Charles Apple

The blogosphere has spoken: Going cartoon. Scary. Lipstick on a pig. Abrupt and unconventional.

Here’s one of the funniest ones:

Changes in products as personal and familiar as a newspaper should be undertaken slowly, cautiously, incrementally and thoughtfully.

Oh, sure. How’s that cautious, incremental and thoughtful approach been working lately, dude?

All this reaction to one jpeg of a prototype Orlando Sentinel front that “leaked” out a week and a half ago. (And many thanks to NewsDesigner blogger Mark Friesen for pointing out the leak wasn’t a leak at all.)

Bonita Burton, AME at The Orlando Sentinel, gave us a sneak peek at some of the prototype pages she and her team have been working on this spring. The new design debuts Sunday.

Bo with Sentinel Design Editor Stephen Komives.
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Full disclosure: Bonita is a great friend of this blog. Even fuller disclosure: Bonita is a great friend of damn near everyone we know.

Bonita sent us a big batch of pages, answered a bunch of questions, gave us access to an in-house site containing a number of her essays about aspects of the redesign and even sent along a few snapshots of her folks working hard.

What follows is a mix of all this material. The intent is to make you familiar with what the Sentinel will be doing this Sunday.

It might be radical. But it might just make damn good sense, too.

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Q: The Tell Zell blog wrote Friday:

The big question the redesign raises is this: where is the engagement over journalism? Why are the Zellots getting excited about how the paper looks? How about the news that goes inside? Not as in, “We’re in charge of the news now.” But “Let’s get more great stories in the paper every day.” I’d welcome that enthusiasm, instead of being compared to a cowardly, confused, frozen monkey.

Your response?

A: Actually, I agree. The point is absolutely to get more great stories in the paper. The challenge is to achieve that while the paper is shrinking both in size and overall newshole.

Since I don’t know how to bend the laws of physics, here’s what we’ve decided to do:

• Redefine what a “great” story is. Stop publishing the non-great ones.
• Tell some stories in shorter ways to accommodate those that really need the space. For instance, we’re briefing most of our trial coverage now so reporters can spend less time in courtrooms and more time on enterprise stories.
• Ruthlessly redesign standing elements to be as economical as possible. For example, the new nameplate is smaller, the new digest takes up less room, the section flags now have information built in, the jump headlines are dying … even the front page ad is getting a half-inch shorter.

In an essay on her in-house redesign site, Bonita writes:

We’ve made cosmetic improvements such as amping up our nameplate and color palette, implementing a new grid structure and re-photographing our columnists. We’ll be updating our typography in August when we launch a second phase. But this effort is really about trying to redefine the art of storytelling. We’ve spent even more time in the newsroom talking about unconventional ways of telling stories, conversational ways of writing headlines and accessible ways of presenting data.

THE FRONT PAGE
* A digest summarizing the top contents of each section
* Provocative voices from our signature columnists
* A “can you believe this?” item to start the day with a smile
* Big local stories–watchdog reports, consumer news, latest trends

There is no formula for the front page or other section fronts. In fact, a key goal is to get out of the rut of downplaying important stories just because they don’t have art. That’s what this first prototype was designed to demonstrate – that even though the UF art isn’t sexy, there is always a solution for giving visual emphasis to the day’s top story, even when it breaks on deadline as this one did.

Tickle the thumbnail for a before-
and-after. Keep in mind this page
is a quick remake of an existing
page. Live, new pages will reflect
changes in story selection and
construction. Actual mileage
will vary.
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Q: So all the hard work your staff has put into this change… how DOES this tie into changes planned at the other Tribune papers?

A: I have no idea. Ours is an approach that looks and feels like Central Florida. It’s doesn’t quite play in, say, Hartford. There are a lot of talented people in Trib newsrooms all over the country, and we’ll see a wide range of creative solutions for different markets.

Q: I seem to recall you writing somewhere that you had a redesign already under way, and that this project kind of grew out of that. Can you correct me or elaborate?

A: My editor asked me about two months ago to update the paper over the summer. We fast-tracked the process and expanded its scope once it became clear our new owners expected a more experimental mindset from its newsrooms. We wanted to make a statement about Orlando as an epicenter of innovation.

Q: I’m not sure whether or not I’ve actually written this in the blog — yet — but your prototype pages seem to me to be a wonderful blend of the quick-read, easily scannable stuff you find in USA Today and the huge, high-impact, smack-you-in-the-face visual play you find in The Virginian-Pilot. How off-base would I be to say this?

A: Some editors, such as those running USA Today and the Pilot, understand the research about how people read and comprehend information. I’d include the Sentinel’s editor, Charlotte Hall, and editors I’ve worked for at the San Jose Mercury News and Orange County Register. They know that readers enter the page through large visuals. And that the most dedicated reader will give you between 10 and 20 minutes – enough time to read 50 to 100 inches of copy. The only thing about the data that’s changing is the amount of time people will give you now.

