Results matching “tribune co newspaper redesi”

The Audit Bureau of Circulations has released its figures for US newspapers, for the six months ending March 31st - and they've created quite a stir. Data for 395 American newspapers was recorded, displaying an overall decline in circulation of 7.4% compared with the same period in 2007-08. Of the 25 top newspapers in the US, all bar one have seen drops in circulation.

It is the Wall Street Journal which has bucked the trend and managed an overall increase, albeit of just 0.6%. The WSJ has recently been displaying signs of a change in its editorial direction, leaning towards a slightly more mainstream news role and increased competition with newswires via Dow Jones. In a recent interview, managing editor Robert Thomson explained the WSJ's success was in part due to the demise of some US newspapers, which "creates a tremendous opportunity for us to gain readers".

The New York Times has been liberally making the news as well as reporting it over the past week, first because of pay cuts and lay-offs, then because of Vanity Fair writer Mark Bowden's profile of Arthur Sulzberger in which he blames the publisher for the paper's woes, next because of the International Herald Tribune's redesign and online merger with its parent publication, and lastly because of speculation over its intention to cut the City pages. As Bowden phrased it, the fate of the NYT "is of special importance: it is the flagship of serious newspaper journalism in America," and will be followed by all those who admire it, as well by as its critics.  

According to Mark Bowden, the paper's problems stem from the fact that the fourth Sulzberger to run the dynasty "has steered his inheritance into a ditch." Sulzberger may "be able to ride his inheritance into the digital age," believes Bowden, and if he does it will be an impressive achievement indeed. However, the "more likely outcome is that he will lose the Times to someone with deep enough pockets to carry the enterprise at a loss until circumstances sort themselves out." Bowden puts it down to the fact that Sulzberger is "a careful steward, when what the Times needs today is some wild-eyed genius of an entrepreneur." Bowden's general impression seems to be that although the publisher is truly committed to maintaining good journalism, he is just not a good businessman, and sadly in the current financial climate the latter quality is all too important. Guardian journalist Dan Kennedy, amongst others, believes that Bowden was too harsh and indeed "it's hard to see how anyone else could have done much better."

And indeed, it is not as if the New York Times is failing where others are succeeding. Many US papers are suffering significantly, with closures and bankruptcies being reported regularly. The recent decision to cut employees' pay by 5% and offer two weeks of unpaid leave - essentially a furlough - is a move that has already been made by other major players. Indeed in financial terms, the paper seems to be in a similar state to that of many others, and its website is doing far better in terms of visitors, but due to its reputation it is bound to undergo closer scrutiny.  Other steps it has taken that are less directly related to money matters, however, have deservedly prompted more consideration. Both of the following moves seem financially motivated, although it is unclear in the case of the IHT integration where exactly the cost savings or increased revenue will lie.

The IHT's redesign has been met with some criticism, as has the fact that it is taking some time to direct old IHT links to their new home on the NYT global edition site. Follow the Media's Philip Stone, who has read the paper for more than 30 years, was distinctly unimpressed by the way that the paper has been made to appear more consistent with the NYT. "Stripping away the IHT's own personality is a pity, and it's a mistake," he believes. He does not like the way that the paper looks and feels "like a mini-NYT," he thinks the masthead is boring, he feels it is not colourful enough and overall, the new paper is a "perfect example of why one doesn't want to buy print any more." Changing a paper's identity is without doubt a controversial step and will always alienate some readers. In this case it might be particularly significant as the key differentiators in the papers' titles, 'New York' and 'International,' do have very different connotations and is it wise to assume that readers will welcome this change in the paper's branding?

The NYT's plan to eliminate its stand alone weekly City Section (currently in its Sunday paper) is as yes unconfirmed by the paper, as are plans to axe other regional sections. It has been suggested that all regional sections might be combined, in a move that would surely give them a less local feel. Meanwhile, at the beginning of March the paper announced that it was to launch two new hyperlocal websites that will cover five communities in New Jersey and Brooklyn. Each will be run by just one NYT staff member and a team of citizen journalists, so will not cost much. These two developments together seem to suggest that the paper is following a path of moving its local news online, and subsequently reducing the resources that it allocates to this.

