Reading Tabloid Papers

JohnP199 wrote: »

So often we see threads/posts here b!tching about tabloid newspapers and questioning the intelligence of those who read them. But why? What's wrong with me reading The Star, Sunday World etc? When I'm looking for quality literature to read I buy a book. When I'm looking for some light-hearted daily reading one of the red tops is ideal.



Its funny though when you see threads started on Boards with a link to a tabloid article and nearly always the OP will say something along the lines of "well I never buy a tabloid paper but I just picked up The Sun without thinking and look what was written in it…". Why cant people just admit if the buy red top papers because there's nothing wrong with doing so.



And I do find it just a bit ironic that people who are regular user's of After Hours complain about another form of media and its lack of intelligent articles or over-exaggerated stories. Pot-kettle anyone?

an excellent post, and well worded too, that reflects my very thoughts every time i see a thread that begins with an article qouted from the daily mail. seems to be the paper du jour for AH to píss and moan about, and the sunday independent (thats the sindo, for AH'ers that may not recognise the full name of the paper!).

i like a bit of red-top reading myself, i dont read too much into a newspapers politics, i just read it for the pictures! but my paper of preference on a sunday then is the sunday business post.

some people have a hard on for dismissing a sensationalist newspaper as sensationalist, "i'd never read such low brow tripe, but look what it says here!", reminds me of my father when he used to watch that gerry ryan show on tv- secrets, "just to see how bad it gets!"

i refuse to take anyone who reads these papers on a daily basis seriously. Not to mention the outright lies. Yellow Journalism imo.

The Daily Mail has one of the better websites, it's constantly updated

And sometimes the articles are full of lies but some are good too
But the headlines are nothing to do with the articles and just look for a cheap anger inducing slant.

There was one yesterday about a Boeing test flight that went from Seattle to Pittsburgh.
And the pilots went to Primani Brothers for a sandwich, it's famous in Pittsburgh like going to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin or going to Baltimore, Maryland for crabcakes and so on.

Article was well written and I'm interested in aviatiion
Title: Crew flies Boeing's new 747 from Seattle to Pittsburgh… for sandwiches

krudler wrote: »

It may appear light hearted but when you look at smear campaigns, bare faced lies, out of context quotes and pictures and the myriad of utter bullsh1t printed in tabloids its sickening, and there are a lot of gullible idiots who read them and think its factual.

that's hardly the fault of the paper though, i think there are a lot more people out there who are capable of making the distinction between what's written as fiction and whats reported as fact.

reading a red top rag doesnt "make" you an idiot, for me personally speaking, i find it an amusing diversion, bit of entertainment for €1 so to speak. after i've it read, it'll go in the trash, and i'll ponder no more on the articles within.

of course it's lazy journalism and it's everything the detractors on thi thread say it is, but as the OP suggested, why take it so seriously? if the people that read these papers are gullible idiots well its not like they're going to have any signifigant impact on world politics any time soon now, is it?

best leave that to david norris then, shining example of a highly articulate intellectual he is. :rolleyes:

xsiborg wrote: »

genuinely not meaning to be a smart-ass Naikon, but, i fail to understand your point...

walked myself into it now!

Fianna Fail is a good case study to follow this train of thought:P

Newspapers, yesterdays news today.
Most are opinionpapers rather than newspapers anyway, helpful for those who need people to tell them how to live or how to think.

Mostly immature and boorish rants against some of the best investigative tabloids. This is very elitist and snobbish and is likely to breed the type of solicitor who when he goes on to be a judge asks, "Who are Oasis" or mistakes Kiri Te Kanawa for Kerry Katona. Light entertainment with both truth, half truths and fibs included. If you are slandered, you can consult Senior Counsel and collect a decent wedge for your pension. If you cannot tell the difference and are not streetwise enough pick up the IT and it will have done the sifting for you. The days when the IT was a great read, with decent journalists that gave news and analysis and not spin, are long gone.

They're total rubbish, I read an open letter from a Journalist to the owner of the British Star complaining about how fictional everything in it was, (that Journalist was working in the Star) and he had said he was openly encouraged to make up whatever he wanted and that once he wore a Burka in pretending that a council had made a 'Muslim only toilet' none of which was true. I'll try and find that letter it was a bit back, I saw it on the Guardian.


Sure it's all only fun and games until comeone prints a front page editorial in support of the English Defence League.

EDIT: Found it http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/04/daily-star-reporter-letter-full Now I know this doesn't have naked women in it and is longer than a paragraph!