Newspapers - English for different levels of audiences

I remember reading something along the lines of...

Toronto Star - High School
National Post - Post-Secondary
Globe and Mail - Postgraduate

What do you think? And where's the logic behind it?

Toronto Sun = Grade school ?
Metro = Just learning to read ?


this thread is going to turn into a newspaper war.. looking forward to hearing some globe readers sounding all high an mighty lol

The goal of all newspapers is to sell papers, if the reading level is too high, then they are not going to sell as many papers as they could.

Most, if not all will be readable by high school graduates.

Originally Posted by CatFrame

The goal of all newspapers is to sell papers, if the reading level is too high, then they are not going to sell as many papers as they could.

Most, if not all will be readable by high school graduates.

The goal of newspapers are to make money by selling you to advertisers. To avoid overlapping competition, each paper specializes in a particular target group and of course that includes varying levels of reading comprehension and topics.

Originally Posted by CatFrame

The goal of all newspapers is to sell papers, if the reading level is too high, then they are not going to sell as many papers as they could.

Most, if not all will be readable by high school graduates.

Originally Posted by nuberific

The goal of newspapers are to make money by selling you to advertisers. To avoid overlapping competition, each paper specializes in a particular target group and of course that includes varying levels of reading comprehension and topics.

What he said. Once you realize that newspapers and magazines make more from advertising than from subscriptions, it really does change your perspective on things.

I hope everyone realizes that most of the articles are printed from the Associated Press, so it's the same content across many different newspapers.

Originally Posted by ItemFinder

I hope everyone realizes that most of the articles are printed from the Associated Press, so it's the same content across many different newspapers.

I wouldn't say "most". Some international news would be be syndicated by AP, but most other news would be from Canadian Press or internal staff. Larger publishers such as Torstar have their own syndicating service for smaller papers to subscribe.

Meh. To me:

Metro/24/TONight = to read on the subway
The Sun = Read it for the sports and comics sections, discard the rest (don't worry, they're just ads anyways).

I split my readership between the Star & the Globe and Mail.

I think the political views distinguish the Star/Globe/Post more than their level of English.

I only read the Globe and Mail and 24 when I'm waiting at the bus stop

Originally Posted by Diversified

Globe and Mail - Postgraduate

Hell no. Not anymore at least.

The Times and New York Times is where it's at.

You also have to consider the political bias...

I was reading the TorStar / London Free Press when I was in grade 7 ... most papers are "readable" by children with a grade 5 education - they aren't written usually with "high vocabulary" ...

I think newspapers is a waste of "paper".

Internet. And if you're on the subway or bus, then you should use your iphone or blackberry and access the news through there.

After all, the focus on blackberries and iphones was for the business man.... ironic ain't it.

As long as you can read between the lines, and decipher what's opinion and what's fact, than all the major papers are fine. Some are more oriented to business, some a little more enteretainment centered, but even the Sun has some very good writers.

NOw if they made the Toronto Star a tabloid instead of a broad sheet format it would be all I read.

Brent

Originally Posted by ur_funneh

Internet. And if you're on the subway or bus, then you should use your iphone or blackberry and access the news through there.

yes because BBs and iPhones work splendidly underground. Nothing like 'no service' to catch up on the day's events.

When a smartphone/netbook/ereader:
-costs pennies to replace
-i can drop it w/o breaking it
-will never run out of battery power
-has a screen that can be read in broad daylight
-has transmission speeds faster than me turning a page
-can be folded up and squeezed under the contents of my man bag
-has a screen that can unfold to give me the entire column without having to scroll/zoom/pan
-doesn't cost big $ to use each month

then we'll talk. till then newspapers are a necessary means of ensuring a wide audience is kept informed (the 4th estate is integral to any functioning democracy).
not everyone is a techno junkie, nor can everyone afford the cost (both initial and ongoing) of an electronic device. we need to stop pushing expensive and unnecessary gadgets when cheap, proven methods work and will continue to work.