Claiming The Inheritance At Death's Door

At the moment, one could say that the Sunday Tribune is, essentially, on life support with limited hope of recovery.

The weekly newspaper won't be printed for the next couple of weeks, and maybe not ever again if a buyer can't be found to resurrect a rag that's gone into receivership.

So the paper's giving up the ghost, you might say. Who claims the departed's effects? Not waiting for a death rattle, the Irish Mail has stepped in and robbed the closet. Friends and family of the gravely ill newspaper are outraged.

This Sunday's edition of the Irish Mail stood out at the newstand because it looked just like the Sunday Tribune in typeface and lay-out. The masthead was swiped when the rest of the family was distracted.

The editors clearly intended to pull the wool over the eyes of the dedicated Tribune reader who tends to grab based on external appearances. Once that person started reading, the reasoning went, they'd be so taken with the stellar quality of the Mail's journalism that they'd be hooked, and continue to purchase the rival paper in the future. It's not as if the Sunday Tribune was there on the stand next to it, now, was it, all upset that the bitch stole its look?

The National Union of Journalists has said their piece. Like any other legatee waiting for their share of the inheritance, they're quite upset that one of the relations has jumped the gun and claimed something that the rest of the family might have wanted to bury with the dear departed. Naturally, the union has hope that someone will step in and revive the journal, and they'd like to keep the same face to present to the buying public. A newspaper's masthead is the face it presents to the public, the recognizable image that's all important.

So was it a cynical ploy on the part of the Irish Mail's editors, or was it a smart move to snap up potential customers before anyone else thought of it?

The Irish Mail says it was only trying to survive by picking off readers who would be looking for something to replace their usual source. There are 161 jobs to be protected, as opposed to the 43 Sunday Tribune employees who are out of work, so what's wrong with a little marketing gimmick?

There's always the question of appearances when it comes to claiming the inheritance. It is rather bad form to help yourself to the personal effects of someone who's not yet breathed their last.