France: regional daily Centre Presse redesigns and adopts tabloid format

Posted by Alisa Zykova on September 16, 2008 at 3:44 PM

French regional daily newspaper Centre Presse announces that as it celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, it is shifting to tabloid format. The paper, based in the Vienne department, will also undergo a redesign and will be smaller, lighter, more practical and more colorful, said chief editor Richard Lavigne.

Lavigne explains that the move to a tabloid will help the paper reach a wider audience, pointing out that readers have been questioning why the paper was published in such a "big format." He mentions that Centre Presse's readership has evolved.

The paper will have a "larger readability" as it will contain new fonts, shorter articles, more practical information and new sections such as a daily culture and entertainment site about Poitiers. The page numbers may increase from 24 to 56, or even 72, with a large portion of them in color, according to Le Monde. Readers will still have access to supplementary material such as sports, automobile and hobbies.

The price of the paper will remain unchanged at €0.90 on weekdays and €1.20 on Saturdays.

Source: Le Monde through IFRA Executive News Service