The Times.
One of the icons of newspapers and journalism.
Not just in the UK, but across the whole World.
Sure, there have been scandals along the way – not to mention the Murdoch ownership – but overall, it is still a paper that commands huge respect which is why I found this recent ad of theirs on Facebook rather baffling.
Yes, I know football is a global sport worth billions of pounds a year.
Yes, I know The Times have a football writer, Henry Winter, that is highly revered.
Yes, I know that Facebook audiences may be more likely to react to a football story than a journalism story.
But …. come on.
It’s the fucking Times.
And while having a global perspectives has never been so important as it is today, I’m not sure football – or Jose Mourinho for that matter – is going to drive the subscriptions they crave, especially when there are so many more topical [and important] issues they could push against … whether that’s the politically motivated movement to promote anything that challenges a claim as false news or even the tragic terrorist events that have taken place in London in the last few days.
While I appreciate the need to broaden your audience base is vital, chasing them never leads to long term success because ultimately you are handing over your destiny to people who could change their allegiance in a heartbeat, especially when there are so many other alternatives all vying for your attention.
As I wrote a while back, if you don’t commit to what you were created for, then how can you ever expect your audience to commit to what you stand for.