The US Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) has released a new study entitled 'Extra! Extra!', that compares tabloids with broadsheets and examines their potential future in the US media market.

PEJ asserts that the new study "may surprise traditionalists prone to dismiss the tabloids as just newspaper lite."

Some principal differences between tabloids and broadsheets are presented.

The tabloid will enable a reader to acquire a broad picture of the news stories of the day in a short time and in this area is more effective than the broadsheet: "A reader with 20 minutes will be more likely get a basic outline of the news about a broader range of topics… from the tabloids than the section fronts of the broadsheets."

On the other hand the broadsheet offers more in depth coverage of stories as well as a more balanced view: "readers of the tabloids would be hard pressed to get much in the way of sourcing, impact or even more than one side of the story—even on the top stories of the day. Indeed, 74% of controversial stories offered just one side or mostly one viewpoint on things."

The report suggests that the newspaper of the future needs to combine the positive aspects of each format to be a success: "Combining the broader news summary of the tabloids with the depth of the broadsheets on the key stories of the day may point to a way for newsrooms with fewer reporters to continue to cover the waterfront—and in a way that may serve readers better than simply covering fewer things or making every story a little shorter."

PEJ point out that research recently conducted by Scarborough and The New York Times "found that most of the readers of free-tabloids also subscribe to one or more pay-dailies."

Source: PJ Net, PEJ