The Weekly is a new show from The New York Times. Its existence can sound rather strange, but it is clear that it is supposed to be one of the methods by which the famous publication seeks to maintain its prominence in the present time. However, time will tell this will prove to be successful or not. Furthermore, time will tell how The New York Times will change and be changed by The Weekly. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about The Weekly:
1. Common Name
Speaking bluntly, The Weekly isn’t the most original name out there. Sure, it makes sense, both because it sums up its schedule and because it evokes the right feel for something with such a strong connection to a newspaper. However, that doesn’t change the fact that The Weekly isn’t the first show with such a name and won’t be the last show with such a name, which can be rather confusing for some of the interested individuals out there.
2. A Story a Week
By this point, interested individuals should have no problems guessing that The Weekly is a kind of news show. However, it isn’t one of those news shows that cover a number of stories. Instead, it uses its 30 minutes a week to cover a single story, which is a choice that should make it much appealing for people who want more in-depth coverage rather than broader but more shallow coverage.
3. Each Story Sees the Involvement of the Journalist Who Has Been Covering It
Naturally, each of the stories will see the personal involvement of The New York Times journalists that have been covering them the entire time rather than a single journalist or even a small collection of journalists associated with the show. Some of these journalists have been covering the relevant issues for months and months, while others have been doing the same for years and years. As such, interested individuals should be able to count on their expertise and experience.
4. Very Personal
Curiously, The Weekly is supposed to be very personal in nature. What this means is that interested individuals will be seeing not just the fruits of The New York Times journalists’ investigations but also the processes of those investigations. In other words, The Weekly covers the stories as well as the process of covering those stories, which has some pretty interesting implications.
5. Has a Clear Narrative
For instance, the Variety review made it clear that the episode of The Weekly seen by the reviewer has a clear narrative to it. To be exact, the episode covered in the process of the investigation in such a manner that it depicted the journalist as a hero seeking justice for those who had been wronged by the villain of the story. On the one hand, journalists do deserve more recognition for the critical role that they play in ensuring that a functional society can remain so; on the other hand, this seems like the sort of thing that could irk people out there who want no editorializing when it comes to the news reporting that they choose to consume.
6. The Choice to Focus on Journalists Could Be a Misstep
It will be interesting to see whether this choice to focus on the journalists will make The Weekly more or less telegenic. Theoretically, it could make the show more telegenic because a more personal touch could create more personal interest on the part of the viewers. However, it remains to be seen whether viewers can be convinced to become interested in how journalists do journalism or not, which could very well turn out to be the point on which the show will either succeed or fail.
7. Not the First Time that The New York Times Has Ventured into TV
The New York Times is a relative newcomer to the TV landscape. However, it is interesting to note that The Weekly isn’t the first time that it has ventured there. After all, there have been a number of documentaries that looked at the internal functioning of the publication, which provide interested individuals with a good look at how current events were translated into the articles on their screens as well as the newsprint in their hands. Some of those documentaries are said to have done well. As such, one can’t help but wonder whether they might’ve had something to do with The New York Times’ choice to take further steps in this regard.
8. One Part of a Broader Engagement with Other Forms of Media
Unsurprisingly, The Weekly isn’t the sole example of The New York Times seeking to become involved with other forms of media. One example would be how Netflix is teaming up with The New York Times to produce an entire series of documentaries called The Diagnosis, which will indeed be based on the column of the same name. Another example would be how Annapurna Pictures and Plan B have managed to pick up the rights for a movie based on The New York Times breaking the Harvey Weinstein story, which has had a considerable impact on the entertainment industries in the United States and beyond.
9. Meant to Bring In New Subscribers
The point of this engagement is to introduce The New York Times to more potential subscribers, which in turn, is meant to provide more opportunities to turn those potential subscribers into paying subscribers. This is critical for the simple reason that The New York Times makes most of its revenues from subscriptions, meaning that this is an ongoing issue. Something that is particularly true because of how changing media consumption patterns have been impacting traditional newspapers.
10. Expect Wide Range of Stories
It seems safe to say that interested individuals can expect a wide range of stories to be covered on The Weekly. The one mentioned by the Variety review was focused on a private school scandal in the state of Louisiana, but some of the other coverage of the show suggests that interested individuals can expect to see everything from global terrorism to U.S. immigration and New York transportation.
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