Tabloidization

TABLOIDIZATION

DEFINING TABLOID:

The word tabloid is often used in varying contexts. For example, tabloid is used to refer to the size and shape of a newspaper. However, as Sparks (2000) notes, not all tabloid- sized newspapers are tabloids in the pejorative sense of the word. For example: although tabloid in size, ‘Le Monde’ and the ‘Times’ are seen to be the very opposite in terms of content or design.
The word tabloid is also used in discussion about television and radio (Biressi and Nunn, 2008). Therefore, while the use of the word tabloid in terms of size and shape is useful, especially in cases where a newspaper has attempted to make itself more accessible to its readers by altering its layout or shape, it does not provide an unmistakable definition of a tabloid.
The first tabloids appeared in early 1920s; and prominent among them was the New York Daily News. For the fist time, as tabloids, they came out in half the size of a normal newspaper. Alfred Harmsworth brought this innovation when Joseph Pulitzer invited him to edit his newspaper.
The word "tabloid" itself has several definitions. In 1884 it was trademarked as a name for compressed drugs. Beginning in 1901, "tabloid" was used to identify a special type of newspaper--one that was condensed, usually half the size of a normal newspaper. These papers were commonly identified with boisterous, brief news content, an abundance of pictures, some fiction, and often they blatantly appealed to the human interest in crime, sex, and disaster. One definition of tabloid from Webster's College Dictionary describes it as luridly or vulgarly sensational. (Dr. Mario Gracia)

Dr Mario Gracia writes in his article: The birth of tabloids, around 1830, was progressed by two features that are, ironically, the same that encourage publishers and editors to convert to smaller formats today:

1. Focusing on "readers in a hurry," specifically in cities with large numbers of commuters in public transportation environments. 2. Offering a unique journalistic formula generous in human-interest stories, police news, entertainment and sports.

But there was always room for stories that led to what some historians call the "birth of investigative journalism," as tabloid newspapers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom published extensive reports about prostitution and police corruption. However, it is with the early tabloids in large metropolitan areas that one first sees human interest stories on page one, presented with greater visual impact than ever before, with images playing as important a role as text. It was, indeed, Charles A. Dana, editor of The New York Sun, who announced to readers: "The Sun will specialize in presenting the news in a concise manner, with greater clarity, and will attempt to present a photographic report of significant events taking place in the world, but always doing it in a friendly, entertaining manner." (Dr. Mario Garcia, The March of the Tabloids)

The formula for the tabloid as described by the author of the book, Journalism and popular culture is: The tabloid = sensationalism = Photography
It was in tabloid press of the 1920s that large sensational photographs first appeared, with violence, sex, accidents and society scandals as the major themes. United States press historians indicate it as a low point for the press, an expression of what they consider the loose morals and loss of ethical standards that threatened public and private life. It was a time 'made to order for the extreme sensationalism of the tabloid and for a spreading of its degrading journalistic features to the rest of the press. (Photojournalism and the tabloid press by Peter Dahlgren and Colin Sparks, p: 133)

Explanation:

In using the term 'tabloidization', attention is typically drawn to a perceived realignment of 'serious' (factual, worthy, respectable, up market) conception of news values with those associated with the 'tabloid' (sensational, superficial, prurient, down-market) press. This shift in priorities and its negative impact on informed coverage of public affairs is said to be the most readily discernible at the level of content, format and design in newspapers, but also - even more worryingly in the eyes of some news broadcasting. (News Culture by Alan Stuart, p: 205)
It is commonly accepted that as tabloids have changed and altered over the years (Rooney, 2000), so too have broadsheets (McLachlan and Golding, 2000). Critics have argued that the frontier between quality and popular papers has virtually disappeared in the UK since the 1980s, with broadsheets adopting more tabloid-like styles (Sampson, 1996). This assumption that the news media are becoming more tabloid-like has generated much debate, with academics regularly analyzing the characteristics of changes found in the quality, quantity and the diversity of news' products (McLachlan and Golding, 2000;Birssi and Nunn, 2008). This process is predominantly referred to as tabloidization.
Tabloidization, in terms of a shift in the boundaries of journalism, is not simply limited to a decrease in serious news and an increase of soft news. Tabloidization may also result in decontextualisation and personalization (Bird, 2000). In their study on UK tabloids and climate change, Boykoff and Mansfield (2008) highlight how tabloids frequently report climate change inaccurately, choosing what to report without providing context. For example, the introduction of carbon taxes was reported in the Daily Mail as “Brown prepares to put up tax on petrol” (in Boykoff and Mansfield, 2008: 3). The study highlighted the marked difference between newspaper reports
And the scientific date available, with all tabloid newspapers reporting the scientific data inaccurately or without the necessary context for readers to understand the data (ibid.). Similarly, both Bird (2000) and Calabrese (2000) have noted how tabloids articles often focus on an individual and provide limited context, which is essential for readers to develop an understanding of the situation at hand.

