Its popularity is based on sensational news, focused mainly on accidents, crimes, conflicts, rapes, adultery and showbiz.
Useful data. There were few of them, and with information specially selected so that you could be informed and able to solve everyday problems.
These were the first paper newspapers, media that sometimes also served as a platform for disseminating the interests of a union, a political party or a group of citizens who had decided to resist the nation that had colonized them.
However, over time the contents began to diversify, with the clear objective of turning the media into a lucrative business, for which they no longer only reported on useful data, but also began to include in their contents information that could entertain, and thus attract new readers.
With the arrival of technology, newspapers were optimizing their processes, which helped the multiplication of these newspapers, the increase in competitiveness, and the need to establish comparative advantages, which is why some decided to innovate through a web platform. , a business model that today for many will end up extinguishing the classic newspaper in paper format.
However, due to their popularity, the well-known “yellow” newspapers, those that base their news on accidents, crimes, showbiz, rape and adultery, seem to ignore this fear that threatens the survival of historical newspapers.
Where does the term "yellowist" come from? The trend dates back to the period 1895-1898, when the New York World and the New York Journal faced each other in a battle of sensationalism to increase their sales, and today, more than a century later, the term continues to be coined globally. .
Below, we invite you to discover some of the most popular tabloid newspapers in the region:
Ecuador/Diario Extra
Director: Nicolás Ulloa Figueroa
It was founded on October 23, 1974, by former minister Galo Martínez Merchán, from the government of the late former president José María Velasco Ibarra. According to its director, Nicolás Ulloa, it was born from the desire to serve the community. It is characterized by being populist, by its extremely graphic images and sensational news, as well as photographs with highly erotic content. It usually has short, light notes and a design based on the colors white, blue and red. It is the best-selling newspaper nationwide. It has 45 journalists and a circulation of 200 thousand daily.
According to Ulloa, the newspaper is not afraid of the threat of digital newspapers: “we do not have this fear, because every day we grow more,” he stated. El Diario Extra has become a very popular newspaper due to its low cost, its simple language, the number of topics it covers, its police reports and its uncensored images.
Chile/La Cuarta
Director: Sergio Maraboli
It was founded on November 13, 1984, by Diozel Pérez, a self-taught Chilean journalist. It has the slogan “the popular newspaper,” and has direct, simple language that shows closeness to the common Chilean. It is especially characterized by its high erotic content. It brings police stories, humor, irony, love dramas, sports and showbiz. It is not based on a style manual, but rather generates new terms and coins others. It is one of the newspapers with the greatest circulation and readership in the country.
The type of news that this newspaper publishes is what allows it to survive. Simple notes, curious facts, strong colors, ironic and striking headlines; The development of the country's entertainment conflicts, plus its high share of erotic content and its low cost, create the perfect balance to attract the attention of readers, who prefer it over any other Chilean newspaper.
Paraguay/Diario Popular
Director: Amanda Pedroso
Founded in 1994, this is a newspaper with simple, entertaining language, which includes Jopara (Guarani-Spanish mix), and which contains all kinds of information, with emphasis on small notes. Today it is the number one selling newspaper in the country. It has around 30 journalists, in addition to four editors, three coordinators, an editor-in-chief, a vice director and a director. It works under the slogan of "the newspaper that most people read."
According to its director, Amanda Pedroso, “in Paraguay, digital newspapers do not constitute a threat in the present, but in the future. In any case, as we know that precautions will have to be taken for then, Popular newspaper specializes in articles beyond information. The other side of the news is essentially what characterizes us. And that is what will allow us to survive and continue leading, when the majority of the population has access to the internet.”
Argentina/ Chronicle
Director: Alejandro Olmos
It was founded on July 29, 1963 by Héctor Ricardo García, Argentine journalist, theater producer and businessman, owner of the Crónica TV channel. It is developed in Buenos Aires under the slogan “firm with the people” , which defines it as a populist newspaper. In 1975, this newspaper, without an obvious editorial, was closed by the government of Isabel Perón, managing to reopen two years later. It is characterized by its police news. Its covers attract attention due to the large photographs that cover it, accompanied by a headline with large letters. Its daily circulation is around 60,500 copies.
The evident self-qualification of the newspaper, as that of the people, has allowed Argentines to feel identified with Crónica and continue to choose it. It has a simple design, but it breaks with the style of Argentine newspapers; simple language, ironic headlines and the information is presented in an entertaining and educational way. It uses shocking news and images that attract readers' attention, and at the same time it carries some current political news, which makes it read by various segments.
Colombia/Space
Director: Jaime Ardila Casamitjana
It was founded on April 10, 1965 by Ciro Gomez Mejia. With the aim of reporting on all types of topics, this evening newspaper is nationalist, independent, open to public opinion , very graphic, and includes entertainment and political sections. However, it is characterized by having a high percentage of light news and popular and curious topics. It is the second newspaper with the greatest coverage, circulation and readership in the country, and its slogan is “the newspaper of the Colombian people.”
It has a very peculiar design and layout, which breaks with the scheme and stands out compared to other Colombian newspapers. To capture attention, he uses the tool of photographs, which absolutely complement all his notes and at the same time are very graphic. It was the first newspaper to release its digital version in 2002 , which acquired even more readers who, at that time, did not have access to the paper newspaper.
Peru/ Eye
Director: Victor Ramírez Canales
Founded in 1968 by Guillermo Thorndike Losada, a Peruvian journalist and writer, this daily newspaper with national distribution is characterized by covering crime news , which highlights assaults, robberies and murders. The newspaper, which is called "accompanies you with current, varied and complete information to satisfy the whole family" , uses photographs for most of its notes, however, unlike other newspapers of the style, they are a little less explicit. In addition, it has sports information, showbiz romances, humor, new information and curious advice. It has a weekly circulation of close to a million copies.
What has made it the third most read newspaper in general and the first in its category is its age, that is, it has very loyal readers who appreciate the covers that highlight interesting, rather than aesthetic, content.
