France: La Tribune launches redesigned formula

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2006 at 3:55 PM

A year after the redesign of some of France’s main newspapers, Le Monde, Figaro and l’Humanité, La Tribune (and La Croix) launches its own redesigned formula. This seems to be one of newspapers' most widespread answers to fight against their losses, but the new formulas rarely suffice to themselves.

La Tribune changed everything, from bolder headlines to color-paletting the sections, including ad presentation and a new mni-newspaper on pages 2-3 summarizing the day's highlights.
La Tribune’s entire format and sections have been rethought, but there’s more. “This isn’t a change in esthetics but a true remold,” explained Mario Garcia, the American newspaper designer who remodeled La Tribune. Garcia redesigned the paper to match the needs of the targeted readership (business men), which “lacks patience and is very prone to new technologies.”
The print newsroom and web staff have merged, and staffers can now work on both medium. The print version of La Tribune will focus on “depth and analysis”, while the web version will be constantly updated and offer “reactivity and liveliness,” said François-Xavier Pietri, Editor in Chief for La Tribune.
The web version now also offers a 24/7 formula, a printable, 15-page synthesized newspaper updated hourly, ideal for readers on the move.
Important structural redesigns, thus far, have seldom drastically reversed newspapers’ losses of readership. For example, the Figaro and Le Monde changed their formula in October and November 2005: this merely helped to slow the decrease (from 5% to 2.5% for Le Monde’s circulation) rather than regain their readers.
In June 2006, La Tribune’s paid-for circulation averaged a stable 78,300. Numbers will speak for themselves within the next months.

Source: AFP (24 heures)