No news is bad news

[BigDogsWang]

Am I imagining it, or is there simply nothing worth buying the papers for presently? It's so bad that The Sun has to create it's own headline by sneaking into Sandhurst (not that I consider The Sun a newspaper). And TV news channels seem to be scraping the bottom of the barrell with their headline stories.

I don't want anything bad to happen to get my interest in the media again, but does anyone agree with me?

[londondave]

I gave up buying news papers 20 years ago. I rarely even buy magazines.

[Greg222]

Yes we had this conversation in our office last week, they are as you put it 'scrapping the barrell'

[OBonio]

I've never really bothered with Newspapers. I used to get the Sun on a Friday for the crossword during lunchtime. I watch the news now and again but invariably find they aren't reporting on things of real interest. To sort the real issues of the day from the chaff, I watch Question Time.

So, yes, I agree entirely. But all they are doing is pandering to the masses and quite rightly so. Viewing figures are everything these days.

[elgroucho]

I don't buy papers, but there really is no decent news about at the moment. I suppose the whole G8 thing is going to kick-off before long though. I have had to turn over the 6 O'clock news the last couple of nights as it's just been sooooo boring! Fortunately I have satellite.

[nuoyg]

I agree.  Me and boyfie cancelled papers as we never bothered reading them as it's all so nothing.  I always find they dedicate a whole page to an article on texting or ebay or something!!

[Tock389]

It is slow news-wise at the moment - it is just the way it goes. A similar problem happens in August - known in the media as the "silly season." This is when there is nothing news-worthy about, all the MPs, schools etc are on holiday

[Ducati]

The Sandhurst thing really ******* annoyed me - the low life on this **** rag have basically bolloxed up the public using the military library, which is a huge shame. I used this place on a number of times as a student, and found it invaluable - what is the liklihood of them allowing pople to use it now? Pretty slim I would imagine.

 

And they weren't doing this as a public service, that is utter utter ******** - they did it to sell a few more ***** rags.

 

Sandhurst is absolutely massive, and impossible to make secure - any of us could jump over a fence with an empty ice cream tub with a clock and some plasticine in it - it does not make it a security risk.

 

These people are ******* scum bags.

 

*********.

[BigDogsWang]

You don't work for The Mirror do you Ducati?

[dmsjps]

You're not imagining anything, BigDogsWang: I haven't bought a national paper for, oh, I can't remember now, but at least 20 years. I buy my local evening paper, which will contain anything important I may need to know, plus what's going on locally; but as for the national daily rags go, no thanks, don't see the point.

 

I think the only things I might have missed out on from not buying daily nationals is who's *****ing who, behind who's back, when they're doing it and where. Am I interested? Not in the least. Oh, and I might have missed out on who wore what at what event too, what a shame!

[maxi29]

Hmmm...let's see; the European Union is going through one of its biggest crisis for years, if not decades; there's a major G8 conference covering Third World debt (with accompanying concert) and climate change; there's a discussion paper about the future of smoking in public places in the UK and a proposal to introduce extra charges for peak hour travelling on rails. Add to this mixture the Ashes (every four years), a Lions' tour of New Zealand (every 12 years, I think) and the start of Wimbledon....no, there's nothing in the papers.

I

[BigDogsWang]

Maxi, my point is the stories you mention are being rammed down our throats day in day out. There is no 'new' news.

I read The Times, and their headline today is about 'A' Levels. Woo.

[acw]

The summer is always a bit quieter newswise and we ALWAYS get A levels and GCSEs stories at this time.  Nothing's being rammed down anyone's throat though - there's no chap standing in the middle of your office or supermarket shouting about it through a mega phone. Your pub landlord doesn't quiz you on it before you're allowed a pint.  And most people here just said they don't buy papers.  If you don't like the news, don't switch on C4 at 7pm etc

PS - I don't but newspapers, I read bbc.co.uk and buy the Economist instead.  I will admit to reading the Metro occasionally too. 

[Little Lady]

Can you imagine trying to work for one of those papers though? You would have to fill it up with rubbish wouldn't you as you would struggle to actually make a paper in the first place. I never buy them either and always go on to the BBC news webpage for news each day, it's the only place i bother to read at least i know it's going to be truthful eh! The Sun and Mirror and the Star (if you can call it a paper more like a soft porn mag) are just full or absoloute rubbish that only hormonal men probably read, good luck to them if they like reading it.

[maxi29]

BDW, jounalists following up on stories is nothing new; if you'd picked up papers for a week 20 years ago, you'd have seen the same stories in the press day after day.
It's bizarre: the commonest complaint I hear about journalists (and yes, I'm one) is that they are too interested in stories that are transient, aiming for the quick headline and they don't follow them up. I must say that I have some sympathy with this view; we do tend to be too obsessed with new stories and drop old ones too quickly. However, yours is the first time I've heard of someone saying they want more 'instant' stories.
As Little Lady says, the pressure to fill up a newspaper with fresh stories every day is immense and that's why so many non-stories are used. If hacks were forbidden to write about a stoyry for two or three days running, then the pressure to fill the pages would even greater and you'd be more likely to find rubbish in it.

[the.dr]

i just buy the sun for the transfer speculation!