So we’ve had 3 new newspapers launch in the past couple months here in Vancouver. There is a serious battle waging for the mindshare of the average Vancouverite. Brooks Duncan is getting feedback on whats working and whats not at Ask Locally Vancouver. Here’s his 2 pennies…
Metro: Front page is a full page story about the debate, along with a followup on the inside about DR-BC’s protest over not being included. 3 pages of local coverage on a decent range of topics, a full page of Canada coverage, only a half page of Business coverage. Big Entertainment section and one page for Sports. Definitely the most “newspapery” of the 3 with I think the most local coverage.
Dose: Definitely the slickest of the 3 with the most attractive covers. Front page is a mention of the (possible) Federal election in the summer. Very brief mention of the Provincial debate in a sidebar on page 9 (nice). Big news section but almost zero Vancouver coverage which to be honest has always been my deal-breaker for the paper. The last straw for me was when they had a story about how Toronto has a new police chief. Why would I care about that in a Vancouver daily? Good entertainment section.
24 Hours: Front page is two stylish looking BC Lions in their new uniforms. The debate is covered on page 3. 24 Hours always starts weakly with their pink Entertainment section on the first page, with its always-brutal Laugh of the Day and hard-hitting coverage about how Tom Cruise is enamoured with Katie Holmes. I have nothing against celebrity news but the stories they pick for this section are bad even for my low standards. The rest of the paper is good though, I have enjoyed their election coverage and they always have a decent amount of Vancouver news. They could make the Business section longer, but I guess that’s not really their target market.
I’ve been running a little poll over at UrbanVancouver.com to try and gauge the communities reaction. So far, the result are really lopsided. What do you think? Do you read any of them?