Morag Blazey settles down to a good and cheap read with the Saturday
papers
On Saturdays the Guardian sells almost twice as many copies as the
Independent. Consequently, the Independent has chosen to copy a very
successful element of the Guardian’s Saturday package and produce a me-
too guide, the Eye.
While the two products are very similar - arts, entertainment, TV and
radio listings - the Guide somehow feels funkier and the listings easier
on the eye (satellite and radio have a page per day). The Eye is,
however, true to the Independent’s promise and has more ‘features’, but
is that what people want from a portable entertainment guide?
Particularly when the Magazine and Long Weekend offer features and
opinions in a more readable format.
The Times launched the Directory into the fray as part of the new eight-
section Saturday package under the wraparound banner ‘the...newspaper
that makes your weekend’ which threw me slightly; was it actually
telling me not to buy a Sunday paper, even the Sunday Times? The Times
unashamedly claims the Directory was rushed through to compete with the
launch of the Eye and consequently advertised it as an entertainment
guide.
I was surprised to find a ‘low-fat cookery course’ on the opening pages
and the entertainment/ what’s on listings wedged on to three pages. This
left me wondering who it’s aimed at. The true raison d’etre is revealed
at the back with 28 pages devoted to TV and radio listings, which are
very comprehensive. This is the heart of the section, which appears to
be the old Vision upgraded, and hence not really a competitor to the
Eye.
Neither the Directory nor the eight-section Times will bury the
Independent, if that is the aim, but they do offer great value at 50p.
Morag Blazey is a board director of New PHD
