Press and Broadcasting

Tabloid v Compact/Broadsheet

US: Newspaper stops publishing compact edition

Although the current trend in the newspaper industry is towards smaller formats, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is swimming against the tide and has stopped its tabloid edition, according to NewsDesigner.com. The paper had started producing the compact version last spring.

However, the paper also learned from the compact experiment and will change its (broadsheet) paper according to what readers liked in the compact edition. John Kirkpatrick, editor and publisher, writes in the last edition of the compact The Patriot, "While many people did like the compact format, it didn't catch on the way we had hoped. We did, however gather some valuable information about our readers' preferences along the way. Many people told us they liked the added colour in our compact edition, as well as other features, so we'll be adding those things to The Patriot-News in the coming weeks and months. For busy readers, we'll be bringing you more news than ever - with breaking local news 24 hours a day - on our sister web site, PennLive.com."

Source: NewsDesigner.com

Friday, September 30, 2005

France: Le Figaro slims down in new design

The French daily Le Figaro will appear completely redesigned as of Monday. "It's not a revolution, it's an evolution", said Francis Morel, general director at Le Figaro, reports Le Monde. The goal is to increase readership, especially among women and younger readers (average age of reader is said to be 55-57 years) and to encourage occasional readers to become regular ones. After research with readers and several dummies, the new design will start on Monday, October 3.

The changes include: The paper will be 3,4 cm narrower. The new logo is "European blue". The paper will consist of 3 sections. The first sections will cover international news, Europe and France. The second section, which will be printed on salmon paper will be dedicated to the economy and the third part will cover subjects as culture, fashion, free time, lifestyle and wellness. Much space will be dedicated to photographs and infographics. And also the website will be redesigned. The relaunch is said to have cost 5 million Euro. The papers cover price of 1 Euro will stay the same.

Le Figaro, the oldest newspaper of the country, was founded as a weekly in 1826 and has appeared as a daily since 1866. It has a circulation of about 326,700, currently more than competitor Le Monde, reports Der Standard.

Sources: Le Monde (in French), Imédias (photo), see also article on imédias (in French), Der Standard (in German)