Vancouver Dose, 24 Hours, Metro — sizing up
This past month, Vancouverites saw the launch of Dose, 24 Hours and Metro — three new daily newspapers. The short, snappy news coverage suits the attention span of commuters, although traditionalists might claim that these dailies are to news what Kraft Dinner is to Fettucine Alfredo.
To be sure, some content in the new dailies is instant, cheesy and perhaps not too good for you. But, in a world of 142-second cable news pieces interrupted by a screen crawl that reads “Beyonce says she doesn’t like the word bootylicious“ — the dailies may not be so bad. The average traditional newspaper article runs 400 to 500 words, but most people only glance at the headline or 23-word lead paragraph. So we shouldn’t scoff at 24 Hours‘ brag that it takes just 24 minutes to read. People have always stuck to the headlines. The dailies just recognize reality, serving up the right dose every 24 hours for Metro Vancouver.
(c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.