Does size matter?
My father-in-law returned to Phoenix yesterday after having not been here for a month or so and as he was sitting on our sofa reading the Arizona Republic he said to me: “Did the paper shrink or is it me?”
It’s not him! The Arizona Republic has lost about two inches off its width — I’m not sure when this happened. Did anyone notice when it started? It’s hard to notice until you pick it up and hold it out in front of you — but once you do it’s obvious. This morning at Starbucks I measured it against the New York Times and sure enough it was an inch or so thinner. Why?
A little over a month ago we reported on the Republic’s redesign. I didn’t notice it was smaller then, if it was. One thing that is consistent with the redesign is that there’s considerably less room for news with the wider margins on each side and now the thinner paper. Is this a pure paper saving device to save money? I’d guess yes. Anyone else have another theory?
And by the way, that’s not a photo of my father-in-law!
Does size matter?
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Comments
November 6th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Smaller version started Monday. Still pissed that the Biz section is three pages long.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I commented a while back that this was the real purpose of the “redesign.”
Next up: more newsroom layoffs now that the election is over.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Yeah, I noticed that a while back. Plus the wider margins a few weeks ago.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:39 am
As Charlotte noted, the daily business section is embarrassingly wafer thin and nearly content-free. Am I alone in seeing an overall appearance that screams more “college rag” than major daily? I cancelled my subscription.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:54 am
A symbol of the struggle between the news-side and the business-side of the paper is the increasingly frequent placement of large advertising stickers on the front page — usually right over the main headline, making the headline unreadable. I’m guessing that strategy’s not in sync with the paper’s mission statement.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Maybe it was so that they are not using as much paper…a green effort. I don’t know.
What I do know is that picture is hysterical and I’ve been laughing for about five minutes and I’m getting a stomach cramp now. Very funny.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I’ve been told it was a cost cutting measure. Smaller page size = less newsprint cost. They went ahead with the resized layout while using up the old stock of larger newsprint, so that’s when you saw the increased margins. Now they are using the narrower rolls of newsprint.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I get the paper too and I wondered something was different. It sounds like a margin cutting. Along with the economy, I’m sure the technologies isn’t helping the newsprint these days and I’m sure advertisers are cutting back as well.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
2009 will be a bloody year for local media. Look for more “re-designs” and “downsizing” and outright closures. With the economy in the dump and financial institutions and the automotive industries in turmoil, what’s ahead for traditional media will be brutal. The paper is taking this action because ad revenues are way off and will fall off the planet soon. That’s because no one reads the paper…they are online.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Whew! I am so glad about that photo, in case that little guy was you
November 7th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I noticed recently that the LA Times “redesign” did the same thing.
November 10th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
And did you see the Business Section the other day? One folded page. No BizAz, no Republic to speak of. Crazy that the New Times is the most investigative news source.