Historically, especially with American newspapers, two things could almost always be certain— an eagle or American Flag somewhere near the top of the front page, and a slogan to remind readers of the newspaper’s existence. For The New York Times, the now iconic “All the News that’s Fit To Print.”
This past week, The Washington Post added what New York Times columnist Maureen O’Dowd refers to as “a dramatic “Batman”-style motto”— “Democracy Dies in Darkness”. It is prominent. It is serious. It signals a new challenge for The Washington Post and other newspapers in the Trump era.
Apparently, Trump’s feud with the press is inspiring very explicit slogans and marketing campaigns for other newspapers as well: The New York Times bought a pricey ad for the Oscars with the tag line, “The truth is more important than ever.”
A full page ad about the importance of truth was published in the Sunday, Feb. 26, New York Times, too.
It’s “truth” as the main attraction for new subscribers at The New York Times.
And the buttons that Times staffers can wear.
And also at the Times, employees get this shopping bag.
The Los Angeles Times made new multilingual T-shirts declaring, “We will not shut up.”
The Washington Post encourages subscriptions via this Twitter ad:
Slogans in the past
I grew up with newspapers having slogans, and even mascots. For The Miami News, the newspaper in which I cut my teeth as an intern and then reporter, would always carry Twilby, a funny looking alligator at the top of the front page, with a glance at the weather (mostly sunny) and as a reminder that this was a newspaper published in Florida, where alligators abound. Notice that The Miami News’ slogan was Best Newspaper Under the Sun.
Out of curiosity, I decided to look at newspaper slogans elsewhere, and these are some of the most interesting ones I have found:
Feels Like Sunday
Sunday Mail
Brisbane, Australia
It All Unfolds Here.
The Calgary Herald
Calgary, Canada
Fresh Daily
The Advertiser
Adelaide, Australia
The Age. Everyone sees things differently.
The Age
Melbourne, Australia
A Newspaper Is As Good As the Truth It Prints (Um jornal é tão bom quanto as verdades que ele)
Jornal Do Brasil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
If It Matters To You, It Matters To Us
The Herald
Everett, United States
We Know Where You Live
Detroit News
Detroit, United States
If You Don’t Want it Printed, Don’t Let it Happen
Aspen Daily News
Aspen, United States
News Before It’s News
Algemeen Dagblad
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Story Unfolds
The Vancouver Sun
Vancouver, Canada
Worries You, Excites You, Makes You Think (Inquieta, emociona y hace pensar)
El Caribe
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Of related interest:
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/02/24/us/politics/ap-us-washington-post-motto.html
Speaking Engagements Coming Up
I will be speaking at these two events in the weeks ahead:
WAN-IFRA Middle East Conference 2017
March 14
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
My topic will be about the importance of Sponsored Content, with emphasis on the recent launch of the Gulf News‘ REACH by Gulf News project.
For more information: https://events.wan-ifra.org/events/wan-ifra-middle-east-conference-2017
VOZ Media Conference
April 6
Vienna, Austria
I will be the keynote speaker for this event, with emphasis on Visual Storytelling across platforms, the role of print media in the digital age and the importance of sponsored content strategies.
For more information: http://www.voez.at