29 October 2012

"Le Napoléon Bonaparte prend l'eau dans le port de Marseille" - La Provence

I know this newspaper pretty well, the principal paper in Marseille. It's as good as any in most respects, and just as bad. Consider this story. A ferry bashed in its hull on a dock in Marseille yesterday. This morning on TV there are stories about how it is still in peril and that recovery efforts - to right it fully - will continue this morning. When I look at what appears to be the latest in La Provence, here is what I don't find:
+ Anything updated from last night at 10 PM
+ Anything advising me that there will be further updates and when to expect them
+ Anything giving me a concise summary of the situation right now
+ Any opportunity to be alerted by various means, if I choose, in the event that something more is reported or changes in the story
In short, La Provence has blown this one badly and probably does not even realize it has. Whyshould I have to go to the site of a free national newspaper in order to get an update on a story happening in the middle of the Marseille market?
Alas, you could substitute almost any other story in any other newspaper for the one mentioned here and get the same result. Even The New York Times in covering Hurricane Sandy! This link goes to a Live Updates page with times listed and no dates for any of them.

No comments: