So, do we like or not like the "Metro" newspaper?
By ejohnlove on March 18, 2005 - 12:14am
It feels pretty empty and soulless to me... with just eougn advertising and opolished production value to make me think of a large paper like the Vancouver Sun.
...if you tool one sheet from every section of the Sun, and folded it together and gave it away for free, that is what the metro reminds me of...
...but it's free... all the Skytrain riders and bus-liner-uppers are carrying a Metro these days...
I don't like the metro nearly as much since it dropped the comics and the celebrity cypher puzzle. Those were the original pieces that distinguished the paper from all the other free papers available.
Previous I said that I prefer Metro for the Sudoku it has that Dose and 24Hrs do not. But that was over a month ago and given it takes me well under 10 mins to complete I've worn tired of being called a Genius (under 13 mins).
So I now pick up the Vancouver Sun or Glob & Mail for my Sudoku fix and at the same time remove my last reason for picking up a freebie!
the whole thing is packed full of entertaining but nonetheless pointless and utterly unopinionated articles. for every page of content there are 2 of ads, and plenty of content that is really just an ad in disguise.
at least they are creating jobs.
In the interest of being environmentally responsible, could the circulation department of this "newspaper" please stop house-to-house delivery!
Since the contents of your paper is so dumbed down, nothing in it is worth reading. From the doorstep to the recycling bin.
Keep it an option in complimentary bins, if you like, but stop the unsolicited delivery immediately !
What is a 'newspaper' ?
What kind of computer operating system displays it?
Does it have a built-in spell-checker?
What are the graphics like?
Does it cost something, or is it free, like Google News?
Haven't 'newspapers' become redundant?
Why would I want one?
I'd rather haver the trees, thanks.
I like the Metro but unfortunately with the absolute glut of free dailies, weeklies, bi-monthlies, etc. a newspaper really needs to do something extraordinary to set itself apart from the rest of the cat box liner material currently thrust down our throats in every Vancouver street corner. Personally I think they're missing their target audience by being too middle of the road. The fact is that it's the younger consumer who is drawn to the dailies. We see ourselves as "movers and shakers" who ere far too busy to bother reading an entire paper, not to mention that most of us have the attention span of a ferret on espresso. My suggestion to the Metro or any daily who wants to end up being more than bedding for some squeegee kid is do something edgy, do something cool and compelling to a younger audience. You'll no doubt lose some of the advertisers who are uncomfortable with being in a paper that isn't mind numbingly lame but so what, they'll be other advertisers to take their place. As far as I'm concerned the papers that exist now are about as exciting as watching old people eat. If the Metro were to do something different, fresh and edgy they would leave the competition scratching their heads and wondering why they suck.
Sincerely,
Duane J Williamson
Marketing Specialist
A&G Creative