Wednesday, September 18

 
'It's not your grandmother's food section any more'

Hey, I'll bet you guys didn't know that, didja? Whoa nelly, those Gannett executives sure are on top of changing times. This page from the Gannett media company's Newswatch section argues for and outlines changes in newspaper food coverage. Trouble is, many food sections are already doing just what they want. Which, for the cynical newspaper journalists here should recognize is only par for the course. Most of the time, they don't even know the section is there. Most of them value their food news so little they don't bother to highlight or promote it on their Web sites or in email alerts. (That's one of the founding principles behind this blog -- we don't overlook the food section!) Much of this is done to capture the elusive 18-to-34 age demographic, which apparently doesn't respond to recipe-style coverage. I have one caution for newspaper section heads who want to break down the old mold and install something new: New is good, but don't forget who actually buys the paper and uses the news. Don't leave older readers in the dust, particularly older women readers who lost access to the kind of women's news they wanted to read when women's sections were revamped into "lifestyle" sections in the 1970s and 1980s. A good food section is like a buffet line: You can have an overall theme, but you should try to publish something for everybody. Otherwise, you risk losing yet another demographic, one that isn't as sexy but has just as much or more spending power to attract advertisers. Okay, rant over. Check out the story.
posted by Unknown 2:11 PM