Much of the debate on tabloidization focuses on changes to content; Franklin has argued that recent trends in newspapers have resulted in the growth of broadloids (1997:7). These are broadsheet newspapers that appear to resemble tabloids in terms of style and layout, as well as content (ibid.). Tabloid staples such as banner headlines, alliteration and the use of puns have become common features of serious newspapers (ibid.). Similarly many traditional newspapers have increased their font size and number of pictures, and feature less text, shorter words, bigger pictures and colour pictures (ibid.). These new dynamic layouts and style changes can be considered a feature of tabloidization (Schonbach, 2000).

A tabloidization process can be analyzed in two different ways:

We can analyze the development in the overall quantitative amount of political articles or programmes in diverse media. This might suppose a continuum from an absolutely 'serious', high-quality political journalism with a substantive amount of thorough and comprehensive political journalism to a tabloid-style journalism not associated with politics at all and focusing on entertaining, soft news, sports, and human interest stories dealing with sex, gossip, crime and so on. Such analysis would aim to show tendencies revealing a thinning out or a dramatic decrease of political information up to a complete depoliticization of media content.
The second way of analyzing a tabloidization process is to concentrate on the political coverage itself, again assuming a continuum ranging from a serious side to an entertaining or 'tabloid' side. In order to identify various graduations on this continuum the two poles of the process should be known. On the serious side we could- according to Brants (1998, 327)- “expect more factual content aspects such as stories about party manifestos, policy, issues and party political disagreements, while with regards to journalistic style politicians would be addressed with respect to their expertise or political involvement, as policy maker or expert, serious from a certain professional distance meant to inform and with a tone of objectivity.' (Tabloid tales: global debates over media standards, Sparks& Tulloch, 178)
Dr. Mario Garcia in 'The March of the Tabloids' writes that 'nobody doubts the fact: Many editors and publishers still relate tabloid to lower quality journalism. Despite the recent success of quality newspapers, such as The Times of London, converting to tabloid, the "myth" of tabloids as less than quality prevails in the minds of many inside newsrooms. Research shows us about readers preferring the smaller formats (a majority of readers, especially younger ones, do), as well as the circulation success of those newspapers making the transition. (Sixteen newspapers that changed formats have seen an average 4.6 percent increase in circulation, according to "The Bottom Line of Broadsheet-to-Compact Format Change," an International Newspaper Marketing Association Report, February 2005.
It is this myth of the tabloid or, better yet, the irrational fear of some editors and publishers of the word "tabloid" itself that keeps many from contemplating the idea of testing their newspaper in a smaller format. Using stereotypes, and even worse, formats, to determine what constitutes serious versus sensational journalism is not going to lead to better products.
A probable question is: What constitutes serious journalism today? For many editors, it begins with a newspaper in the broadsheet format. For readers, fortunately, it is decided by content and presentation, not on the size of the sheet on which it is printed.
Simon Kelner, editor-in-chief of London's The Independent, one of the first quality newspapers to make a 2003 switch to a tabloid format, has said, "Newspapers are the only product whose size and form are determined by those who produce it, and not by those who consume it." The Independent and The Times are both excellent examples of successful conversions, not just because they adopted the smaller formats readers preferred, but because editors of both newspapers also looked at content enhancements, styles of storytelling, and ways to make their products more fun and easy to navigate as they went to a different, more manageable format. This is as it should be with redesign in any format. The numbers plainly testify to the success of these conversions: The Independent's circulation rose 15.5 percent versus its pre-tabloid numbers; The Times experienced a four percent increase over its pre-tabloid numbers. (http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp? id=81557)

