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usa
today's reputation
as "Mc Paper" persists
from the strength of the bandwagon,
not from a legitimate analysis
of its content. Much of the
criticism is based on the
"it has color, it must
be evil" theory.
Like Soul Asylum once said,
nothing attracts a crowd like
a crowd. I live in the New
York City area, so arguments
with the usa today subscription-bashers
around here are likely to
focus on a usatoday - vs.
- New York Times competition.
It amuses me when I am instantly
deemed treasonous or illiterate
for preferring Gannett's no-nonsense
concoction.
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This
country has two tiers of local papers. First, there are
a few biggies like the NY Times. Sure, that paper has
some excellent stories - but it has fewer of them. Its
international coverage is strong, the national coverage
can be quite sharp but ignores a lot of things, and on
local issues, it often gets beaten to a pulp by the
tabloids. |
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I've
occasionally read Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and
LA Times, but can't comment as much about those. The
second tier - the vast majority - are much more
content-free. They have a couple of detailed town
meeting stories, but most of the pages are filler - Dear
Abby, recycled AP items. Sure, this is an economic
decision - more material would mean hiring more
reporters at the exorbitant sum of $15,000 a year. |
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But I
digress. The talk-show parody "Night Stand With Dick
Dietrich" referred to an in-depth, two-paragraph article
in USA Today. Yes, the stories are short. Thus, in about
40-45 minutes, I can learn everything I need to know in
the news. If a particular story fascinates me, there are
many other resources for additional information - local
papers, trade publications, Internet. Still, I keep my
usa today subscription. |
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It's
better to get a short blurb about every news,
entertainment and business item than to read a paper
with a few long articles that ignores everything else.
In addition to the usual short articles, usa today
clocks in with excellent enterprise stories that offer
more detail and background. |
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Off the
top of my head, two of the more impressive ones were
about the real-life impact of de facto abortion bans,
and an explanation of how arbitration as a substitute
for courts is all the rage but often screws the little
guy. Many Americans, including much of the so-called
media elite, exhibit a provincialism that would make
Slobodan Milosevic proud. Thus, they proclaim their
local bar, their baseball team, their newspaper the
best. |
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They
don't give a damn about what's happening in, say, Iowa.
For people who do have curiosity about other regions,
the usa today is tops. I highly recommend a usa today
subscription. |
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