So yes, I want great stories in our paper. I also want to be sure people read and connect with those stories.

Bo staged a company-wide open house last week. Here, Managing Editor Mark Russell explains the finer points of the new pages.
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Q: I know you’ve been frustrated by some of the reaction to the jpeg you sent me last week. You’ve said that this is a prototype page and that the Sentinel will be changing the way stories are chosen, written and edited. How so? What are the major components of this change?

A: The “lipstick on a pig” criticism is an insult to the Sentinel journalists who bust ass every day to keep this paper exciting and relevant.

Since about the beginning of the year, every conversation about a story between reporter and editor has included a discussion about the best format for its audience. Is it based around a lot of numbers? Maybe it should be a chart. Are there strong opposing views? Maybe it should be a pro/con. Is its topic really complex? Maybe it should be a Q&A. Should the subject tell the story in their own words? Should the reporter?

“Unconventional” storytelling doesn’t necessarily mean “shorter.” It just means “interesting.”

We’re also putting more emphasis on headline writing, getting to the point in a more conversational, intriguing way.

Another excerpt from Bo’s essays:

THE SUNDAY FRONT PAGE
* The digest becomes a summary of the top commentary in each section, including that of our editorial cartoonist

We’re pumping up the front page on Sunday to amplify our most provocative and personally useful content inside (lots of colorful columnists, great tips in weekly sections like Homes, Your Money and Travel). We’ve also freed up more real estate for our signature projects and enterprise pieces.

And, oh yes — that cartoon. A way to reference the deeper content of the editorial pages that day with a smile.

Q: The Sunday nameplate seems a little small — especially above all those columnists. Is this intentional? Or is that only the case with this particular sample page?

A: One message we want to reinforce is that our columnists are a huge part of our brand. Until recently, it was rare for any of them to get promotion on A1. There are two areas that distinguish our Sunday paper from the rest of the week: More in-depth commentary and more stories about leisure activities. The Sunday nameplate better promotes both of them without growing out of proportion to the rest of the page.

Sunday, before-and-after.
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Q: OMG! An editorial cartoon on page one? I spent five years in Des Moines, where we were convinced we were the only paper in the U.S. still running a cartoon on A1. How did this idea come about?

A: Cartoonists are commentators, too. And we have an incredible staff cartoonist who has a national following. Just like all the other columnists tip to their sections, his cartoon tips to our redesigned editorial pages. Also, it just gives readers something to smile about.

From Bo’s redesign primer:

THE OPINION PAGES
* More visual emphasis on key opinions
* More ways for readers to tell us what they think – even submitting their own cartoons
* A quick sampling of the nation’s leading commentary blogs
* Pages on Friday and Saturday dedicated to readers’ comments

Editorial and Oped pages, before-and-after.
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Inside pages will be a huge, huge component of the new Sentinel. From Bo’s essay:

It’s important that the voice and pacing established on the front page carry through the entire book.

We want to showcase some of the lively content we produce for the web . We want to continue to help readers find key information as quickly as possible. And we need to make the most of our tight newshole and strapped editing resources.

Pages 2 and 3 of each section are being redesigned with these challenges in mind.

A2, B2, C2, D2
* Page 2 of every section will reverse-publish smart content that’s now found only on the web. (Blogs, databases, photo galleries, etc.)

A3, B3, C3, D3
* Page 3 of every section is a briefing of that section’s main topics.

On A2 we’ve replaced the canned, out-of-date celebrity news from the wires with items from Hal Bodeker’s and Roger Moore’s entertainment blogs… The newshole that is sometimes available and sometimes not, depending on the ad stack, is now filled with a briefs column that groups findings from the latest studies in one spot. It can slinky or disappear accordingly.

An A2 prototype, before-and-after.
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Page A3 is being designed to work as more of a true spread with the new A2.

Ditto for A3.
—

Like A1, we want to give readers an immediate sense of the depth of national/foreign coverage in a scanable way.

The briefs that traditionally run deep inside the section are brought out front and illustrated as part of a daily geography lesson. We’ve also incorporated a digest of the rest of the section’s contents. Each item contains the nut of the story for time-starved readers but also tips to the deeper report on following pages.

Finally, rather than round out the page with four to five traditional stories,we’re honing in on the day’s single most gripping headline and presenting it in an accessible Q& A.

B2 becomes a sampling of some of the best stuff from the day’s local bloggers. While the feature references more of the blogs online, these are meant to be complete items. Go online if you’d like more like content, but you don’t have to go online to get the pertinent details. This space could also be devoted to a single blog if the content merits.

Local gossip columnist Scott Maxwell, who runs here three days each week, moves out to a more prominent spot on the cover.

