Wouldn't you do it too? (The Sun)

Member Name: merlina

Product:	The Sun
Date:	01/09/00 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: it knows its readership and gives them what they want

Disadvantages: it's still naff!

If I told you about a way to make money, that would bring you fame and riches, that was perfectly legal, that would make you a household name and earn you the gratitude of millions - would you do it?
That, you see, like iot or not is just what the Sun does - provides a commercial product that the public wants, making it the best-selling daily newspaper in the country.
Should we berate the Sun for its content? Perhaps. But that's rather like blaming Mars for not making Mars bars low fat and healthy to eat - it rather misses the point.
Ii think we use some rather odd criteria to judge our magazines and newspapers. We talk about lofty standards of journalism and reportage, then we sneak off and buy the Sun!
Lord Northcliffe (founder of the Mail group) said that one could never lose money by underestimating the taste of the British public. Well the Sun, arguably, proves him right.
No, it's not got quality news in the same way as the Guardian or the Independent, but that's not what it's trying to do. It's simply a business trying to make money - and that's just what it's doing - in spades.
What makes a 'good' publication is certainly a moot point. Certainly the Sun is open to criticism. But the fact remains that it's giving millions of people what they want every day.
It's also worth noting that it's held in great respect in most journalistic circles. You won't see the kind of mistakes in the Sun that you see in the Guardian or Independent for example. It's easier to get a job on the Guardian than it is on the Sun. And if a newspaper's job is to communicate with as many people as possible the Sun certainly achieves that end.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan at all of the Murdoch empire. On he other hand we need to put blame for what, exactly, the Sun is firmly where it belongs - with the people who make it the huge publishing success it's been for three decades

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