Chicago Tribune announces format changes

Posted by Trafton Kenney on February 2, 2010 at 2:48 PM

The Chicago Tribune announced yesterday that it would be implementing several changes in content and format as it prepares to roll out a narrower page size. Beginning on February 8th, the paper will become one inch narrower. The length of the broadsheet will remain the same, as will the "body type," or font size for news stories.

"There will be some adjustments such as smaller headlines and photos in places, but the content of the paper largely will remain the same," said Editor, Gerould W. Kern, in a letter to readers.

The Tribune felt a smaller page size would save money without sacrificing the quality of their reporting. "This new page size is becoming the industry standard, and many newspapers across the country already have made this change or will do so this year. The narrower page reduces our costs, enabling us to bring you the news coverage you value," said Kern.

The newspaper is run by the Tribune Company, which filed for bankruptcy in December, 2008. Despite the financial difficulties of its parent company, the Tribune managed to bring in an operating cash flow of $500 million last year, a figure which surprised many pundits in the industry.

The new format will mostly affect the comics pages, with the newspaper cutting a few comic strips to keep things legible. The transition will take several weeks to implement as the Tribune uses the remaining wide sheets before converting to the new format.

Sources: Chicago Tribune