NEWS: US: Tribune Co. newspaper redesign, "abrupt and unconventional"

US: Tribune Co. newspaper redesign, "abrupt and unconventional"

The Tribune Co. will be redesigning their newspapers. In his Newsosaur blog, Alan Mutter wrote that "the combination of abrupt and unconventional change" might scare away some readers. 

The Orlando Sentinel is the first of the newspapers to be modified. A blogger identified as a Los Angeles Times staffer has posted online the new design of the Orlando Sentinel (left).

The radical redesign is just what Tribune intends. Said Randy Michaels, chief operating officer for the Tribune Co.: "We are going to roll out a different look and feel in each market, emphasizing what people are telling us they want in the research - charts, graphs, maps, lists." On June 22, theSentinel will adopt the new look and the rest of the papers will follow towards the end of September. 

Mutter cited the Chicago Daily News incident that happened over 30 years ago, when the newspaper attempted to revamp itself and wound up collapsing. According to him, this is even more likely today, since "modern consumers have even more alternatives to newspapers today than they did back then."

"Newspapers need to profoundly change," said Mutter, and it "would be wrong to stubbornly resist progress for the sake of resisting change." 

"But changes in products as personal and familiar as a newspaper should be undertaken slowly, cautiously, incrementally and thoughtfully," he said.