Sparks, Tullock however, have different opinion about tabloids and their effects on sale:

Does tabloidization sell? The answer is a cautious 'no'. The audience does not appreciate subscription newspapers that mix information and entertainment.
In general it does not like newspaper that imitate tabloids in their layouts. The reason is clear: The audience has different expectations for different media. Local newspapers are supposed to be interesting, attractive information media (mostly on local events and issues). The emphasis lies on information, though. Those who want to be entertained watch television instead or read magazines. There is no particular use in tabloidization of local newspapers- and, as we know, supposedly not even in the further tabloidization of tabloids themselves. (Tabloid tales: Global Debates Over Media Standards: By Colin Sparks, John Tulloch, p: 72) Causes and consequences of tabloidization:

"A flawed media, I suggest, leads to a flawed democracy". "Ill informed citizens cannot make proper judgments about their leaders' actions, about the actions that take place in their names, about the laws that govern them. The media matter." BBC's star journalist Michael Buerk

For some tabloidization is the result of amplified market pressures such as increased competition. These market pressures dictate that a newspaper's content, layout and tone must appeal to the widest market possible in order to retain and gain readers and advertisers. With the advancement of technology such as Internet, blogs, and websites: the spread of information and news has become more rapid. People will read what they want to read and therefore they will access only that part of information, which appeals to their interest. Tabloidization has enabled people to get information they require in a hurried manner. More graphical illustrations, concise news format and easy to grasp information. The Internet bump up poses a serious threat to print and broadcasting industries, which use the ‘tabloid strategy’ to keep up in the rat race.
These apart, many researchers feel that reading is getting tougher and tougher for young people, as many of them have lost the habit of reading daily due to other mediums of communication. And to read the quality papers there needs to be significant basic as well as analytical knowledge of news.
The rise of tabloidization is most commonly attributed to the ‘corporatization’ of media and to the rise of capitalism. This has lead to the marketing and ‘shaping of news’ to cater to the tastes of audiences and advertisers. Revenue maximization is the ultimate aim of any corporate business, thus leading to a populist agenda.
Increasing competition and proliferation of media outlets. What one follows, another follows suit, to stay in the competition. Tabloidization is a trend that is bound to crop up in a competitive industry, especially in a free market.
As far as newspapers are concerned, declining circulation, especially in the western world, has given way to the press adopting the tabloid agenda. “In rough terms, people in 1964 were prepared to pay four times as much money for newspapers that had only a quarter of the content. In terms of value for money today, papers are sixteen times more valuable, but only have the same number of customers” (Horrie, 2003 p.232). He further adds that the tabloid industry has begun giving away free copies to stay put (The London Lite), and suspects that it won’t be long when young people will start turning their backs even on the tabloids.
The priorities of journalism also alter during the tabloidization process (Sparks, 2000). Instead of providing serious information for citizens, it is maintained that the media now prioritize profits over their public service function (McNair, 2001). Franklin notes that broadsheet newspapers now contain less news, especially investigative stories, foreign and political news (1997). The decline in serious news reflects an increasingly competitive and changing market place (ibid.), where market principles have infiltrated “the previously protected (partially, at least) sphere of public information” (McNair, 2001:44). Competition among news media has increased, with ownership becoming more concentrated and media conglomerates amplifying in size and power. Market pressures dictate that newspapers focus on profitable stories, which draw readers and, therefore, advertisers, and can be collected as inexpensively as possible (Sampson, 1996). As Attracta M. Mooney Tabloidization and the Irish Press Media investigatory and foreign news is expensive to collect, newspapers have reassigned their focus to cheaper options such as entertainment, lifestyle and columnists (Franklin, 1997), which draw higher advertising revenue (Sampson, 1996). There has been a “refinement of a commercialized journalism which prioritizes the desires of advertisers to reach large audiences above all other concerns” (Conboy, 2006:207). In fact, it is argued that tabloidization is primarily the results of a commercial media, increased competition and the need to attract advertisers (Esser, 1999).
The commercialization is usually seen as a process whereby the emphasis on market share and profitability in media production becomes predominant potentially at the expense of other media functions such as political, social and cultural roles (GulyaÅLs, 2003: 84). In other words, most media are directed to a dominant objective to increase, influence and organize commercial transactions through advertising. Splichal (2001) defines this process laconically as a competition for consumers, which become the ultimate goal. Entertainment has superseded the provision of information; human interest has supplanted the public interest. Franklin (1998: 5) speaks about ‘Newszak’ to describe ‘news as a product designed and “processed” for a particular market and delivered in increasingly homogeneous “snippets” which make only modest demands on the audience. Newszak is news converted into entertainment’.
Tabloidization as we may call it is alleged to change the whole structure of the media environment. One of the biggest threats that tabloidization poses to the media industry is that it is blurring the gap between quality journalism and tabloid news. Secondly the tabloid press is a ‘crisis of democracy’ as it does not perform the primary function of journalism, i.e. – ‘to inform the people concerning the major issues of public interest’ (Raboy and Degenais, 1992 p. 44). The obvious consequences of tabloidization can be seen in the fact that there is a shift in the priorities with regards to time-slots. In terms of TV, prime time is no more dominated by current affairs and politics, but is rather a spectacle of an assortment of news features, with the above mentioned being just ones among others.

