The differences between the New York Times and the New York Post are becoming small as they look more alike for every day. The layout, imagery, and even the content has changed drastically after newspapers became an “Internet” thing.
The truth of the matter is that news is a business. Businesses must have an income to survive. Before the Internet were a thing, it was pretty easy for broadsheets and tabloids to thrive in their own papers. However, now that papers are a thing of the past, things have changed; quite drastically at that.
The New York Times didn’t live off of ads and clickbait, but they now need monthly subscribers to survive. How can they catch our attention without a smudge of clickbait? They now have to target younger adults to pay their bills, as the older generation does not consume the Internet nearly as much as young adults do. If you go into the New York Times now, you’ll most likely see a layout reminding you of a tabloid. You’ll see colourful pictures, big headlines, a big button on top of the site with SUBSRIBE written over it.
Now go to the New York Post. See any similarities?
Admittedly, the New York Times used to be a platform where educated people would share rightful information to an educated audience. Now that they have to compete with news organisations from all around the world educated people writing fancy words doesn’t do it anymore.
Fake news has become the new word of 2020 (OK, maybe behind “Lockdown” and “Coronavirus”) and it has been understandable why. Back in the day people saw a clear difference between shining tabloids and bland broadsheets. No one picked up the Daily Mail for a scientist’s opinion. They picked it up to read about Paris Hilton’s new jacket or Micheal Jackson’s new girlfriend. Similarly, no one picked up the New York Times’ paper to read about the newest Hollywood gossip either. Now that the line has been erased it is hard to see the contrast. Even the New York Times does interviews with Kim Kardashian, gives us the newest fashion tips, has Thanksgiving recipes ready and is updated on the latest gossip about Ellen’s scandal now.
It is still a clear difference in the credibility between a broadsheet and a tabloid. The reporting of a New York Times article will still generally be better than a New York Post article, however it is important to note that things have changed. It is not as it used to be. And it might never return to what it once was. Now the question is, is that a bad thing?
