The Chicago Tribune is said to be making changes to its dramatic new redesign just three months after it was rolled out, the Associated Press (AP) has reported.
The Tribune announced on January 8 that it would bring that section back while making indexes clearer, toning down bold fonts, and adding new local sections. The newspaper in late September debuted a new format that it said was bolder and more entertaining. Since then, readers have complained that the new format was too bold and too confusing.
The Canadian Press had some other details: [Link]
Readers objected to an increase in advertisements, a perceived decrease in the number of stories, and the elimination of a separate business section, the newspaper says. They also reported that the new design was "too loud" and confusing, and that stories shouldn't jump to other sections. "We hate it too," the newspaper wrote. "And we've stopped doing it."
Editor Gerould W. Kern wrote that the newspaper would bring back the business section, improve indexes and roll out four new local sections called "Chicagoland Extras." The Tribune is toning down its bolder fonts but remained adamant about placing an emphasis on photographs.
The newspaper's reassessment of its redesign comes nearly a month after the Tribune Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
"I think it's a good idea to respond (to readers) - three months can be a lifetime when you're in bankruptcy," said longtime media critic Michael Miner of the Chicago Reader. But, "there's something disingenuous about it. They're trying to describe a retreat as progress."
Tribune spokesman Michael Dizon declined to comment to the Associated Press. But in an e-mail posted on the media-oriented blog edited by Jim Romenesko at The Poynter Institute, Kern said the wraparound was "part of an ongoing conversation with readers," not an apology for the new design, which was rolled out Sept. 29.
Editor & Publisher had some more on the developments: [Link]
At the same time the Trib was promising or showing changes from the September redesign in the spadia, it was also defending many elements of the new approach -- which was part of a company-wide mandate by financially troubled Tribune Co. to come up with designs that had smaller newsholes and could be produced quicker with fewer journalists.
So 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.
To improve navigation it noted it had returned columnists to fixed places in the paper rather than have them float and said it had improved "internal 'road maps'" to help readers find what they're looking for. "Navigation remains a work in progress," the Tribune said.
Many readers dislike the Tribune's new practice of using large front-page photographs. "Some people found this disorienting," the Tribune said. "On top of that, we didn't get everything right the first time." But it said even if that "unsettles some readers," that big displays of photos would continue.
"Our photojournalists are among the best in the world, and we are displaying their work more prominently," the Tribune said. "At the same time, size doesn't always equate with worth. Therefore, we are being more rigorous in editing photos so their use is commensurate with their value."
