Grauniad
Posted: Thu 22 September, 2005 Filed under: News, Reviews(ish), Thoughts 4 Comments »On Monday 12th September, the Guardian newspaper changed it’s paper size, reducing from the old broadsheet (AKA the “impossible to read without folding, or laying it on the floor”) to the new “Berliner” size. Still a bit bigger than normal tabloids, I find that the entire thing is a great improvement on the broadsheet, and that feeling was an immediate response, rather than the “oh, it’s new, I don’t like it” response that seemed to come from a lot of people at the time..
A lot of people weren’t impressed with the change – Mike TD wrote a fair and balanced view on the plus and minus points – although the main protests seemed to be the loss of the daily cartoon thing, “Doonesbury”. Frankly, I would have to work really hard in order to care less about things like Doonesbury. Then again, maybe I just don’t “get it” – something I’ve been accused of many times in the past.
Anyway, personally I like the new format. I always found the broadsheet Guardian to be more effort than it was necessarily worth, so I ended up not reading all of it. This was particularly true of the Saturday edition – too much guff, too much hassle. Since the re-size though, I’ve found that I read far more of the paper. It’s easier to handle without needing to have degree-level skills in Origami, and that makes the entire thing a lot more accessible. In short, I like the new size a lot more.
My only question, though, is why resize the Guardian, yet leave the Observer at the full-whack broadsheet size?
Personally I wouldn’t care too hoots bout the new format, mainly bcos I wouldn’t be seen dead reading a left leaning rag. I still, however, read the Daily Telegraph (much more my type of politics) and I have to say, I prefer the broad sheet layout, BUT it is inconvenient on the train to work etc, I have become expert at folding and keeping the pages straight. So for me broadsheets still rule!
I linked to a “Doonesbury Debacle” which featured on the Guardian Blog – the features editor joined in the comments and Doonesbury will be back thanks to people power. I know YOU don’t care about it but it’s a good example of “open dialogue”.
I don’t read the Guardian, or any other newspaper, but picked it up yesterday. As you say, my first reaction was “very nice”!
According to one of the “look! new size!” supplements that the Guardian and Observer put out just beforehand, the Observer is planning to change over to the new format next Spring.
I think most interesting, and possibly the subtlest of changes, is that all “factual” articles have justified text, whereas all “commentary” pieces are left-aligned. I wonder if it’ll seep in gradually so that the brain is subconsciously aware that what it’s processing is either fact or opinion?