Summer, sun, feet up: When temperatures rise, we like to slow down. Learn all about the silly season now!
Table of contents
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1. The summer lull in the media
When, instead of political events, newspapers suddenly start debating the best holiday reading or the cutest tiger cub, we're already in the thick of it: the silly season. This term refers to a traditionally news-poor period during the summer months.
You'll observe this phenomenon in most mass media, but especially in daily newspapers and news programs. The reason for the silly season is easy to explain: There's simply less happening.
Like everyone else, politicians go on vacation in July and August. The result? Political debates and decisions are suspended.
Sporting events are also absent, as you can mostly watch national and international competitions in spring and fall. Movie premieres, album releases, award ceremonies, and other cultural events are also absent in the summer.
To fill newspaper pages and airtime on news programs, journalists sometimes resort to obscure reports. Often, for example, you learn a surprising number of details about certain animals—zoo animals, wild animals, or domestic animals.
Animals populate the press so frequently during the summer months that there's a special term for them: "summer hole animals." The "problem bear" Bruno, for example, was one such summer hole animal in 2006.
2. The summer lull in retail
It's not just the media that can experience a lull in summer. Shops and shopping centers also become emptier. Due to the summer slump, many companies—especially retail companies—generate comparatively little revenue in July and August.
This is because many people aren't in the mood to consume, preferring to laze around at the swimming pool, in their garden, or at the lake. Many aren't even in the country, but are on vacation.
Neither shopping in the pedestrian zone nor online shopping comes to mind in the summer. A somewhat strange term has also emerged for this low-sales period in retail, one you've probably heard before: "slow season."
Originally, this word was used in the 18th century to describe a period of food shortages; today, entrepreneurs refer to the lull in midsummer as a slow period.
3. The summer lull in training
You also feel the summer slump in your workout routine: When the thermometer exceeds 30 degrees Celsius, your motivation for your exercise program is sure to dwindle. Instead of getting your circulation going with cardio, you prefer to slow down and recover in the heat.
Every movement already makes you sweat. Even if you're not going on vacation, you like to treat yourself in the summer. Long evenings with friends, eating and drinking are the good things in life that you were looking forward to so much in the winter.
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4. The only true silly season (The Community)
A little fun fact at the end: Sommerloch is not only a lull in the summer, but also a small district in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Not far from the Nahe and Rhine rivers, idyllically situated among vineyards, lies Sommerloch, which around 400 residents call home. Is it particularly quiet and dignified here? We think so.
5. Conclusion
During the summer months of July and August, there are few sporting, political, and cultural events, so journalists have little to report on. This media lull is called the silly season. You can usually observe a silly season in your own discipline, too.
