Cut and Run

‘Post’ Traumatic. Freedom Communications, Inc., the publisher of ‘The Orange County (CA) Register’ is among the first to seek more readers by offering less to read. A snappy new six-day tab, ‘OC POST,’ is full of bite-sized stories and large ad, with ‘color on every page!’ The ad campaign for the launch – without reference to the Register or its other one-year-old weekly, SqueezeOC, includes billboards and bus shelters – without reference to the parents. In the television spots, a woman gets her first issue and becomes so excited about the concept of the trimmed news format that she immediately asks a stylist for equal treatment for her hair. However, the second tv ad suggests people may be justified in dismissing too demanding lengths in their art. After flipping through his new ‘Post,’ a male reader imagines a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ that jump-cuts to the finale in minutes not hours – and still earns a standing ovation! This rush by papers to better compete with cable and internet news delivery seems ironic when, at the same time cable news is filling entire weeks with one story, and one story with only the faintest trace of factual news. This is, of course, the story of the self-confessed (and possibly insane) John Mark Karr, who, not surprisingly graced the cover of the ‘POST’s’ premiere issue.