When the Corriere Turns into Novella 2000

I have always loved keeping myself informed through newspapers, ever since I was a child. I’ve always had a soft spot for certain dailies, among them the Corriere della Sera. For some years now, I have continued to read Italian and foreign newspapers online. I think it’s the fastest way to stay updated because often the news that appears on traditional channels (printed paper and television) is old.

And yet, to my dismay, I’ve noticed that for some time now the Corriere is no longer the same. To be more precise, the “Corriere online” is no longer the “Corriere della Sera”, even though the publisher and the brand are the same. In fact, in the top part of the online daily, I often come across gossip news. And when a story needs to be served up in a more appealing way, there’s the multimedia side with photos and videos.

The Corriere like Novella 2000? The answer is yes. If, however, from a magazine that makes gossip its business you expect naked women and scandals (often artificially created), frankly from what boasts to be the first or second national daily, I expect something quite different.

I’m pleased to note that I’m not the only one who thinks this way; there are also other readers of the Corriere. The second news item of the day, just to give an example, is: “Ruby has become a mother: Sofia Aida was born.” There’s no point explaining who Ruby is, as the newspapers in our country (and not only) have “bored” us for months with stories about Ruby Rubacuori, effectively hiding the real problems of Italy.

Judging by the comments, the news—or rather, the second most important news item of the day for the Corriere online—was not well received. Here are some comments:

Tonight I’ll sleep
It’s nice to know that Novella Duemila always keeps us up to date on the latest! Oh, what? We’re not on Novella Duemila, but on the Corriere? ooooooops

who cares!
I mean: 1) this is not news worth putting among the top stories, at most a short note at the bottom of the page 2) people like this shouldn’t even be given visibility. They get more attention than people who really deserve it. 3) Corriere, don’t lower yourself to certain trashy tabloids, please. Thank you.

Other comments:

Comments like these are almost all of them, and the warning from readers should be heeded by the Corriere. If the newspaper has been so attentive to Web 2.0 novelties by introducing the concept of feedback with its readers, it has to grasp with equal enthusiasm this cry of alarm from its readers. Listening, after all, is fundamental in digital communication, and the will of the readers should always come before that of the advertisers. But that’s another story that, unfortunately, seems to belong to journalism from another era.