Retooling the News

After razzing the Times-Dispatch last month for their first -- and pretty hideous -- attempt at redesigning the front page for the consumer on-the-go, I almost hesitate to take another crack at their content reformatting efforts slated to launch next week. Adding to the hesitation is the fact that sometimes I actually like to see what I'm critiquing, and that a TD staffer called me an "old fuddy duddy" after my last reactionary shot.

Others are also waiting to see what next week brings. Mariane Matera mostly wonders what a "wrap" is, because the revamped TD is going all kinds of Chipotle on Richmond -- with wraps for every occasion. One of her readers provided what might be the best description I've seen for the penny cheap, pound foolish ways to deal with slender, specialized content:

A wrap is one of those freaking annoying one-page things, usually a special ad or something inconsequential that "wraps" around a full section. It's one freaking sheet of newsprint. No opening, no unfolding, no nothing. It's a format that you usually throw away before looking at it.

Amen. Ask me how many times I've read the TD's book section since it was removed from the Commentary section and inserted into Flair as a wrap. The answer would be less than one.

The 804.com puts one of the real issues on the table:

Yeah, they’re definitely in a “maximize revenue/decrease expense” mindset.  They are thinking more like a business and less like a newspaper (that will be the Harbinger legacy), patterning the overall trend in the industry.  For better or for worse.

I say one of the real issues, because the other -- incredibly real -- issue is that newspaper everywhere are struggling to survive, and to figure out what combination of reporting and news and information; design and packaging and reformatting; technology; staffing and revenue streams are going to turn the newsprint ship around. And while it is easy to criticize the TD (believe me, I've done it enough) for what it has and hasn't been over the years, and for what appear from the perspective of some readers as desperate attempts to salvage a sinking ship (it's not quite that bad, folks), it might be worth applauding the paper occasionally for its efforts to reestablish itself as a viable source of news and perspective in the Richmond region.

Next week, a sort-of new TD will land on your doorstep or your desk. It will mostly read different, and familiar anchors will be missing or moved -- sections eliminated or consolidated; the aforementioned wraps hiding the Sports. But even without seeing it, one change that really pisses me off involves the weather:

Readers have told us they have little interest in the listings of world cities, an "area skies" section and a section on heating-degree days, so we have taken them out to provide a clearer map that is easier to use.

That damned world cities listing was manna to me as a kid, dreaming about all of the places around the globe that I wanted to explore when I grew up. Silvestri, stop stealing my dreams!

Next week: A day-by-day critique of the Times-Dispatch's new format and structure.

Comments

[employee]

reader is right. you can't get a stick of gum for 50 cents, let alone someone bring it to your door. I am a long time fan of picking up a copy on the street. It is also easy to get a free copy. cafe's have copies just there for the reading. as far as size, I literally don't have time to read it all, but I can read as much as I like, whenever I like.

[reader]

Hate the changes if you like, this is the fact at any paid-subscription paper in the country that hand-delivers it to your door: That subscription you pay doesn't pay for anything you read. It pays for the cost of printing and delivering the paper to your doorstep, that's all. Advertising pays for everything that is in the paper, and advertising is nosediving, driven by the recession (that Bob Rayner says isn't happening), craigslist and diversified media choices. Want the paper to stay big and the content to remain the same? Pay a whole heckuva lot more, and more and more all the time, until one day you pay the whole freight. Otherwise, you will never see the shrinkage end.