"USA Today" and the dumbing down of America

[WindRavenX]

I attend Boston College where last year four newspapers were available to students: The Boston Globe, Boston Harold, New York Times, and USA Today. The Harold is basically a tabloid; the Boston equivalent to the NYPost (and both are owned by Murdoch so they're right wing rags). Most Americans don't read a newspaper everyday; even fewer college kids (from personal observation) read a daily paper. Those that do, and those that rely on USA Today and tabloid "newspapers" are subjected to biased, non-informative, simplistic articles or, in the case of USA Today, "fluff" articles (entertainment, sports, etc).
At the risk of sounding like an intellectual snob, I usually read the NYTimes only on the weekend when I have time; I read the Globe (a fantastic paper which carries a balanced and concise view of the world events everyday) usually. The Globe, like the NYTimes, is often accused of being a liberal newspaper.
This year, only the Harold and USA Today are available free to students. The Globe and Times, if they can be found, must be paid out of pocket.
USA Today, although not a tabloid, is possibly the worst newspaper available- there are no articles about world events, most of the paper is "fluff" with a sickening amount of coverage devoted to entertainment and sports. The design of the paper is cluttered with graphics and advertisements. The articles themselves are simplistic and read like articles written in high school newspapers.
I realize this sounds snobby, but if people rely on papers like the Harold and USA Today (the most popular newspaper in America!), it's easy to see why people do not understand the realities of war.
Simply put, it's not reported. And if it is, it's sugar-coated and trivialized by placing it next to more "important" articles, like the new TV shows for fall or football coverage.
Thoughts?

[meegbear]

1. It's the Boston Herald

and it's owned by Pat Purcell, who is a Murdock shill.

[UdoKier]

10. Yes, if you're going to pontificate on "dumbing down" and intellectualism-

You might want to watch the spelling.

Harold - some old bald guy

Herald - a messenger

If you were naming YOUR newspaper, which would YOU use?

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. If we on the left made our own newspaper, based out of a major city.....

and the paper were to be like the Wall Street Journal, that is balanced (but ours would be tilted to the left) and written at a college level, only the intellectuals and we DUer's would read it.

Most American papers are written at an 8th grade reading level, including those that are national. Major European papers (Guardian, Independent, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Die Welt, La Pais) are written at a 12th grade level or higher.

Americans contempt for intelligence is frightening.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. this is the way thing were before the 1950s

thuogh you have identified an important trend, that also fits fascism, hate for intellectuals, real or imagined

[WindRavenX]

7. re: reading levels

I had no idea that the European papers were written at a much higher reading level, but that doesn't suprise me.
I honestly believe there needs to be a push to bring up the standards of US papers- all of them.

[el_gato]

3. NYT was instrumental in helping bush justify the invasion of Iraq

Don't kid yourself, if it wasn't for Krugman and Herbert NYT would be no better than the NYPOST. In fact, it is more insidious since it has a phoney liberal facade.

I don't see any of these papers as truly serving the public interest.

[WindRavenX]

5. I didn't claim they were

Regardless of the NYTimes pushing for the war, I think it's impossible to argue that the Times' coverage of the war is lacking. FWIW, they have also publically appoligized for their push for war.
The articles, the content of the paper, are what makes the NYTimes and the Globe so valuble and more of a resource for understanding the world than the Herald or USA Today. That's my point.

[IrateCitizen]

6. You're not the only one who feels this way...

Each day while riding Metro-North into Manhattan, I am utterly amazed as to how many people in shirt-and-tie, or similar office dress, are reading either the NY Post, NY Daily News, or USA Today. I often want to just ask them if they don't feel insulted by a newspaper that has to "report" to them on a 5th grade reading level, at best.

Personally, I don't often read newspapers -- other than on the web. But when I do, I usually pick up the NY Times -- only because it doesn't make me feel dumber for having subjected myself to it. The tabloid papers are all complete trash, IMHO -- only serving to help dumb down the American public.

[artv28]

22. metro-north

The NY Post and Daily News are more commuter friendly papers. I don't have enough room on a crowded bus or subway to open the NYT. I'm also not smart enough and/or too uncoordinated to fold it into nice convenient little squares like some commuters do. I agree that the NY Post is a worthless piece of RW trash. It's barely worthy of litter boxes and birdcages. It lost what little credibility it had with the infamous "Kerry picks Gephart" headline.

