Back to the tabloid roots

Psst, Saipan Tribune, there's something on your shoe.

Nope, it smells and it's still there.

Gossip is not news. I don't know how you can justify putting a nasty rumor about Lt. Gov. Timothy Villagomez on the front page. The Commonwealth won't fall if you wait for at least one source.

Press Secretary Charles Reyes was too kind when he called the "allegations and hearsay" troubling. He should have been meaner, particularly to the Tribune.

What makes a tabloid?

A short newspaper refresher: Historically, tabloids were about half of the size of the 'broadsheet' papers. Paper was cheaper and they could use smaller presses. They were scurrilous scandal mongers looking for sensational stories with little regard for the truth or the people they wrote about.

Believe it or not, modern descendants like the New York Post and the National Enquirer have actually raised their "standards" somewhat over the years. They deserve no credit, it's our legal system at work.

Tabloid means bad credibility; that's why network news shows were called tabloid when they moved into sleaze and sensationalize territory.

I've always given the local papers a pass: it's purely economics and they've had pretty good standards. (Besides, it's easier to hold a tabloid when the wind is blowing.)

But this one, and I'll throw in the reporting about Patrick Calvo, is classic tabloid journalism.