Sunday, October 4, 2009

How to Sell Newspapers


Lately the "news" is full of old stuff. Isn't that directly the opposite of news? I mean, isn't news supposed to be NEW, as in "this just in" and "hot off the press?"

Instead, today's purveyors of news are all aflutter over Roman Polanski's alleged crime of rape that took place 30 years ago; even the victim is bored to death hearing about it. Then actress Mackenzie Phillips, the talentless offspring of former head "Papa" John Phillips, is running off at the mouth and in print about her 10-year-long rape by her dead dad we barely remember. Larry King gave her an hour on TV to exploit her own tragic past. (Grrrrrr, I'd like to snap his suspenders.....)

And now Elizabeth Smart, the sweet-faced Mormon child plucked from her sleeping family in 2002 (say what you will, but no weirdo got near my kid when I was around) is back in the "news," finally ready to thrill us with accounts of the "daily rape" she endured seven years ago, by the nut-job who took her.

This trend got me thinking: As everyone knows, shrinking newspapers are folding daily--ha ha, no pun intended--while unemployed reporters troll Craigslist.com in search of a livlihood. So to improve sales, why not start calling them "oldpapers" and print salacious stories from the bad old days? And FYI, if you want to sell papers, relax your standards a little!
Consider the possibilities: Imagine waking up to these headlines in tomorrow's Daily Olds:
OJ Kills Ex-Wife and Friend (Who Maybe Was Gay)!
Princess Di and Lover Dead: Was She Preggers?
Teddy Drowns Mary Jo: Oh Really, Is That All?
Jacko's Child Might Really Be His (and Could be Gay)!
Kirstie Alley Gains 50 Pounds, Possibly Oprah's!

Just remember, you read it here first.

2 comments:

deneb said...

i would rather read you than the newspaper. really, the only reason I subscribe to any paper is for the crossword puzzle. and the sudoku. and the jumble and the bridge column. oh, and the obituaries.

Andrea Rouda said...

You named all the reasons anyone subscribes to newspapers!