Gazette or News? Tell us what you think
NEWSPAPER wars are always good for readers, and the one that began on Phuket today should have plenty of benefits - and biffo too. Here's a revolt to rival Libya. Pick your Gaddafi.
On first sight, 'The Phuket News' looms as a worthy competitor to the veteran 'Phuket Gazette'. At 20 baht and a slightly taller tabloid, it is five baht cheaper.
Today's first issue is 40 pages, with plenty to read because there are only a smattering of advertisements, and with the monthly 24-page 'Phuketian' as an insert.
There are international articles from the Agence France Press news wire, and six pages of local, national and international sport, making the 'News' pretty much a boys' thing.
Extra testosterone comes with a full page spread on leggy schoolgirls and Phuket's 'Sexiest Uniform' hard up against a full page spread on 'Playboy Beauties in Patong.'
The real, actual news in the 'News'? Like the 'Gazette,' what's in the newspaper is at least three days old - or in some cases weeks old - because of the need for an early deadline to print in Bangkok.
The point about start-ups is that it will be the second issue that tells readers more about the 'Phuket News'.
Usually with new publications, maximum effort goes into getting the first one out. The second 'Phuket News' next weekend should tell us all much, much more about its intentions and its promise.
Can Phuket sustain two weekly newspapers? Probably not, at least not in the context of the evolution of media on so many alternative fronts.
That said, while newspapers are taking a beating in big cities, Phuket is the kind of odd tourist place where one weekly newspaper - and almost certainly only one - can flourish.
'The Phuket News' is offering free classifieds, which is a big plus as an attraction for readers. What will be the other keys to who wins the newspaper war?
Distribution is always important, and the 'News' says it has plenty of outlets around Phuket - which is where readership really matters.
How many sales and readers will the 'News' have? We will be interested to see what they say.
It's one thing for thousands and thousands of copies to be printed. Would-be advertisers should ask representatives of both newspapers this question: ''How many copies do you actually sell, discounting those that are printed but not bought?''
The further the newspapers are spread from Phuket, the less likely they are to be bought or read.
Nevertheless, newspapers have gravitas. For some older readers, it's the way their fathers and grandfathers got the news, so it's right for them.
For the young, the online battle will be what matters - and that's where Phuketwan (and others) come in. We believe that content is king, and that the first 'News' is very much same-same when it comes to content.
Journalism has often changed history, and it continues to do so. But what is a newspaper actually supposed to do? One American adage goes: ''Journalists should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.''
The 'News' and the 'Gazette' are, sadly, both newspapers that largely comfort the comfortable.
We'll be interested to see whether either of them eventually gets serious about Phuket news, and which one emerges as the victor.
Declaration of interest: Big Island Media, parent company of Phuketwan, has a small shareholding in the Phuket Post but no control over its management or content.
What, no sexy men? C'mon.
Posted by Cap't. Kirk on March 4, 2011 20:51
Editor Comment:
There is a page from the Phuket Pride Parade, too.