Hyperlinks in Print IV

[cityofsound] Porter notes that they're dealing with "readers who get most of their news from television and the internet now" and without the hours to spend reading the paper that people used to have. He can't assume that people are going to read the whole thing - so there are navigational cues, layout guides, and other devices to alert the reader to other articles of interest within the paper (and presumably online) - almost, "if you like this article, you'll also like this one on page 14".

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 theguardian redesign

[cityofsound] The redesign feels caught somewhat between the celeb-fuelled world of the weekly glossies and the clean, stately repose of the European newspaper. If it's the former they're after, again, I'd suggest there's a few, cleverly appealing design cues in Grazia, Heat and the tabloids they'd be looking at; but ultimately that doesn't feel to match their brand, apparent mission, and certainly the values of the paper. I'd rather they'd taken on a reinvention of the latter - to create that new sense of what a newspaper could be, could feel like, look like. That would include properly taking and integrating the website and other media, given that's where people increasingly consume news.

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 Listen To The People

[csmonitor.com] In Chile, instant Web feedback creates the next day's paper. This revolution has occurred, says the paper's publisher Augustine Edwards, thanks to his decision to listen to "the people." Three years ago, under Mr. Edwards's guidance, LUN installed a system whereby all clicks onto its website (www.lun.com) were recorded for all in the newsroom to see. Those clicks - and the changing tastes and desires they represent - drive the entire print content of LUN. If a certain story gets a lot of clicks, for example, that is a signal to Edwards and his team that the story should be followed up, and similar ones should be sought for the next day. If a story gets only a few clicks, it is killed. The system offers a direct barometer of public opinion, much like the TV rating system - but unique to print media.

 Surviving?

[stefangeens.com] How is a newspaper supposed to compete these days? Unlike websites, newspapers are not searchable, and unlike TV, the news is 12 hours old by the time people consume it. How do you survive when you are a compelling read only for those sitting on the subway or toilet?

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 A Revolution in Newspaper Design

[Publicitas] Newspaper design and format are among the most hotly debated issues in the newspaper industry today. From new compact editions to internet-inspired front pages, newspapers are remaking themselves as never before.
Newspapers come in all shapes and sizes, but what makes a successful design? Here is one definition of success: "a design that is functional for the newspaper staff, reflects the content and nature of the newspaper, and is appreciated (subconsciously) by the reader."
That definition comes from the Scotland-based media design consultants Ally Palmer and Terry Watson and is included in "New Designs, New Formats," a new report from the World Association of Newspapers' Shaping Future of the Newspaper project.

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 Participatory Journalism Project

[cyberjournalist.net] The Bakersfield Californian has embarked on one of the most ambitious participatory journalism efforts to date in the United States, launching a community newspaper and Web site in which nearly all the articles and pictures are contributed for free by people in the community.
Since the first print edition of The Northwest Voice was launched May 13, more than 200 individuals have contributed articles, pictures and events, and revenue has grown 33 percent. In all, about 90 percent of the content on the Web site and in the newspaper is contributed by the community.
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 Houston Chronicle redesign

[HoustonChronicle.com - News] Editor Jeff Cohen says: "A daily newspaper is a lot like a house. Every now and then it needs a thorough inspection, a complete cleaning and some redecorating. That's what you're seeing in the form of different typefaces, headline styles and new ways to give you the latest information either in depth or at a glance."
[via]

The designers even made a guide to showcase the new features. Let's have a look at the most relevant ones.

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 Meet the "supersonic" reader

[editorsweblog] Mario Garcia is one of the world’s leading newspaper designers and he was a speaker at the 2004 World Newspaper Advertising Conference & Expo organised in Amsterdam, Netherlands by the World Association of Newspapers: "The influence of the internet on newspaper design cannot be underestimated." Mr Garcia said. "It used to be, a person gave the page a 25-second look-over. That is now reduced to 10 seconds. Ten seconds -- that’s how much time they use to determine where to go. But there are now readers who are even faster than the scanner -- Mr Garcia called them "supersonic" readers, generally 18- to 20-years old, who see nothing but pictures and 100-point type."

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 Barcodes linking to online content V (and last)

[Computers and Internet] Tokyo’s Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s leading newspaper, has been printing on the corner of a page a series of black dots, which are not Japenese characters. These black dots are in a tight, uneven pattern. From a distance it looks like a woven fabric, and closely it looks like a snowy TV screen. When this page is fed through a scanner, the true nature of the image is revealed: it’s software. In this way, the newspaper is sending music files, video games software, etc., to its 10 million customers.

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 Barcodes linking to online content IV In May 2000, The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., USA started delivering newspapers that had tiny barcodes on articles, allowing readers to use a pen-like wand to scan and pull up related information on the Web. The barcodes were called GoCodes and had an advantage: they could fit on a line of text and therefore didn't need a dedicated space in the layout of the page.
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 From Web to Print for TV2 Nettavisen

[E-Media Tidbits] In a one-time marketing ploy, the online newspaper TV2 Nettavisen in Norway published 20,000 copies of a print version of the website on Friday (19/04/2004), with a resounding success: all media in Norway and many media outlets around the world have been talking about it. The paper was printed in tabloid format and distributed to commuters in Bergen and Oslo. "A very smart move, and a perfect way to visualize the broad content of a news site," a high-profile Norway media executive told me.

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 Surviving the decline

[OJR] [1] Use new technologies to match the newspaper's existing cornucopia of content to satisfy each individual reader's unique mix of interests. [2] Understand that neither newsprint nor the Web nor digital editions nor wireless is the answer, but that the true convergence of all those into a single unitary product not only is necessary but likely within 10 years. [3] Focus less on the industry's ability to produce content and more on its unique service of delivering to people a complete package of content -- a change that requires newsrooms and corporations to go beyond traditional definitions of "news" or "syndicated sources."

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 The print audience pushes back

[E-Media Tidbits] A couple of trends in newspapering seem obvious and inevitable to me: [1] Local newspapers will play local news more strongly on their front pages, relegating national/international news to inside sections. (With so many better online sources of non-local news, what's the point of putting day-old national/international news on the front page? Readers have already seen it online or on TV.) [2] More previously-printed content will be published only online, and print editions will promote more content that's exclusively online -- with printed references to web addresses for this content.

 Barcodes linking to online content II In late 2000, the US company Digital:Convergence released a bar code scanner profiled like a cat and appropriately called the Cue:Cat. Their dream was to link the physical world to the digital world by enabling us to scan bar codes on newspapers articles or any objects and be automatically taken to a corresponding website.
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 Barcodes linking to online content I

[WAN] While the "Metro" phenomenon of successful free newspapers is well known, News.nl adds a new twist. Stories and advertisements carry a barcode, which commuters who want more information can scan with a purpose-built pen which they insert in their computers when they return home. The pen, which can hold up to 150 web addresses, will automatically direct the web browser to a specified page. "Traffic on the News.nl site doubled because of this system. There was really a lot of interest from readers who want more information," said Mr Volmer. (12 October 2000)

I will try to collect as many references to this as possible. I have a few more lined up, coming really soon.

If you know of other examples, or have pictures of those barcodes, please send them our way using the Contact Us link at the top left of this site. Thank you.

 Five newspapers named “World’s Best-Designed”

Five newspapers were named the World’s Best-Designed by the Society for News Design during the judging of Category One of the 25th Annual “Best of Newspaper Design™” competition. The winners were chosen from a field of 384 newspapers from 37 countries.

We'll have to wait a little bit more before we can actually see the designs and react to them. Patience.

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