Boston Herald 2018 Red Sox Preview Is On Autopilot

March 29, 2018

Today’s edition of the feisty local tabloid features its Red Sox 2018 Season Preview in advance of this afternoon’s Opening Day game in Tampa Bay.

 

 

The good news? Steve Buckley’s There’s still time for David Price to become beloved in Boston.

The bad news? NECN’s Fire Reported at Tropicana Field Ahead of Red Sox Opener.

The ad news? The thirsty local tabloid actually has a bunch of full-page ads in the special section. But oddly, 10 out of 11 are for auto dealerships. This is the other one ($99 for those of you keeping score at home).

 

 

Even odder, these are the only two ads that ran in Sunday’s Boston Globe Coming of Age season preview, one of which is a house ad.

 

 

In today’s edition Globe scribe Dan Shaughnessy asks, Are fans ready to embrace the Sox?

You tell us, but advertisers sure as hell don’t seem to be.

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Boston Herald Is Sold(er) Out by Departing Patriot

March 26, 2018

From our Local Dailies DisADvantage desk

First, disclosure: The hardreading staff has been a New York Giants fan since the days the team was called the New York Football Giants. (Don’t bother sending any abusive comments, splendid readers. Being a Giants fan is punishment enough itself.)

So we’re quite happy that former New England Patriot left tackle Nate Solder is Big Town bound, even at the cost of $62 million over four years, with $35 million guaranteed.

Solder’s feelings about leaving town, however, are mixed, as he mentioned in this full-page ad in yesterday’s Boston Globe.

Crosstown at the Boston Herald there was . . . nothing.

Note to Nate: Some denizens of Patriot Nation actually read the Herald. Apparently you won’t miss them – except with your ad dollars. Maybe Herald scribe Karen Guregian should take back the respectful sendoff she gave you yesterday.

Plenty left still to tackle

Solder loss leaves hole, concerns

The Patriots have a question mark in a place no team wants a question mark. They’re below par in the one position they can’t afford to be, especially with Tom Brady the linchpin to their success.

Uncertainty with Brady’s blind side protector? That’s not been a major storyline heading into a season for quite some time. Left tackle has been a strength for nearly two decades, from Matt Light to Nate Solder.

 

For the Herald, advertisers present a different kind of blind side: They don’t even see the thirsty local tabloid.

New slogan for the paper: Ad loss leaves hole, concerns.

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Hark! The Herald! (Useless Print Edition Edition)

March 22, 2018

Umpteenth in our never-ending series

On numerous occasions the hardreading staff has referred to a Boston Herald subscription as Biggest. Waste. Ever.

And now we’re back.

Page 3 of today’s selfie local tabloid is entirely devoted to this piece bylined “Herald Staff,” the designation routinely employed in passing off press releases as actual news.

Herald moves print production to Providence Journal

The Boston Herald is now being printed in Providence, which means our loyal customers can look forward to a more reader-friendly paper.

Beginning this week, the Herald is being printed at the The Providence Journal’s flexographic newspaper printing facility, which was North America’s first entirely flexographic printing facility when it opened in 1987. The Journal selected the flexo process because it creates a paper with vibrant color reproduction and uses an environmentally friendly, water-based ink that won’t have the paper rubbing off on your hands.

 

More reader-friendly?

Here’s what this reader got on today’s Scoreboard pages.

The redoubtable Dan Kennedy at Media Nation called this one several days ago: “I’m hearing reports from inside the Herald that the switch will require deadlines so early that evening sports stories may not make the print edition.”

Bingo.

(To be sure graf goes here)

To be sure, the Herald at times gave readers the same short shrift when the Boston Globe printed it.

(Two be sure graf goes here)

Also to be sure, the e-Edition of the spotty local tabloid did have yesterday’s results.

But we’re shelling out good money for the print edition while getting less news for the buck all the time.

So, Heraldniks, we say this as you celebrate your new printing setup: Not a providential beginning. Not by a long shot.

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Boston Globe Auctions Off More of Its News Pages

March 12, 2018

As the hardreading staff dolefully noted over the past few years, the Boston Globe’s editorial content has increasingly been playing footsie with marketing partners ranging from Suffolk University to Steward Health Care System to Rockland Trust to the Star Wars franchise.

Now comes Cross Insurance to “present” this page in yesterday’s Boston Sunday Globe Arts section.

 

 

(To be sure graf goes here)

To be sure, the hardreading staff has seen no Cross Insurance tit-for-tad in the $tately local broadsheet. But there is this sponsored content produced by BG BrandLab, the Globe’s in-house shop for producing ads in sheep’s clothing.

 

 

Yes yes – we’re aware that a disclosure line sits atop the website, albeit as inconspicuously as possible.

And if you click on the Information doohickey, this drops down.

 

 

Raise your hand if you ever click on that doohickey. Yeah, us neither.

Regardless of the level of transparency, we’re just uneasy overall about attaching financial interests to editorial content.

Never the twain should meet, right?

Or are we just hopelessly out of date?

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