When looking at this apparent decision to reduce its city and regional news in conjunction with the NYT's decision to further incorporate the IHT as its global edition, one conclusion seems to jump out: the New York Times seems currently more concerned with promoting its global presence than covering local news. And in the current financial situation, decisions about priorities have to be made. But is this a move in the right direction? The US has very few truly national papers, making the future of the New York Times all the more important within the country itself. By steering resources away from the city that gave the paper its name and focussing on an undefined global audience, is it neglecting its duty in favour of bigger and better things?

After announcing its move to tabloid format last week, the 'To-Go' edition of the Chicago Tribune hit the streets yesterday.  The Tribune had assured readers that the tabloid edition would 'provide the same Chicago Tribune content packaged in a new compact format'.  Its aim is to provide residents of the commuter town with a more convenient read on the journey to work.

The first ever 'Trib Tab' has been met with positive reviews.  Subscribers continue to receive the broadsheet edition, but after reading the tabloid version Mark Fitzgerald of Editor and Publisher belives that 'Subscribers are now getting the second-best paper.'  Fitzgerald thinks that the Tribune's traditional content sits more comfortably in its new tabloid home; 'the news content doesn't seem like an afterthought as it often looks in the broadsheet', and the columnists are reclaiming the prominence they lost in the redesign.

In an apparent about-turn, the Chicago Tribune's latest edition contains a proposed new set of changes to the paper's layout - just three months after its big re-design came into effect.  The paper issued a list of the alterations it intends to make, each of which was printed next to a reader comment or suggestion under the headline 'You spoke, we listened'.

Columnist Steve Outing reports that in order to save print newspapers, "publishers must improve them with the older print loyalists in mind."  

With publications shutting down print services from a seven day-a-week schedule to weekly, cutting staff, or slimming their number of pages, the crisis for print news could be solved not by redesign but by quality improvement, Outing says, and leveraging digital offerings in print editions.

According to the paper's website, the Constitution-Tribune will relaunch next week with a new look.  

The newspaper will shift to a narrower format, from 12 inches to 11 inches.  The paper will also "be undergoing an overall redesign to freshen its appearance," according to their website. 

The goal of the redesign is to "offer a more attractive newspaper and one that is easier to handle," stated the publisher of C-T, Rod Dixon.

Most of the content will remain the same, however, some new features will be added.  

Source: Constitution-Tribune

On Monday, October 27 French economic daily, La Tribune, will relaunch with a new design, layout, color (their logo will switch from red to blue) and added content.  According to the president and director of La Tribune, Alain Weill, "It's a renaissance, a radical and necessary change."

According to Erik Izraelewicz, chief editor, "We are reinventing La Tribune in three key areas: politics, business and finance.  We will remain a financial newspaper but will increase our interviews, sports and cultural coverage.  Our goal is to remain serious without being boring, while making sense of the information and remaining useful in profession life."

La Tribune will also launch a new 16-page supplement on November 1, entitled "le journal du week-end" (The Weekend Journal).  In addition, their site latribune.fr will also be redesigned.  They also plan to reach out to an international audience; their goal is to have 10,000 international subscriptions by 2009.

Source: Le Monde

On Tuesday, October 21 Tribune COO, Randy Michaels sent a memo discussing the reinvention of the Tribune's newspapers for readers and advertisers to employees as a means to provide some positive reinforcement.

Michaels talked about recent changes to the Tribune's eight papers.  In the last six months, all of them have been redesigned and operations in the news room have been restructured.

He also discussed new print partnerships: the Tribune's Florida's Sun Sentinel will begin printing, packaging and transporting the Palm Beach Post; The Baltimore Sun is printing and distributing the Washington Times in areas around Baltimore; and the Chicago Tribune is distributing the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Chicago Tribune announced this week that it will no longer have its stand-alone book review section.  The Tribune's book review section was one of the few remaining in the United States.

It will now combine books and media into a section in the Saturday paper.  The "books and media" section will include comics, movie theater ads and the weather page.  The book section was moved out of the Sunday paper and into the Saturday edition last year.  

