A New Approach in Journalism, the New Day
It is not everyday that you witness the launch of a new print newspaper, in fact, the last one was 30 years ago. Oppositely, an ever-increasing number of papers decide to go “all online”. The recent announcement of The Independent to scrap its print version and focus on online news says a lot about the current situation and the ongoing financial struggle media companies are facing. In the midst of such a brutal digital revolution, Trinity Mirror launched today a new daily national, the New Day. The media group is taking a bet, the decision to go back to print is for sure sparkling controversies and discussions. But will it be a new day?
New day, new approach
As I picked up the paper this morning, I have to say it was a pleasant surprise. As promised, it didn’t take over 30 min to read it through, the content is certainly short, or concise shall I say, but also informative and insightful. I didn’t feel like I was taken in a direction or another, the content is balanced and more importantly it didn’t leave me with a confuse feeling as some paper often do. In fact, this fresh and concise way of engaging with news really reminded me of the digital approach. It’s like reading news on your smartphone, except it’s on paper. Even the format has been adapted, leaving the reader with a feeling of ease, thanks to a simple template. As Alison Phillips (@AlisonTheNewDay), the paper’s Editor puts it:
… this frantic, modern world where all too often we are bombarded by news alerts and information. Yet still we are frequently left feeling ill-informed.
So, What’s new about the New Day?
I guess this is what it really comes down to. In the first page, the paper made a certain number of promises:
We know this can’t just be another newspaper. It has to be a new type of newspaper.
Well, taken the fresh and concise look, thoughtful content and a tag price of 50p, yes it is a new kind of paper which, apparently should be able generate enough revenues to be profitable. And that alone is a big deal where so many other papers simply fail.
Next, the New Day promises its editorial line will be different, no political bias, loads of opinions but no columnists.
And we’ll have good news not just bad. Like life.
I have to say I like that, and personally being much interested in international development, aid and humanitarian journalism, I did appreciate the editor’s choice of the cover story, which was about a new report highlighting alarming plight of 40,000 infant carers, here in UK. I believe in positive reporting, solution journalism, journalists should serve the public, be the eyes and hears of the voiceless and take our society higher. There is way too much propaganda in nowadays news. The kind of news that make us believe refugees are not exactly ”like us”, that Africa won’t develop without our “Aid”, or that our leaders are doing everything they can to save the planet. So yes, launching a paper with a front cover story reporting on infant carers was indeed a new day, more human centered. I hope they will keep it that way.
Finally, and that must come from me being a digital junkie, but I do like the concept of a paper which has no official website, simply a landing page. To access the news, you’ll have to get the paper. However, the outlet has decided to focus on Facebook and Twitter, and use the social platforms to engage, debate and discuss with the readers, which should give a simple, yet effective digital and print combination.
And by debating and discussing stories, rather than just reporting and repeating them, we hope you’ll feel well informed not overloaded.
