Readership Institute: Get Smart About Your Readers

Readership Institute: Tribune Redesign Comments
Cheers to the Readership Institute's Mary Nesbitt for reflecting my exact thoughts on the Chicago Tribune redesign. In particular, these thoughts...

• I don't know how the Trib is doing it exactly, but I can't have not noticed any difference between the much-talked-about 50/50 ad-news split. In fact, the way the pages look I'd almost say there is the appearance of MORE newshole. Amybe it's more full-page ads, maybe it's a "brighter" newshole instead of gray text blobs.
  
• Thankfully, they have revamped and refocused the awful Q section. Never has there been a section of a major American newspaper that has been so unfocused.
  
• Hooray for alternative story forms.

For mroe on the Trib redesign (and how it has irked "core" readers) go to this post from Alan Mutter's blog (and look for my comment).

A "viewspaper"

Newspapers need courage to change, says Michael Gawenda, former editor of The Age. Not big news, but he does offer some sharp insight into why newspapers struggle. They didn't play to their strengths. Instead, they tried to address their weaknesses. Other comments:

• Newspapers need to control their website and truly integrate the newsroom instead of just talking about it.
  
• Newspapers need to get smaller and clearer in focus.
  
• Commentary is important if it is presented as just another form of reporting: "Tell me something I have not thought about."
  
• No lousy puns in headlines.
  

Embracing the Whole: Service, Brand Matter, Too

Readership Institute: Get Smart About Your Readers
The Chicago Tribune redesign is well worth exploring, but Steve Duke from the Readership Institute provides this view that is more important than what the Trib is doing in terms of content and presentation. He points out the importance of customer service (emphasis on customer) to building and retaining readership. Empty newspaper boxes will not build readership. Ignoring lapsed subscriptions will not aid retention. Failing to explore why a subscriber quit the paper will, in fact, grease the slide readership is on. No degree of cotnent improvements will succeed in bring in more readers if other elements of the four pillars of readership are left weakened.

The redesign is growing on me. It is defintely NOT the classic Chicago Tribune. But it is not a puffed-up version of its free product RedEye either. More to come...