The Chicago tribune redesign on first look seems a lot more aesthetically pleasing and overall more inviting to jump into.
I can see they have put more thought into the design of the newspaper and from the preview video the choice of pictures they use to go along with the stories.
Changes such as these seem like a perhaps much needed upgrade in design quality when it comes to print journalism.
However, in the interview from the poynter website the design director for the newspaper describes the new approach in a content perspective. The person from the tribune makes several references about giving the reader what they want, and setting up blogs to let readers give direct feed back to the editor of what they want to see and read in the newspaper.
I wonder if all this feed back and the mind set of “giving us what we want” is a good thing. Typically when we hear of news programs being over run with stories that have more of an entertainment value rather than informative or educational one, people will say it’s because that is what people want to see.
The video we watched in class on Monday gave rise in my mind to the true public service which a newspaper can provide, informing us of the things that really matter. In that same spirit of hard news that really concerns us rather than “whats hott,” as one new section in the tribune was coined, I fell a little over loaded by yet another example of trying to give the reader what they want.
With all the talk of new paper’s audiences being older and more out dated I wonder if the Tribunes efforts are really focused at all on giving those readers what they want. How many older people can you think of who would be jumping on computers to blog in their likes and dislikes?
I think maybe the Tribune is really trying to attract new younger readers with different wants and needs, but are these wants and needs really what’s best for a news organization and the more traditional ethics of journalism?
If it is in fact new readers they wanted why hasn’t there website improved much after a quick glance it seems the same to me as any other newspaper website.
Poynter Article
Chicago Tribune Redesing
1 comment:
I was thinking the same thing. The new design looks great but does it really cater to the "older" audience that tends to still read the paper. It will be interesting to see what how the older audience reacts to the new design and if it attracts younger readers. I am doubtful that there will be much change in the younger audience. There just seems to be so many other magazines and websites which provide the same information but with easier access.
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