Other recently eliminated sections include The New York Times' stand-alone Metro section.  Metro stories are now included in the paper's first section, just after international and national news.  The Los Angeles Times eliminated its stand-alone book review section in 2007.

Source: Media Post, Editor & Publisher

Following a raft of job cuts at the long-standing regional newspaper, the Editor, Janet Coats, has announced that the Tampa Tribune will be undergoing a redesign and newsroom revamp and merge for Tribune, WFLA-Ch. 8 and TBO.com.

For the newsroom, the focus will be web-first and a new plan to work as one newsroom for the newspaper and its stable mates. Editor Coats said. "It's kind of a return to a lot of newsroom structures we tried in the '90s, but didn't put a lot of energy into. It's a different way of looking at the data we gather."

The new Tribune/WFLA/TBO.com newsroom has been separated into several subject areas: data, deadline, watchdog journalism, personal journalism and grassroots. When a story breaks, staffers from the deadline area work to gather material for the Web site first, while the other teams will develop plans for their own stories.

Coats' wants the focus to be on delivering information to consumers in whatever form they may need it.

Few details are available on the newspaper redesign, which is due to launch Monday. Essentially, however, the newspaper will be slimming down its weekday edition and expanding its Sunday newspaper, where Coats feels readers have more time to enjoy a newspaper.

Source: Poynter.org and Tampabay.com

The redesigned Chicago Tribune, set to launch September 29, has released a set of prototypes.

The new front page will have just two for three stories.  The front section will host all local, national, foreign and business news.  

According to Chicago Business, in an effort to save money, the paper will have a 50-50 ratio of ads to editorial copy, allowing for more advertising space and necessitating fewer journalists.

Sources: Poynter, Chicago Business

The new design of the Chicago Tribune was shown to staff members on Tuesday.

The Tribune will reduce its number of sections from five to three.  The front page will be dominated by large visuals and less stories.  The front section will contain business, local, national and international news.  There will be a sports and features section called "Live!" and Sunday's Perspective section will be cut.

The redesigned Tribune is set to debut on September 29 and a major marketing campaign is expected to start soon.

All daily newspapers owed by Tribune Co. daily are in the process of being redesigned in a cost-cutting effort.  By reducing the number of sections, the Tribune will reduce its output by around 40 pages weekly.

Source: Chicago Business

The Chicago Tribune is undergoing a radical overhaul which is scheduled to be launched in a matter of weeks.  Prototypes of the new pages and sections for this redeign were posted in Tribune Tower for review by employees on Thursday.

Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that the space devoted to news in the Chicago Tribune will be significantly reduced, with the paper's front section including national and international news, the local and business reports and the editorial page. The Tribune publishes freestanding sections for metro and business news currently.

The redesigned paper is set to have a three-section format, Tribune employees reported to the local rival newspaper. The newspaper's other sections would be for features, with a working title of Live, and Sports. According to the prototype, the pages for local news will be labeled Chicagoland, a term Tribune editors use to define the city and its suburbs.

The Chicago Tribune, is aiming to launch the revamp by the end of September.

The Tribune itself has refused to comment on the leaked information. The sources that spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the pages they saw were works in progress, with some section having several versions up for review. The recently leaked idea that the newspaper would be renamed The Trib has reportedly been abandoned.

Source: Chicago Sun-Tribune via IFRA Executive News

See also:

US: Chicago Tribune prototype redesign leaked

At a time when any local or national news outlet can potentially become an international online brand, and as newsrooms adapt to a 24-hour news cycle, editors can learn from The New York Times' most recent attempt to 'kill' both birds with one stone.

Last week, top execs from The Times and the International Herald Tribune announced plans to merge iht.com and nytimes.com into a co-branded international section, in order to increase both sites' reach and appeal to international advertisers.

In this two-part series, the Weblog spoke to Jim Roberts, Digital Editor at The New York Times, and Martin Gottlieb, who was appointed to the newly created position of Editor, Global Edition.