B2
—

B3
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B3 becomes a better organized regional roundup, again giving more visual attention to briefs and presenting criminal justice news in a tighter format. Still in progress: A way to repurpose information from the wildly successful crime blog.

One change we’re making in the redesign is to eliminate jump headlines. On a typical open page, this buys us back about 10 inches of space.

Note the red bar across the
bottom. That’s the space the
Sentinel saves by eliminating
jump heds.
—

Back to our Q&A:

Q: You seem to have invested a lot of energy in remaking pages two and three. I’ve picked up your May 13 samples. Are those still fairly accurate to what we’ll see Sunday? Can you elaborate a little more on what you’re intending in this opening spread of each section?

A: Inside pages need love, too. Properly pacing a reader through the entire book is a big part of their experience.

We’ve redesigned our facing pages of every section to read more as a spread. Page two is reverse-published web content (blogs, databases, photo galleries, etc.) and page three is a more topical briefing.

Q: Are you emphasizing blogs a lot more in the new design? Or is that simply an artifact of these specific sample prototype pages?

A: One of the things we’ve learned about our readers is that there is very little cross-over between the paper and the web. Their habits are just too different. So telling people “Go to the web! There’s more online!” was really frustrating them. We have a wealth of provocative content online our reporters are already generating that many people don’t even see. So yes, we’re dedicating a home in print to our best bloggers every day.

After some of the complex ground we’ve covered, the section fronts should be relatively easy. From Bo’s essays:

SECTION FRONTS
* More stories told from a visual perspective
* News stories told in easy-to-grasp ways
* Fast facts about topics in the news
* More emphasis on our signature columnists

Left to right: Local, Sports and Biz; before-and-after.

An added bonus for our blog readers:
The page on the right is the first live
page built for Sunday’s paper.
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From Bo’s essays:

The redesign of Business page 3 completes the major work we’ll unveil on June 22. This page contains a more visual and economical way to package the market summary — even after we added the Dilbert cartoon and bumped the agate up to a readable point size, we pick up about five more inches on the page.

An inside biz page.
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Q: I sense pride in the sample inside biz page you showed me. It’s bolder and stronger, that’s for sure. But what is it about business pages that get you so revved up?

A: Some of the best years of my post-reporting life were spent designing business pages in places like Silicon Valley, so it has a soft spot in my heart. Next to the editorial pages, business pages are the most neglected by designers across the board. But the topic — the intersection of power and money — is extremely important. It’s a tough challenge to make such data-laden information easy to understand.

I guess solving those kinds of challenges is what my job is all about. And I think a paper’s design is only as good as its agate.

Features, before-and-after.
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Q: Where is your features section? Is it inside E/Health and Fitness?

A: Our features sections are themed every day. Travel & Arts, Health & Fitness, Cooking & Eating, Style & Trends, Calendar and Home Fix-Up. All the typical puzzles/comics/advice columns run there.

Sample section-front headers
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Q: You’re going with a color-coded section front system, a la USA Today. But you’re displaying art a bit larger than Richard Curtis and his crew usually do. Are you concerned about poor color juxtapositions? What happens when your lede sports art clashes with red, for example?

A: Central Florida is a bright, colorful place. Our paper should be, too. We’re already color-coding sections, we’re just going to a more vibrant palette.

What clashes with red? ;-)

Design editor Todd Stewart and artist
Karen Bellville installing the ceiling for
the balloon drop when the first edition
rolls off the press.
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Q: Older readers are sometimes awfully resistant to change. And let’s face it: There are a lot of retired folks in Florida. What is the Sentinel doing to prepare for backlash from this major change?

A: Well, the way I see it, the nationwide backlash against newspapers has been going on for a long time now. Readers have been pleading with us for change, and we’ve been very slow to listen or respond. For the Sentinel, standing still — or only incrementally changing — is no longer an option.

Bo wrapped up one of her essays by offering kudos all around:

Hard to believe we’ve actually reached this point. A big shout-out to Design Editor Stephen Komives, his ace designers Wes Meltzer and Nick Masuda, and the CCI implementation team led by Fran Coker for their tireless dedication in getting this off the ground.

Design editor Stephen Komives gives a
thumbs up on some parallel workflow.
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Q: You’re saying typefaces will change in phase two, this fall. Do you have fonts picked out yet? Or is that what you’ll be doing this summer?

A: Flama and Expresso. We’re also redesigning our business and entertainment tabs. Stay tuned!

Left: Flama. Right: Expresso. These samples are from Feliciano Type Foundary. Bo’s actual supplier may vary.
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The pages are looking great, Bo, and I just love the thinking behind what your folks have been up to.

Best wishes for a successful launch this Sunday!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 6:35 am and is filed under Innovative ideas, News design, Redesigns, VizEds Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.