Chicken or egg dilemma of the media world

Reprinted from the Estevan Mercury

By Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

Some of you might have noticed posts from SaskToday’s Crime, Cops and Court section popping up on Mercury’s Facebook page and thus on your feed at the end of every day.

Some even turn to our provincial news hub on a regular basis by now not only for Estevan news, but for your news needs in general and also to learn the latest from our most read section.

Crimes, cops and court indeed sees the most traffic on average. Of course, a huge part of this success is due to work by Lisa Joy, a very talented court reporter, an international and national award-winning journalist (and also formerly a licensed private investigator in Alberta), who currently covers what is often pretty unbelievable acts by criminal minds in the north-central part of the province for SaskToday. (If you haven’t read her articles, please do so, she is indeed amazing). But there is also another component to this section’s popularity.

Back in my university years, one of the professors told us future journalists what was formulated as the rule of three S’s. Quoting some guru of journalism, he said that the popularity of media lies upon the three pillars –sex, death and sensation (which all start with an S in the Russian language).

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Gordon Brewerton Senior Group Publisher

Kylie Cooke • Elisha Parkinson • DTI/Receptionist

Editorial Jayne Foster Editor SASKTODAY.ca

Lisa Joy Reporter • Miguel Fenrich Reporter

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By R.H. Wood

North Battleford

I feel that the two photographs which accompanied my article last week merit some comment. The top one showing the chapel in the grounds of the now-demolished Saskatchewan Hospital was reproduced with absolutely amazing sharpness of detail. The lower photograph shows Milton Lockhart castle which was transported from Scotland to Japan and rebuilt in a theme park. The gatehouse and its bridge over the River Clyde still remain and create tourist interest. One Friday in 1950 having been excused from school – an unheard-of rarity –on my timorous suggestion a classmate, James Carlin, and I set off on our bikes down into the river valley to draw a picture of the gatehouse. As a shortcut, we entered the estate only to be accosted by an officious estate worker who accused us of trespassing. Once convinced of the

Chicken or egg

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These three components will always attract attention and guarantee a wide circulation, no matter where you are and who you are writing for.

Sex is pretty obvious; anything related to it, be it a scandal or an advice section, instantly catches attention. By death he meant any kinds of accidents, catastrophes, armed conflicts, and any other risks to people’s lives. Sensation is an approach to serving information. Be it a unique provocative leak, stipulation about a hot topic, or something that makes the reader feel scared, sensations cater to people’s emotions. Sensations are a go-to for tabloids, which in general bank on all three components, as well as for many social media channels and influencers.

Even if something is an obvious fiction, people still click on it and read it, yielding millions of views and room for making good money through advertisement.

Throughout my years in journalism, working for different media, along with many of my colleagues, I kept trying to swing away from the domination of these topics. We tried writing more positive news and digging for feel-good stories, we put all our talents into talking about something outside sex, sensations and death.

And while there was a response to that, when it came to news, the bad ones always took over the readership. So as a journalist seeking readership growth, you have to pay more attention to all the negative episodes. And then all of a sudden, able interest and widespread support and give the chapel future utilitarian value.