other assorted referrers make or break your site. Not the look and feel of your homepage.
Sure your homepage matters – but mostly for those inside the organisation (internal stakeholders, if you must).
Given most outsiders don’t come through the site’s front door – they are taken straight inside by the army of referrers - isn’t it time to stop obsessing about a single page?
(*UPDATE: Malcolm Coles offers this alternative Daily Express wireframe…)
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