Through these moves, The Times intends to accomplish at least four ostensible goals:

Part 1:
- Build an outpost for its Continuous News Desk in Paris, and eventually Hong Kong.
- Integrate operations, streamline some resources by increasing efficiency and avoiding overlap.

Part 2:
- Reinforce its international reach and further compete against the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
- Use the strength of NYT's online brand while safeguarding the IHT's popular print brand name.

IHT: an outpost for the Times' continuous news

Although the proposed changes are currently undergoing a consultation process with the IHT's works council, as required by French law, the process of integration of both papers began ever since the NYT acquired full control of the IHT in 2003, and has accelerated in past months.

In Feb., NYT executive editor Bill Keller had already announced plans to integrate operations and develop an "organic, global, 24-hour news operation," in order "to create a Continuous News outpost in Paris."

In May, the IHT dropped its 142-year-old logo from its nameplate to replace it with the phrase "The Global Edition of the New York Times."

"That says, we are one, and we are," although both arms are managed separately, said Jim Roberts, digital editor at The Times.

Video: Roberts talks about the 'integration' of both newspapers. Footage was collected during an interview at the 15th World Editors Forum in Sweden.


Thanks to this outpost and the six-hour time difference, the NYT is now able to upload content to its site nearly 24 hours a day (from about 6am to 1am, New York time). The paper eventually hopes to establish a similar outpost at the IHT's Asian headquarters in Hong Kong in the next six months.

The creation of these outposts does not mean that the IHT is becoming a full-blown Paris bureau for The Times. "We have a Paris bureau," said Roberts, "and the newsroom of the IHT still has a print edition and right now they still have a website."

Integration, streamlining resources: evolution, no revolution

Since all proposed changes are undergoing a consultation process, editors couldn't give any firm preview of how workflows could be affected.

In the past, there has been "very regular contact between individual desks at the Times and corresponding desks at the IHT," said Martin Gottlieb, newly appointed editor of the Global edition. Many IHT editors come from The Times, regularly do edits on NYT pieces, and this past year IHT-written articles have appeared on nytimes.com with no distinctive byline.

However, there is no formal process of exchange between both newsrooms, and "There have been a couple of occasions when we've had IHT and NYT reporters covering the same thing," said Roberts.

The appointment of Gottlieb as editor of the Global Edition - note, no mention of the IHT in his title - is significant in that respect. In addition to fulfilling the role of editor of the paper, his mission will be to ensure that staff understands both papers are "two parts of one news-gathering operation, that should work in unison as much as possible in delivering the news 24 hours a day seven days a week," said Gottlieb.

A series of new editorial appointments at the IHT will be the symbols of this top-down integration. "There will be people coordinating the work of both staffs to, pretty much, make them as much as possible act as one staff," said Gottlieb.

For example, Alison Smale, who becomes European editor of the global newsroom, will be responsible for "coordinating the work of all NYT and IHT reporters in the region from the IHT newsroom in Paris," said the memo. To oversee the process, The Times also named Alan Flippen "Editor, Newsroom Organization."

It seems too early to say whether the planned reforms will lead to radical changes in workflows or content. Evolution, not revolution, said Roberts.

Currently, an IHT reporter based in Hong Kong might build upon a Times' story about the rise of airline fuel prices by interviewing Asian carriers, whose input might not have been as relevant to the core readership of the Times in the US. Likewise, an IHT story published in the Times might be fine-tuned to be more pertinent to the American audience (see the example of Der Spiegel in Part 2, looking at different newspaper approaches towards international editions).

Future workflows will likely build upon these current processes, rather than start from scratch. "It's continuing synergies that are taking place and maximizing them and regularizing them," said Gottlieb.

The planned changes can also be seen as an attempt to streamline resources - terminology often equivocated with cost cuts and layoffs. But according to Gottlieb, there are no planned newsroom layoffs at this point (this is subject to change during the next six months). It is possible that an online merger of iht.com and nytimes.com could lead to redundancies for some technical Web production positions.


Editors couldn't comment on any upcoming changes concerning the IHT's planned print redesign.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will examine The Times' international branding strategy, and how newspapers can grow a previously inaccessible international readership.


