New, newspaper? Crazies!!!
Yes, the blogosphere’s been quite abuzz since the announcement of a new newspaper for Scotland.
But, not only is it true, the tit bits revealed so far in this clever pre-launch campaign, seem to suggest a whole new approach to newspapers – and, maybe, news journalism.
So what do we know? From reading around the blogs and listening to the video interviews, here’s ten things that struck me;
1. Far from being crazies, the initiative comes from Stewart Kirkpatrick, the man credited with taking Scotsman.com to its award-winning and much admired former incarnation before going into PR.
2. It’s not really a newspaper. Or not as we know it. While there could be a print element it’s not printed on a “daily or even weekly basis.”
3. It’s mainly an internet offering, built for the new media environment, and therefore costs are low which is a key element of its survival strategy.
4. It’s for Scots – at home and abroad whether in Scotland, other parts of the UK, Europe, Canada, America, Australia etc.
5. The writers will be known-names writing in specialist areas which include health, heritage and politics.
6. Billy Connolly is to be a guest columnist. OK, OK, Stewart never actually says this, but who else is the heavily hinted “LA based strange man” who’s going to write “strange news”? (Also conveniently in the UK this month).
7. There’s no talk of the business model being employed other than to rule out classified, so I’m going out on a limb to guess that the emphasis on ex-pats and heritage means some sort of revenue share/partnership/sponsorship with the tourism and leisure industry could be on the cards.
8. While there’s been speculation than it’s a “tartan-wrapped HuffingtonPost“, I’m wondering whether the emphasis on words like “intelligent“, “in-depth” and those big name writers might make it more of a DailyBeast style magazine/commentary?
9. It launches on January 25th. Burns Night.
10. It’s for Scots wherever they might be. Oh, did I mention that before? In case you missed it, “Scottish with a capital S and a kilt hung on it”.
Good luck to all involved. Exciting times ahead!
Dim Sum Digital 
To use a Sir Humphrey-ism, this is a courageous idea. I’ll certainly be reading, but then I’m an exiled Scot living in England so I suppose I’m the target audience. I’m slightly perturbed by the explicit focus on ‘Scottishness,’ both that and the decision to launch on Burns Night hints at the sort of tartan-teatowel-and-shortbread nonsense that characterises much Scottish media output, and makes those of us who live away cringe.
That’s not to say there isn’t the potential for something interesting and clever here. Devolution has meant the London media has covered Scotland much less, and a lot of, say, Westminster stuff just isn’t relevant to a Scottish audience anymore. Looking at the outside world (including England) through a Scottish lens should offer plenty of perspectives for good writing. But if I were Stewart Kirkpatrick, I’d expressly ban any articles mentioning Bannockburn, haggis, the Jacobite Rebellion, the Old Firm, and Irn Bru. Scotland can do a lot better than that.
LikeLike
Will be interesting to see Mr Kirkpatrick’s business model for this venture.
I do think it’s possible to make good money through online news sites, but the mention of some kind of print product is interesting.
This is definitely one to watch.
LikeLike
It will have trouble ‘tartan wrapped HuffingtonPost.com”
Scotland doesn’t have enough female celebrities in total, let alone those prepared to get thier McKit off.
For all the high-minded guff about how great the HuffingtoPost is serving the purposes of enlightened political discourse, the fact is that the main driver of its audience is old-fashioned tit ‘n’ bum. The list of its most popular stories at the time of writing as usual contain the usual mix of titallation.
They include:
* Ashley Greene Naked & Bodypainted For SoBe (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
* Teri Hatcher Strips, Feels Boob (VIDEO)
* Naked Model Roams Barcelona Streets, Where Public Nudity Is…
* Vicki Iovine The Girlfriends’ Guide: Sleeping Single Terrifies Me
* Jonah Falcon, Man With World’s Largest Penis, Unemployed In…
* Iris Robinson: Mrs. Robinson’s Affair With Teen Rocks Northern…
LikeLike