My Word Play

TABLOID ANALYSIS

One futile attempt to create a fair nalysis of these five local tabloids

Click and read on.

People’s Journal Tonight

People’s Journal is actually, I could say, for my opinion, one of the few tabloids that I can actually pick from a newspaper stand and read. Meaning? It’s quite a good one honestly.

The over-all content of the said newspaper was good in such a way that it contains much of the common sections a newspaper have during those good old days. And the fact that it uses both the English and the Filipino language is a plus factor for me. It only shows that the readers it caters basically ranges from the street people up to those who went through college and can understand the universal language. Anyone can basically read it.

Okay.

For starters, PJT’s (People’s Journal Tonight) size is in fact much bigger than the others.

CONTENT

News:

Contrary to what is the sizzling issue today, the Impeachment Trial of CJ Corona, PJT’s screaming headline on its front page was crime news. There was a small portion of the news of said trial on the side. The headlines on the front page were a mixture of Tagalog and English.

It was a good point on the side of PJT to make an alternative for all the newspapers who has been offering the same news over and over, the all-favorite Corona’s trial. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t get involve in big nationwide issues, but sometimes, people get tired of the same  news over and over, we need “alternatives” as well.

The second page, containing the local news, was written in both English and Tagalog. A fact that did not surprise me much because PJT was a creation of the Philippine Journalist Inc. who also releases the Women’s Journal, People’s Journal, People’s Tonight and People’s Taliba.

The over-all news for every page was actually written mostly in the English language.

National, local, provincial and metro news are present in PJT. And almost all of them, excluding the national news, were all news about crimes.

Editorial and Sports:

The editorial page and the sports page we’re all written in English. 

The fourth page was dominated by the editorial columns. On the fifth page was an advertorial about Black Water. It is quite surprising to see that in a tabloid paper. If my memory serves me right, PJT was the only tabloid that has an advertorial in my newspaper analysis.

The sports page, located at the center of the newspaper and not at the back, which was the common placement of it in almost all the newspapers out there, has no advertisements at all. It was written purely sport stories and in English. It was a good point for me, putting the sports section in the heart of the paper, though there could be some cons as well. Some people, who have been used to seeing the sports section at the back, might probably, assume that PJT doesn’t have a sports section when scanning the newspapers in the newsstand by possible buyers. But for me, it was a smart move. It was, as I’ve said earlier, it was an alternative; it shows a new way of lay outing news.

PJT is providing new ways and new content for the Filipino people.

Leisure, Miscellaneous, Showbiz and the Classified Ads:

Leisure and Miscellaneous just basically has the content that can be derived from their name.

Showbiz section was the only section in the PJT that is written in Tagalog.

It was, I guess, a way of reaching out to the masses because the Filipino language is used. Pinoys have this penchant for the famous.  A tagalong showbiz section is surely to bring more readers and more money to the publishers.

ADVERTISEMENTS

People’s Journal Tonight, unsurprisingly, does not have too much advertisement; just a few ads with a little exposure; except of course, with the E-Trike Design sample that filled the whole third page.

Police Files Tonight

Police Files Tonight’s front page has this dark, colorful big letters for the headlines, a mixture of black and red color in particular. Tagalog was the language used of the newspaper.

CONTENT

Over-all content

There is nothing much to say on the news content of PFT (Police Files Tonight). Crime news was dominating the whole paper and there is nothing much to say.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Abante (Una sa Balita)

Abante is one newspaper that particularly draws attention. It’s got a national issue printed on the very first page. There is the also national, local and entertainment news but two ads are already in the front page. What a good match, eh?

CONTENT

Abante contains news that is commonly needed and read by the masses. It contains good content. Although I have to give it up more for the editorial section. Arnold Clavio and Sen. Chiz Escudero were two examples of their editorial writers and I was, honestly quite amazed.  Considering that the paper was targeting the common Filipino people, and included writers like that, it was a good point. People look up to those people. And it establishes a good start to have some people credible in their field in your paper. It kind of adds to the “angas” of your newspaper.

What is different with Abante is that they also have this section about lifestyle, Istayl Health and Fitness. It is a different section that Abante only offers (well, for the five papers I have seen and read in this tabloid analysis).

The very last page was a full picture of the TNT vs. Powerade PBA Finals.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Abante has A LOT of advertisers on their side. There was a lot of ads all over the paper and that merely implies that Abante is quite a paper that sells out to the people. More ads, more readers, more money. Right, right?

Pilipino Star has got a front page that looks good on the eyes (well, for the name part that is). It has a mixture of yellow, blue, white and red.

CONTENT

PSN (Pilipino Star Ngayon) has got crime news for a headline for that particular day. But, okay. I can’t help but just noticed how ads are placed all-over the front page. Eer?

The content is good, just a bit too much of advertisement and commercialization. Well, I can’t blame them. That is how they particularly survive in this technology-filled time. But hey, a little CONTROL over the content won’t harm, right? It’s too much elaborated content mixed with commercialization.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Few of the pages, specifically the news ones, are dominated with ads, placed on top and on the bottom. There are also other ads everywhere.

Toro

Why did I choose this? Okay. It is a different paper from all of my choices and personally, I haven’t had read one. It’s time for me to get out of my zone and read it, analyze it. And Toro has been known to be a really DIFFERENT one. right?

(I was about to buy tabloids on a newsstand when a Manong, standing inches away from me, was reading Toro. And you could see from his eyes a mixture of all emotions. Haha! I can’t really describe it, but it’s different. So I guess, that kind of contributed to me picking that newspaper up.)

For the cover? Ohh, the cover. It has got a picture of a sexy I-don’t-know-who-or-what-she-is girl.

CONTENT

Toro has got news that caters crimes. All news was about crimes (patayan). And when I say all, I mean all. Well, one news was about Corona but it was placed in a very small portion of the news page. I don’t know why. Maybe the readers just doesn’t really cared much about that national issue but plainly cares about crimes or those police crimes types.

For the other contents, Toro offers really explicit ones. (Haha! ;D) I don’t know. But almost all the contents were about “that thing”. Toro readers have been known to appreciate the paper for that, I suppose?

ADS?

Toro has got no ads. Surprising, right? And they have managed to survive through the readers who’ve been buying their paper. So that means, uhm, they’ve got quite a lot?

Maybe Toro just seems to offer a different alternative for the Filipino readers. Either way, Toro is still different. It may be good or bad. And it’s up to you to decide on that.

(Source: iamzee)