News is only as valuable as society deems it. In order for a media outlet such as a newspaper to be successful it must speak to its audience in a meaningful manner. Newspapers face an even more difficult challenge, as they often have to find a balance between varieties of different stories to cover and they must to stick out amongst the competition to stay not only stay relevant, but in business as media constantly advances online traditional newspaper outlets are failing.
The Washington Post is one of the United States’ most prized newspapers. Their extensive coverage has broken some of the biggest national and international stories ever. From Watergate to the NSA leaks their stories have made their mark on history. The publication covers a variety of relevant topics from politics and international news to sports and small town events.
All papers lean towards certain story ideas and this one is no different. The Washington Post’s strengths lie in hard news and politics whether it is local, national, or international news. Browsing through their front page you can see the top stories are on the Islamic State and the growing support for action against them, Iraq and United States relations, and the Ray Rice domestic violence incident. Also gracing the front page are smaller stories on wrongful seizures by the Police, an opinion piece also on the Ray rice incident, and news of Russia blocking international flights. All of these stories are very political (but isn’t everything?) and of course of significant to a general crowd.
Now being a paper located in our nation’s capitol politics will obviously play a big part. In the “national” section of the paper I counted 10 out of 40 articles having something to do with politics. Being the first week of the National Football League, you would think something besides Ray Rice might be in this section related to football. Not one story graced this page. In the local section the “story” hasn’t changed much.
Articles on murders, Michelle Obama and more shootings maintain a very eye opening experience for D.C. area readers. The paper is littered with stories of doom and gloom. Now news as a business is generally not pretty, as the old adage goes “bad news sells.” Though I felt like the post could use a little more variation in it’s promoted stories.
As big as the Washington Post is a paper this size cannot cover everyone’s interests. Just as important as the large publications, community focused newspapers hone in on what a particular group is interested in. A niche if you will. The Jewish Week provides columns for those who want to follow the Hebrew community in the United States and around the world.
From the front page of the site you can see the clear emphasis on news within the community. The first article I read was about a controversial school board in Ramapo, New York in which an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community has taken over the board despite not having any children within the system. On the international scene, a story of three former Israeli Intelligence officers covers the front page. The three analysts have left the Israeli military in protest to what they feel is an unnecessary amount of spying.
Diving deeper into the website’s articles, long forum stories like Israeli nationals involved with illegal immigrants, Iranians with fake passports getting caught sneaking into Israel, and Jewish weddings in Ukraine provide for some quirky and exciting reading. The tie in’s to the Jewish community continued throughout a slew of different topics. From climate change and the political beat to hates crimes and accusations of terrorist funding by banks.
Media that pivots towards a certain group of people can be very successful. People are always looking for things that preach to their beliefs and ideologies; a major sector of media in the United States is now geared towards the Hispanic community. As the nations largest ethnic or racial minority representing 17% of the total U.S. population (according to the U.S. census bureau), creating media specifically towards Hispanics only makes sense. In Miami, Florida el Nuevo Herald is a publication focused on the Hispanic community.
Splattering across their front page is a heavy influence of international news from Venezuela, Cuba, and around the world. As many ethnicities exist within the Hispanic community, the publication feels like an international paper. As I mentioned previously that is the obvious focus. The top story today, October 1st, is about an Ebola breakout reported by the Centers for Disease Control in Dallas, Texas. Additional front-page headlines address European visa lotteries won by Cubans and sanctions against Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro.
On the national side of the paper the topics varies a Michael Phelps DUI arrest to California ban of plastic shopping bags throughout the state. The national section has no clear focus, which is fine for those who are looking for a variety of material. Locally the news focuses on immigration, civil matter within the city of Miami, and announcements of legal representation for minors in the South American community. This local section places a clear emphasis on the community, bringing what seems relevant to the population.
All three newspapers serve a part of the population; even if you are the most objective journalist in the world, you will indiscriminately leave someone out. Now for niche publications that focus on ethnicity, race, hobbies, and everything else under the sun this is a given. Although what about an esteemed newspaper, like the Washington Post? One may assume that their goal is to appeal to the masses. That may be so, though in it’s current state that is not the case. As I mentioned previously, the Washington Post places a clear emphasis on politics, which is great.