[newyawker99]

24. Hi artv28!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[serryjw]

8. You are a SNOB!

I challenge anyone to be better informed than I am...read 10 hours a day all our left leaning websites and all the obvious UK website/newspapers...I LOVE USATODAY!
It is unbias, gives many great multipage speads on important issue WITH charts and graphics........I want America to be informed..IF I have to give them colored pretty PICS to do it......better than not at all.I would suggest USATODAY to someone whom wanted to read a daily newspaper BEFORE I would recommend WASH POST or NYT!They are catering to the masses and they try to make complicated issues understandable.
When I was out with Petitions for over a year, I heard ALL THE TIME I dont vote BECAUSE I don't understand the issues!.....Everyone can NOT be us spending 1/2 Their lives working to defeat Bushit......Like me do!

[WindRavenX]

9. you do not get all your information from USA Today

You suppliment your base of info with it; most people get ALL or MOST of their information from USA Today.
They are catering to the masses and they try to make complicated issues understandable.

They are catering to a public that needs to be challanged to read into things instead of expecting the watered down version of things.

[serryjw]

23. Better than getting ALL their information from RUSH!

or Sean...........The thugs think these clowns are really given them news!

[BiggJawn]

11. "USA Today" is "McNooz".

The only thing missing is articles about Nostradamus and "Bat Boy"...



We get 3 "free" papers, "The Indianapolis Star", the "Journal and Courrier" and "The Excrement"...Oh, that's "Exponent", sorry, it's the campus rag...

2 are your typical midwestern ReTHUGlican-leaning rags and the other one is all over the map, editorially...

[Cocoa]

12. Boston Harold

thanks for the bellylaugh. :-)

[WindRavenX]

14. I got 2 hours of sleep last night

My spelling and grammar sucks now :)
And oh joy, I have a 4 hour cell lab at 3 PM EST! :cry:

[Cocoa]

18. just teasing

and it WAS very funny. :-)

[theboss]

13. I like USA Today

I always read the Washington Post first, but the USA Today is a great way to spend a 1/2 hour lunch. Granted, you aren't going to get the depth of other papers, but you will get a ton of basic information that other papers lack.

To me, it's like fast food. It shouldn't be the only source of nurtition, but it's not bad in small doses.

[WindRavenX]

16. exactly

But it should not be the PRIMARY source of world/national events.

[slappypan]

15. Newsweek is a worse influence

USA Today has decent science articles, not at the level of NYTimes, but far superior to what I have seen in Newsweek. And the editorial page is relatively free of far-right claptrap. USA doesn't have any pretensions, it just seems like sort of an abbreviated newspaper for people short on time. I think Newsweek is a worse outlet, their news coverage is horribly biased, they are preoccupied with scandals, yuppie lifestyle drivel and corporate "synergy" promoting movies and TV shows. Newsweek's middlebrow pretensions make it more toxic.

[lukasahero]

19. Can't tell you how much I agree!

Newsweek is far more insidious because of it's "history". Katherine Graham must be rolling in her grave.

[hatrack]

17. USA Today, Tomorrow The World nt

/

[Julien Sorel]

20. USA Today was rolled out as a product.

It had no hournalistic tradition to carry forward, and didn't much pretend to. The idea was to McDonalds the news, and it did that. It stresses sports and entertainment because that's what people want.

I was in school when USA Today first came out and was losing money. If I remember correctly, they had a more "newsy" format in those days; what was revolutionary about them was the design, using lots of color (papers never used color unless it was an important story in those days due to cost considerations), and the distribution, having newspaper racks at fastfood drive thrus and the like -- I think they even had them on busses for a time.

At any rate, they were losing money, so they adapted and became what they are because that's what people wanted and were willing to pay for. When you see color pictures on a regular newspaper, it's because USA Today made people demand it. The WSJ is the only paper in the country that I'm aware of that doesn't run color pictures; actually I don't think they run pictures at all outside of ads. And the WSJ is aimed at a niche market: it can get away with it.

I sometimes read the USA Today if I'm getting my oil changed or at the dentist's or whatever, and for what it is, it isn't a bad paper. Just as you won't starve to death if you live on McDonald's food for a week or two, reading the USA Today won't kill you. Anything beyond that, though, is pushing it. It certainly isn't designed for the average college student, so I'm a little surprised by a good school choosing it.

Why doesn't the average person know how badly Bush has screwed up, by the way? Because the average person doesn't even get as much information as the USA Today has, not even close. The people here are far more informed than the average person is, which in some ways makes them out of touch. But I ramble....

[peacetalksforall]

21. I think of the USA Today as a right wing hotel freebie.

Supposedly, the business traveller can keep up on business and people who just want a break in thinking and hurrying, plus the non-discriminating readers can have something to look at. It is an insult to American tradition and rights, that they chose to be a biased rag.

[Dorian Gray]

25. Hey....

I graduated from Boston College, too! Class of 1993... so I'm an oldie! :)

[WindRavenX]

26. kewl, a fellow Eagle

Been on campus lately?