[Kip Currier: I'm copying below a Letter to the Editor--titled "Get the Facts on Readers"--that I emailed today (September 1, 2018) to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. For additional background, see this story.]
Get the Facts on
Readers
Dear Editor,
The Post-Gazette is running a multi-platform ad campaign
that weaponizes variations of the line “I will never go digital” to make fun
of older readers, depicted as fuddy-duddy Luddites. In one particularly
offensive TV spot, a digitally-savvy granddaughter openly mocks her grandmother
who prefers print.
Research refutes the ageist “messages” in the P-G’s divisive
marketing campaign. Many adult U.S. readers—of all ages—are hybrid readers who want the choice of information in both print and digital formats.
As evidence, take a look at some of the key findings from a Jan.
3-10, 2018 national survey of 2,002 U.S. adults, reported by the
well-respected, non-partisan Pew Research Center:
Despite some growth in certain
digital formats, it remains the case that relatively few Americans consume
digital books (which include audiobooks and e-books) to the exclusion of print.
Some 39% of Americans say they read only print books, while 29% read in these
digital formats and also read print books.
And the coup de grace
to the P-G’s graceless stereotyping:
Some demographic groups are more
likely than others to be digital-only book readers, but in general this
behavior is relatively rare across a wide range of demographics. For example,
10% of 18- to 29-year-olds only read books in digital formats, compared with 5%
of those ages 50-64 and 4% of those 65 and older.
The P-G’s preening effort to digitally divide users borders on farce, given that P-G
writers and staff repeatedly concede the deplorable state of the newspaper’s
digital search and archival features.
The P-G’s tagline is “One
of America’s Great Newspapers”. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons,
that tagline is not supported by facts. So, here’s a “message” for P-G
ownership:
Hire some of the Pittsburgh
region’s highly educated information professionals to help the P-G become a bona fide leader in print and digital content, search, and
delivery. Give the Pittsburgh region a truly
great newspaper that inclusively serves and respects all of its readers and residents.
James “Kip”
Currier
Mt. Lebanon
