TAKEAWAY: It’s a good news day for those who love print and celebrate when good things happen to project print into the future.
Upgrading and projecting printed newspapers into the future
Two of my favorite newspapers, located quite distant from each other, are banking in the future of print, and moving to upgrade their products in how the package is presented.
Good thing, and something to celebrate. Here are two organizations that are, by their actions, promoting print into the future. We agree.
In Helsinki, the Helsingin Sanomat, a newspaper whose management is always forward thinking (as in Page One devoted totally to advertising before it was fashionable and needed), and perhaps the pioneer of the front page advertisement, is now planning a conversion to tabloid—and more content—- in 2013.
In Miami, The Miami Herald
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%0A" title="plans to improve">plans to improve on its color as it moves to new headquarters later this year. The Herald last month said it will move into a new office in suburban Miami and refurbish its existing presses for placement in a printing facility to be constructed adjacent to its new home. In the process, Herald execs have announced that they plan to upgrade color.
A smaller Sanomat, a more colorful (and better color) Herald, two reasons to celebrate print and its future.
After, “years of research and development, as well as substantial testing,” the Sanomat will turn tabloid in early 2013.
Why not go one step further, Miami?
This news would only get better in a second if The Miami Herald would decide to also switch to a tabloid format, a colorful one, fit for its colorful Miami audience.
We don’t forget that , in 2001, we at Garcia Media presented the then editors of The Herald with some tabloid prototypes. When I look at them today, they look just as timely.
And, although perhaps the Herald has not carried out years of research, development and testing, as did the Sanomat, about a possible tabloid format, based on instinct and my knowledge of the Miami readers tell me that it would be the right decision to make.
Any takers?
Here is our Garcia Media team imagined The Miami Herald in a tabloid format, circa 2002
Our previous blog posts on these subjects:
(About Helsingin Sanomat)
http://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/a_tale_of_two_great_newspapers_one_thrives_one_struggles
(The Miami Herald as a tabloid)
http://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/usa_todays_richard_curtis_retires._also_weekend_sequels
They can’t relocate my memories of The Miami Herald’s iconic building
http://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/they_cant_relocate_my_memories_of_the_miami_heralds_iconic_building/
Speaking of tabloid conversions and ads on page one
The Wednesday, Feb. 29, edition of The Wall Street Journal Europe was wrapped in a special, four page glossy ad for Intel
It may just be a coincidence that just when I putting the finishing touches on today’s blog post, while sitting at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, I come across the Wednesday edition of The Wall Street Journal Europe, a newspaper that we at Garcia Media converted from broadsheet to tabloid several years ago. It still thrives.
However, the surprise was today’s edition was wrapped by a glossy ad for Intel, with just the newspaper’s logo on its front page, then the real and newsy front page as Page 3, the 4-page glossy wrap around it.
So, great ideas for The Miami Herald: go tabloid and sell a glossy 4-page wrap around it whenever the advertisers demand it.
I am sure that the new tabloid Helsingin Sanomat will continue its long standing tradition to sell its front page for advertising.
We are likely to see more of both, compact formats and advertising specials wrapped around the front page. Why not?
And just when you thought free newspapers were “dated”…
I am quite surprised to read that in Sweden, the national daily Dagens Nyheter plans to distribute a free Stockholm section.
In mid-March, the DN will begin distributing free a version of its popular local section DN STHLM to 200,000 households that currently do not subscriber to the paper.
Makes us think a bit. Sweden is the cradle of the free newspapers. Many cities around the world still have a Metro to remind us. However, free newspapers, like so many other things have gone “dated”, and few publishers these days consider anything “free” as part of their future.
But, the popular local section of the DN may be a good way to lure long gone readers, or some who were never there, to subscribe to the paper.
If this would work anywhere, it would definitely be with local coverage, which seems to be where people’s major news interest lies.
We will watch the DN experiment with interest.
http://www.worldofprint.com/us/meldung2.php?NID=10543297
Three for the road on paywalls
- Warren Buffett says newspapers face challenges but must stop giving stories away free online
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/warren-buffett-says-newspapers-face-challenges-but-must-stop-giving-stories-away-free-online/2012/02/27/gIQAcU0bdR_story.html
- Why Warren Buffett is wrong about newspaper paywalls
http://gigaom.com/2012/02/28/why-warren-buffett-is-wrong-about-newspaper-paywalls/
- Digital Content & Paywalls: How John Paton Has It Right…And Wrong
http://paywall-times.com/index.php/digital-content-paywalls-how-john-patton-has-it-right-and-wrong/#startcontent
A fascinating, provocative read
Print is Dead! Long Live Print!
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/25/print-is-dead-long-live-print/
You may or may not agree with all that Jordan Kurzweil mentions here, but it is a smart, analytical and sensible piece about the state of print media today, and how managers need to assess their methods, and, in most cases, change them.
I like the reference to my friend Marcus Brauchli and what he is doing at The Washington Post: “ .. look at what Marcus Brauchli of The Washington Post is doing with that product suite”
Two other “amen” highlights for me in the piece:
“Remember, when it comes to digital, you’re creating a living, breathing application, not just republishing (or even “repackaging”) a magazine or a newspaper.”
Stop thinking that technology serves content.The anachronistic mentality that technology is just a means to an end for getting content in front of readers is going to kill you. Technology and content need to be seen as one and the same, each working with the other to delight and engage your users.
