Charles Apple

The Chicago Tribune today published a Spadea wrapped around its front section announcing a number of changes it plans to make to its format and design.

We don’t have a copy of the Spadea, nor can we find the Spadea’s content online at the Trib’s web site. But the content is described in a lengthy story posted this morning at Editor & Publisher.

E&P’s Mark Fitzgerald: reports:

In an extraordinary mea culpa wrapped around it’s A-section Thursday, the Chicago Tribune acknowledged that its much-ballyhooed redesign was a flop with many readers.

“You spoke, we listened,” was the headline for a note to readers from Editor Gerould W. Kern published in a spadia that discussed how the paper’s design would change from its radical transformation launched last Sept. 29 — and how it wouldn’t.

Among the changes, Fitzgerald writes:

* The Trib would tone down the paper, which some readers have called “too loud.” Use of larger photos on page one will continue, but photos will be edited a little more rigorously.

Left: A pre-redesign Tribune front. Right: The front on launch day, Sept. 29.
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* A new local news section — Chicagoland Extra — will launch Jan. 21, publishing three days a week.

* Business will return to having its own section, instead of moving around the paper on various days.

* Columnists, too, will anchor into specific locations and not move around the paper  from day-to-day.

* The Trib will improve navigational aids for readers.

The navigational aide built into the September. We infer from
today’s reports that this either isn’t working or readers need
more help than this can provide.
—

* Stories will no longer jump between sections.

* Regarding advertising, Fitzgerald reports:

…To a complaint that there were “too many ads,” the paper responded by saying advertising “is the lifeblood that makes it possible to bring you the newspaper.” It said it had “created several open pages within the newspaper that serve as reader destinations.” It did not say it was backing away from its 50/50 newshole/advertising ratio.

Find the E&P story here.

Find our preview of the September redesign of the Chicago Tribune here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 12:45 pm and is filed under Amusing stuff, Charles Apple, Innovative ideas, News design, Newspapers, Redesigns, VizEds Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.