Tabloidisation as dumbing down or reaching out:

As discussed above tabloidisation has adopted the shape of a friendly virus, which has taken over us, and we are eager to have it in our lives. With serious newspapers and television shows now converting their policies and formats in to tabloids’ it has become a bit dodgy to differentiate between the serious journalism outlets. The notion of dumbing down the content and making it appealing to the readers has earned a lot of credit to the owners. A free copy of Metro or Evening Standard available near the station will attract people and they will prefer grabbing a copy while travelling. This trend is not just found in print media, television channels have also adopted the same policy. There are various foreign channels, which provide tabloid news, celebrity gossips, politician’s scandals or a simple poll of public’s opinion. This on the whole has made us want what is already being fed in our minds. The emission of such ‘tabloidised’ news is so frequent that the reader has been ‘shaped-up’ to accept it. Due to tabloids and increasing strength of media, people are more aware and closer to each other’s lives, they know more about the happenings taking place in the senate, the royal palace or at a celebrity’s house. Public’s interest can be judged by their frequent input on various news websites. But do we really need this baggage of information; will it be helpful in our mental growth? Dumbing-down surely has given a serious jolt to our journalistic standards. The lack of coverage of foreign news, of investigation and information that may not be of ‘interest to people is a typical tabloid style. The tabloids have as a consequence led to the trivialization of the media by catering to just the choices or likes of people and not their welfare.

Bibliography:

www-rohan.sdsu.edu/.../analysiseg_tabloid.htm - United States http://home.snu.edu/~dwilliam/f97projects/tabloid/ http://www.albionmonitor.com/9709b/tabloidblame.html http://television.suite101.com/article.cfm/differences-between-tabloid-journalism-and-television-journalism www.insidepolitics.org/ps111/tabloids.html http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=81557 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BUharmsworth.htmls

Tabloidization of the Media: The page three syndrome presscouncil.nic.in/Decisions/Oct-Rew-1-239.pdf Tabloidisation conquers quality press soemz.euv-frankfurt-o.de/media-see/qpress/.../smalovic_gvilovic.pdf Displaying Tabloidisation: www.statsvet.su.se/mediarum/Media_and_Politics_2/.../Pensar.pdf Tabloid Britain: constructing a community through language By Martin Conboy

Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid It By Stephen Greenspan

News Culture by Alan Stuart

Tickle the public: One hundred years of the popular press By Matthew Engel

Tabloid tales: global debates over media standards By Colin Sparks, John Tulloch
Tabloid Britain: constructing a community through language By Martin Conboy