Reviews are an integral part of print's love affair with TV

by Tess Alps Media Week 01-Jul-08

Gill Hudson, the fabulous editor of the Radio Times, recently bemoaned the fact that some newspapers (the Telegraph and the whole Associated Group) have decided to abandon their TV reviews, on the grounds that audiences are now viewing such a wide range of channels that a morning-after review could not hope to be relevant to its readers.

Newspapers and magazines have a very ambivalent, but ultimately symbiotic, relationship with TV. On the one hand, their pages are filled with TV stories, and TV listings, previews, interviews, features and supplements are some of newspapers' most-read sections. Indeed, the most-read, most-bought magazines are devoted to TV.

However, newspaper schadenfreude is rife if TV companies run into any sort of difficulty, whether of their own or someone else's making. TV gives newspapers some exposure, but to a lesser degree. Front pages are referred to from the GMTV sofa and print company stories might be treated to a factual report on TV news.

Hudson wondered whether online media rivalry was behind the abandoning of the TV reviews. I hope not. In fact, there is some great collaboration online between newspapers and TV companies.

Telegraph TV has a deal with CNN to provide film inserts. And the Guardian's Live TV blog is a brilliant service, increasing the fun of watching TV by extending the conversations beyond the sofa and thereby generating lots of traffic for itself.

There is no sign of newspapers and magazines abandoning their love of TV wholesale. I hope it's not arrogant to say that that would be folly.

So, it is really only the TV review that's in danger. My enjoyment of Nancy Banks-Smith's reviews is not at all dependent on having seen the programme (no, I don't manage to watch everything on telly).

Fine writing, coupled with a desire to be abreast of culture, makes a compelling proposition. I read theatre, book, art and opera reviews with no chance of experiencing more than a fraction.

TV reviews have a greater relevance than ever. With the explosion of on-demand TV services online, a positive review can also be a prompt that people can still act on.

Thinkbox's recent joint study with the IAB found that 58% of the people who watched TV online used it to catch up with broadcast TV. However, 23% also used on-demand sites to watch a friend's recommendation. I'm sure print brands see themselves as their readers' friends, so what better way to show it?