These types of articles provide some insightful reading on all levels of our government. It humanizes and exposes what is going in the political world for the average person reading it on their morning commute. This though can grow tiring. As much as I love reading features, international news, and sports, sometimes one may want to hear about a local artist who is getting some recognition. This is where the Washington Post could take could take a page (pun intended) from the other papers.
It takes itself too seriously and it seems to focus on the hard truth of the world. The Jewish week and El Nuevo Herald have amassed a treasure trove of feature/soft news articles within in their respective channels. Why not throw one of those on their front page? I’m sure Washingtonians would appreciate a story about a Google recognizing some Hebrew holidays, or perhaps shining some light on some great American achievements, like the Nobel prize in physics that was given to an 85 year-old citizen for his hand in inventing LED bulbs.
All news does not have to be bad news, The Washington Post can definitely relax their material, but that is not to say the other aforementioned papers can’t use some sprucing up. The Jewish Week focuses its material on the Jewish community. I get that . . . though I see a few major glaring holes for this publication. The absence of sports news on the website is disappointing at best. There is no sports section at all, and the last article with anything New York Sports related looks to be an article in August of 2013 about Amar’e Stoudemire applying for Israeli citizenship. Not that every paper has to have a sports section, but I am sure there are some interesting sports stories involving people of the Hebrew faith. Even if there is not any Hebrew Athletes (hypothetically speaking of course), I’m sure there are plenty of fans that would like to have that included in their daily read.
- My other major gripe with this publication is it’s political inclinations. Every other article seems to be a claim of anti-Semitism or Racism. An article debunking support for a Palestinian State on U.S. College campuses the author cites a source that “97 percent of the more than 100 universities tracked during the 2011-2012 academic year reported no such disturbing activity.” The author has this listed under “Anti Semitism.” Being anti-Israel and anti-semantic is not necessarily the same thing.
- Regardless of the material you are looking to produce, balance is key in the production of your news, el Nuevo Hearld does have plenty of that, though reading through their pages its hard to focus on what their objective for news is. Their pages are littered with articles from every corner of the globe. Which is great, though as the likely audience is someone who lives in south Florida and is Hispanic by birth or decent, wouldn’t they like to hear more about issues United States, and less about the issues around the world.
- The way the news is displayed is more chaotic than what is actually going on in the world. Instead of just one “world” news section. There is a section for Cuba, Venezuela, Columbia, and Latin America and than world. If they’re building all these separate niche sections, why not just have separate websites? Further more the local news is limited to “South Florida” and the United States. Is that not vague? As a subsidiary of the Miami Hearld, one would imagine that their focus would be a little clearer. The paper already made all these separate sections for the rest of the world, would it be so hard to have a separate section for Florida and perhaps metro Miami? The Washington Post even as a large publication has a nice separation of city and state.
The significance of media can be a valuable component to some. The objectives that different media organizations have vary. News is motivated by many factors, from race and gender to religion and geography. The important thing to stay relevant in media is to entice not only your target audience, but the people a little off the board too.
Bibliography:
Boren, Cindy, and Mark Maske. “Ravens Cut Ray Rice in Wake of Latest Domestic Violence Video; NFL Suspends Him Indefinitely.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 08 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
Nakamura, David. “Obama on ‘Meet the Press’: U.S. to ‘start Going on Some Offense’ against Islamic State.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 07 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
O’Harrow, Robert, Jr., and Michael Sallah. “They Fought the Law. Who Won?” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
Noak, Rick. “What Would Happen If Russia Closed Its Airspace to Western Airlines?” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 08 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
Clark, Amy S. “Crunching The Numbers In East Ramapo Schools Row.”
The Jewish Week. The Jewish Week, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
“Diagnostican El Primer Caso De Ãbola En Estados Unidos.” Elnuevoherald. Associated Press, 30 September. 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
“Estadounidense Gana El Premio Nobel De FÃsica.” Elnuevoherald. AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, 07 Oct. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
“Michael Phelps Es Arrestado Por Conducir Ebrio.” Elnuevoherald. Associated Press, 09 Sept. 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
“California Prohíbe Bolsas De Plástico Desechables.” Elnuevoherald. Associated Press, 09 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.
“Knicks’ Stoudemire Seeking Israeli Citizenship.” The Jewish Week. The Jewish Week, 08 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.
Mitneck, Joshua. “The Jewish Week.” The Jewish Week. The Jewish Week, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Oct.
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