Source: New York Times - Media Bistro - Jim Roberts, Digital Editor The New York Times - Martin Gottlieb, Editor, Global Edition

Last Sunday, the Orlando Sentinel's new layout was unveiled to readers (see top), including "more graphics, quick-read digests of top news, blog summaries and other changes" in order to make it more attractive to busy readers, Wall Street Journal reported.

Since December, Samuel Zell has been in charge of the Tribune Co., which owns Chicago Daily News, The Orlando Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times. Zell's eight billion dollar buyout left Tribune Co. with a 13 billion dollar debt "amid an industrywide meltdown", according to the WSJ.

Zell has scheduled for the Tribune Co. papers to be redesigned by September this year. Some of the changes to be made include "scaled-back page counts and further paring of employees", the WSJ said.

The new look of the Sentinel attempts to make the paper become more "eye-catching" and plentiful with interesting, "alluring" stories, WSJ wrote.

"Our community is fast moving, very modern. It's changing and growing. We need to have a paper that feels like that, too." said Charlotte Hall, Sentinel Editor.

In the last year, the Sentinel's circulation has decreased to 227, 593, compared to Miami Herald's 240,000 and St. Petersburg Times 300,000. However, the Sentinel's Sunday circulation is 332,000.

The general trend for newspaper redesign, according to the WSJ, is "splashier colour, simpler layouts and more digestible stories."

Although the new version of the Sentinel corresponds to the trend, it "isn't as radical as it could be", Hall said. Lee Abrams, in charge of innovation, "encouraged" the newspaper to "emphasize its stars" by adding front-page photographs of columnists with excerpts from columns, WSJ wrote.

Local news coverage, consumer information and "government-watchdog stories" all increased and reporters have been coached on different story-telling techniques.

According to the WSJ, Zell thinks Tribune Co.'s newspaper division is "stuck in the past", perhaps not accommodating "readers used to the pizzazz and immediacy of the Web."

It isn't clear whether a makeover will change the financial condition of Tribune Co., as ad sales have generally been declining in the newspaper industry. The Newspaper Association of America said that in the first quarter newspaper ads dropped by 13 %, Tribune Co.'s falling by 15%.

The Bakerfield Californian's redesign in March 2006 got the paper a short-paced circulation and revenue growth that soon worsened. Chief Executive Richard Beene said, "Don't expect it to turn around circulation or revenue overnight. It's not a magic bullet." In his blog, Howard Owens said that he is "surprised" that not a lot of people compared the Sentinel's revamping to the Californian, terming the makeover "shocking", "wild", "bold" but not "original".

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Baltimore Sun are next in line for the revamping; meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune is to "test new ideas" in Saturday editions. Abrams mentioned that even though the Orlando Sentinel's new design will be used as a prototype, "every paper will be left to chart its own course", WSJ wrote.

Design experts have generally given the Sentinel's new look a thumbs-up, WSJ reports. Howar Greenberg, Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun-Sentinel publisher, said advertisers are enthusiastic about the makeover, which he thought might help improve ad revenue.

Hall said that for the time being, the readers will be "listened" to "carefully", to observe the impact that the redesign has.

Source: Wall Street Journal Online, HowardOwens.com

See also:
US: Chicago Tribune's public editor on downsizing the paper: let the readers decide
US: Tribune Co. newspaper redesign, "abrupt" and "unconventional"

The Orlando Sentinel launched its print redesign on June 22, as part of Tribune Co.'s company-wide redesign of its papers. According to some analysts, such as Newsosaur blogger Alan Mutter, the planned changes - motivated in good part by challenging economics - are "abrupt and unconventional."

You can view the redesigned pages full-size by clicking here.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

There is ongoing debate about the credibility of celebrity news and their utility, especially as some major news organizations recently upped their celebrity coverage (think of Associated Press and Britney Spears). At the Future of Journalism conference organized by the Guardian was brought forth the idea that "celebrity is a cultural currency that fulfils a role."

Understanding the way why celebrity news are of importance seems to be hard for some, especially when teamed with paparazzi photos and gossip. Meanwhile, others, like Popbitch Camilla Wright creator , accept it to be a "defining part of our culture that won't go away."

