The Long Beach Press-Telegram debuted its new layout in its Tuesday edition this morning, displaying a sleek and clean design with new fonts and colors and such. Mainly, though, the newspaper clearly draws attention to its website wherever possible, and the front page, devoid of its trademark blue heading banner, displays a prominent red arrow with the website address. The arrow graphic appears in all sections of the paper.
In fact, the newspaper has taken on a website-like feel. A large banner picture about today’s Long Beach Congressional Cup race runs across the top of the page, and it takes all I’ve got to keep from clicking on it. The red arrow tabs that head each section clearly direct attention to the website, as do various polls and graphics sprinkled throughout the newspaper.
Let’s talk about those sections for a moment. You’ll notice that your P-T today contains just two separate sections. The newspaper has consolidated all topics to fit into those two sections. Observe:
A – Front Page (14 total pages)
– News
– Local
– Nation + World
– Business
– Editorial
– Passages
B – Sports Page (16 total pages)
– Sports
– Features (Television, Comics and Classifieds)
And there’s your Tuesday Press-Telegram. Eight sections in thirty pages. Of course, Tuesdays are slow in the news cycle, so future editions will surely be heftier. But it’s noteworthy to point out that the Press-Telegram‘s financial future has darkened recently, with the Stress-Telegram blog now reporting that MediaNews Group’s credit rating has fallen into “high default risk” territory.
From the S-T:
…the company’s credit rating has been cut yet again, from CCC+ to CCC (High default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon sustained, favorable business or economic developments. A ‘CC’ rating indicates that default of some kind appears probable. ‘C’ ratings signal imminent default.), a rating that indicates “high default risk” investments.
MediaNews – owners of several West Coast newspapers, including the P-T – has already cut costs in about as many ways as possible, from firings to consolidating newsrooms. But with their credit rating still falling, and cost-cutting opportunities drying up, MediaNews may need to resort to drastic measures. The Press-Telegram will likely not call it quits anytime soon, but losing certain sections of the newspaper has already occurred, and the next most effective practice would be ceasing to print on select days.
Today’s redesign may just have been the first step. Shifting attention to the website is a long-overdue idea, since print advertising is quickly drying up and driving traffic to the web can only help online ad revenue – notoriously difficult to accrue.
At this point – with the P-T‘s future in serious financial doubt – driving as much attention as possible to the web is the best strategy possible. Every sign points to the internet as the future of journalism, and today’s newspaper redesign simply begins the Press-Telegram‘s transformation.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor