Increasingly, TV viewers here and elsewhere tell me they don’t use the TV guide provided in their newspaper, mostly because so much information is now accessible from their cable and satellite TV providers. Want to know what’s on at 7? Hit a button on your remote and there you have it on your TV screen.
Newspaper TV guides consume a ton of newsprint. Many newspapers, including The Telegraph, have trimmed back the guides over the years. When we’ve done so, most of us have heard howls of protest. Once upon a time, newspapers had the luxury of providing such guides whether readers used them or not. We are, after all, a mass medium. That luxury no longer exists.
Some folks might argue that if audience interest alone dictates what you put in newspapers, editors might have to eliminate a lot of content. A reasonable argument, but TV listings, like some other types of information – stocks come to mind – are not the kind of content that readers can get only in their local newspaper. A person interested in stock listings, for instance, can have the latest info about the companies he or she tracks delivered via email each day.
What complicates this issue for many editors is that some readers – many of them our older and most loyal customers - are not plugged into the internet. They have no interest in looking to the Web for their information, they’ve told me. They prefer the convenience of sitting with a TV book at their sides as they plan their viewing.
In an ideal world, we’d figure out how to deliver a really good TV book to the folks who want it, and stop delivering it to those who have no interest. The complexities of The Telegraph’s market – the sheer size of our delivery territory – makes that impractical right now, but other papers are trying this, along with other things, such as changing the publication day from Sunday to a day with less circulation, such as Friday.
The Telegraph’s latest change, made a few weeks ago with the introduction of our Leisure section, combines the TV listings with features content, but in such a way that the listings can be pulled out and kept all week long. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the most efficient way we could find for now.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Are TV books worth the paper they're printed on?
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8 comments:
Getting rid of the Sunday Life & Style section instead of finding a way to deliver the TV book to only those who want it was a very short-sighted decision, that once again and not surprisingly, makes the readers the losers
I have found that the TV book is not always correct. I feel this is due to incorrect information provided to the printer. I think it would be better to include morning and afternoon listings along with the present night-time listings. This could be placed in the daily edition of the paper.
TV Riley
anon 1: You didn't read carefully. They didn't get rid of Sunday's Life & Style, they just made it look different and stuck the TV book in the middle.
Count me as one of the people who never looks at the TV book. I have digital cable, so I don't need it.
Why not just continue to print the daily listings in the paper (and ensure they are correct)? Then the people who need it can just subscribe everyday.
Personally, I just go to tvguide.com/listings or the tvguide channel if I want to know what's on. The newspaper is long gone by the time I sit down to watch TV.
To those who are complaining about listings not always being correct, did you ever think that maybe tv stations change their lineup? Even the listings on my cable box are incorrect at times and they can be constantly updated. Sometimes it seems like people just don't have enough to complain about so they start looking for little things, like tv listings, to get worked up about. Maybe you should turn off the tv for a few minutes and relax.
will there only be two entries on this blog?
Looks like the editor still doesn't really have time to do a blog.
I'd like to know if the Telegraph plans any improvement to its business coverage. The one business reporter seems to do nothing but write stories about store openings and P&Z meetings. Where are the more in-depth, business trend stories?
i agree with the last anon. re: business coverage.
we have a lot of new businesses coming into the area. didn't there used to be a "new business" column?
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