Mo Tkacik, feature editor of the "girly" Jezebel blog, showed disbelief over the way that photos of celebrities like Britney could be printed with ludicrous titles.

Like with 'hard' news, newspapers and web sites are facing the question of whether they should publish a celebrity article or not, keeping in mind that publishing it might get them more readers.

"The rule is we follow not who they are but what they have done. They shouldn't just appear because they are famous, but if they say something funny or interesting. It's a qualitative judgment," said Hugh Muir, the Guardian's diary writer.

Muir also added that she wished that people who read the Guardian would be "interested in the whole spectrum of life-not just politicians."

According to Wright, people are still interested in celebrity news but the format in which they are presented changes.

James Robinson, editor of Observer, mentioned Daily Mail's strategy of publishing articles online that are different from the print version. That site has brought a significant number of traffic through its celebrity photo gallery. Wright said some sites have "complex routes" to these galleries, which may discourage viewers.

Marina Hyde, the Guardian's columnist, thinks that "journalists have become lazy" and that the best stories are those that require "getting out and digging" and not solely going to events planned by publicists.

Readers are worried that their newspaper will feature more show business articles than issues like Darfur or China. The Guardian writes that even if "academics" read the paper, they "might be just as guilty of a sneaky five minutes" about the latest Brangelina update.

As Chicago Tribune's Tim McNulty recently said, "For features, I want reviews and criticism and real substance but also utility." Like Tkacik, most editors however, seem to share the view that "there's no utility" to celebrities.

In a world where newspapers are getting shorter, the question of celebrity news is conflict-ridden.

Source: The Guardian

The Tribune Co. will be redesigning their newspapers. In his Newsosaur blog, Alan Mutter wrote that "the combination of abrupt and unconventional change" might scare away some readers.

The Orlando Sentinel is the first of the newspapers to be modified. A blogger identified as a Los Angeles Times staffer has posted online the new design of the Orlando Sentinel (left).

The radical redesign is just what Tribune intends. Said Randy Michaels, chief operating officer for the Tribune Co.: "We are going to roll out a different look and feel in each market, emphasizing what people are telling us they want in the research - charts, graphs, maps, lists." On June 22, the Sentinel will adopt the new look and the rest of the papers will follow towards the end of September.

Mutter cited the Chicago Daily News incident that happened over 30 years ago, when the newspaper attempted to revamp itself and wound up collapsing. According to him, this is even more likely today, since "modern consumers have even more alternatives to newspapers today than they did back then."

"Newspapers need to profoundly change," said Mutter, and it "would be wrong to stubbornly resist progress for the sake of resisting change."

"But changes in products as personal and familiar as a newspaper should be undertaken slowly, cautiously, incrementally and thoughtfully," he said.

Source: Newsosaur blog through Poynter Romenesko

Over a week ago, the new executives of Tribune Co. made the decision to alter the size of their newspapers following "reduced advertising revenue." Timothy McNulty, Chicago Tribune Public Editor, talks about the qualities newspapers should uphold and urges readers to decide what they see as vital material.

He cites readers who have, in the past, complained about alterations in the Chicago Tribune, be it those affecting the quantity of news articles or the comics section. According to him, readers should be the ones to provide aid when it comes to downsizing decisions.

McNulty says, "This is about a troubled economy, an industry that needs to transform itself and a cultural shift in how people receive news and advertising."

According to him, news should "provide order to the day's events", "create some hierarchy of what is most important" and "provide a context for understanding it".

In commentary and editorials, he wishes to see "smart and sharp thinking about a subject" to be able to "react" and "examine" his own opinions. Features should include "reviews and criticism and real substance but also utility."

"What I enjoy most about a newspaper is learning something new every day, the serendipity of finding a story I never would have known or asked about," McNulty says.

One of the tasks of journalists today is to adapt to economic changes while keeping traditions alive. Because modifications are inevitable, not much is "sacrosanct", according to McNulty.

"There will be redesign, just as there has been several times in the past, but this will, I suspect, be much more dramatic. Physical changes will alter the look and feel of the paper," he says.

Source: www.chicagotribune.com