"... What we really changed," noted Mr. Cypel, "was the relationship between the newspaper and its reader and similarly between the reader and its newspaper. The front page became a store front boasting not the quality of Le Monde, but rather the richness of the newspaper." With the new design, spot news was prioritized, and then follow-up stories and more reflective pieces.

"Yet we felt the changes were not enough and in 2002 we started using photographs on the front page, displacing the editorial cartoon," Mr. Cypel explained. Shortly after September 11, 2001, the importance of photographs became apparent, he said, which in turn changed the nature of the paper's headlines. "We began to see smaller headlines featuring exclusive Le Monde features, social issues, and science stories," Mr. Cypel said.

Le Monde also launched a magazine in January and Mr. Cypel used an example of a Saturday paper (the day the magazine appears) to illustrate what he believes the future holds for Le Monde. "In ten years we have gone from all text to text and a cartoon and now a photograph and many small headlines that point the reader to articles inside the paper or in the magazine. There are almost no articles in full on the front page anymore."

Sylvain Cypel joined Le Monde as Editor-in-Chief in 1998, following a five-year tenure as editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Courrier International. From 1990 to 1991 he served as deputy editor of the monthly economic magazine Mensuel, and from 1989-1990 he held the same post at the monthly supplement to the economic daily newspaper Les Echos.

Cypel worked as a freelance journalist for the public television network France 2, the daily newspaper Lib?ration and other media outlets between 1986 and 1988, and from 1978 to 1985 worked for the daily paper Le Matin de Paris, where he was responsible for reporters covering the Middle East.

Cypel holds BA degrees in sociology, contemporary history and international relations. He earned his last degree at the University of Jerusalem.