10/12/2007

We all claim to like broadsheets, but it is tabloids that sell more

A few weeks ago when it was announced who the finalists were in the category of Lib Dem blogger of the year were announced a number of people offered advice to me, the most notable of which was that I should write more in depth analytical stories which will appeal more to Liberal Democrats.

So, at least twice a week I sit down and write something in much greater depth, less tabloid and more broadsheet in style, which I hope will appeal to Lib Dems and others alike.

Given that I have taken the advice on and am writing in greater detail, with examples HERE and HERE it does seem somewhat ironic that these postings have received virtually the fewest hits of any other postings I have done this week.

What does that tell us then ? It is much like BBC4. Everyone said we needed a TV channel that catered for the arts and more intellectual past times, but nobody watches it. And it is true of newspapers too. We all say we don't want to read tabloid, but we do because they are accessible and in our busy lives we need to be able to dip in and out of things quickly, and tabloid allow us to do this. So whilst we say we like broadsheets, in truth we know that tabloids work and more effective. After all, if they weren't would the Lib Dems Focus leaflets be as successful ? Would the colour tabloids be seen as a key campaigning tool ? I think not.

So whilst I may persevere with some longer postings, I am not going to apologise for the more tabloid or Focus style of snappy short story. After all, this is actually what most people want to read, and the statistics actually prove this.

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