NOW THAT all our “evening” newspapers have ceased to be such any more – they all prepare new and print their copies during the night before their publication date – is it about time they tried to catch up with the world ?
With copies on sale as early as the day’s morning newspapers, have any of them thought carefully about what their new daily schedules should mean ?
My guess is they haven’t one iota.
Proof of this is today’s South Wales Argus from Newport, and its treatment of the retirement of Rhodri Morgan as First Minister.
That paper is printed overnight in one of two distant towns in England – which, changes according to the night of the week - and is then freighted in by lorry. Copies should be on sale by daybreak.
That is what happens in much of North America – although my knowledge is limited to southern Ontario, I would be surprised if things are much different in most of the rest of Canada and the United States. The Argus is owned by a United States company.
Along the north shore of Lake Ontario, there is one big city – Ontario, from which are published a clutch of heavyweight mornings. Those papers are on sale in the host of small towns along the lakeside.
But this long string of towns, perhaps 20 or so miles apart, each boasts its own local paper. These are rarely weeklies; instead they are dailies. And almost every one is published in the early morning having been printed at a central printing plant. They run in head-to-head competition with the Toronto mornings.
Are they each on the edge of closure due to the competition ? No, they are each thriving (admittedly, less so this year than last).
In their close geographical proximity to each other, they are rather like our “evening” newspapers in Wales, and indeed in England.
But they are totally unlike their Welsh and British cousins in one way. They are in fact miles ahead.
“Evening” papers in Wales specialise in local news. So do those in Canada; if you want to know what your council or football club decided or did the previous day, you turn to your local daily in Canada to find out.
But they are not so narrow-minded as to halt their interest in everything once they reach the final shop which possesses a sales point, or at the council boundary.
Canadian local dailies will also contain regional, provincial and indeed national news. Perhaps indeed international. All right, the news isn’t brilliant; it’s culled from the wire services. Perhaps, it is a bit livelier than that put out by Press Association, our equivalent.
You may well reply that Britain possesses no provinces or regions – which means little provincial or regional news.
But Wales does. It is called Wales, and it possesses a National Assembly.
Now, true, because of the machinations of Welsh Labour MPs our own little assembly no doubt possesses far fewer powers than the colonial-era institution based in Toronto.
But those powers are growing. Even more important, our li’l ol’ Assembly is getting established. Happenings there are becoming a talking point.
The biggest such talking point is the pending retirement of Rhodri Morgan – a fellow who is certainly extremely well known and important throughout Wales. An announcement was made around noon on Thursday. Far too late for our new-style “evening” papers; their copies would have been all distributed hours before.
But, with their new-style schedules, perfect for the following day’s editions.
So I picked up the Argus in suburban Newport, in the hours after the Western Mail had devoted (according to the BBC news) six pages to the subject. And it had even been on the London news from the BBC.
As the Argus newspaper execs would no doubt boast, the Mail doesn’t sell many copies in their county.
So what did the Argus do to cover such a momentous announcement ? A leading article, certainly. And what else. If the Mule thought it was worth six pages, what did the Argus think ?
About six paragraphs at the bottom of an inside page. After all, Mr Morgan didn’t live in its circulation area. Nor was his office in Newport. So, it wasn’t worth much.
As equally, the Argus isn’t worth much. And the same applies to almost all the Welsh, English and Scottish evening papers. Those papers have changed fundamentally in their publication schedules (some of their staff now work evening, and even overnight, shifts).
But you wouldn’t think anything had changed. No wonder parts of British daily press are dying. Death started from the head, and it’s sinking towards the feet.
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